Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

VMware vSphere vs VMware vSphere Foundation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.2
VMware vSphere reduces costs and enhances efficiency with virtualization, offering savings, agility, and improved resource utilization and scalability.
Sentiment score
7.3
VMware vSphere Foundation enhances server consolidation, recoverability, and scalability, offering significant returns on investment without increasing personnel.
In an environment where the infrastructure has to be up for monitoring and controlling physical infrastructure like water plants, it has absolutely returned on its investment.
Server consolidation is one return on investment where we can use one server for multiple workloads.
While the return on investment is not clearly defined, the manageability of multiple servers without needing additional personnel or specialists is beneficial.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
VMware vSphere's customer service is efficient and knowledgeable, but response times and complex issue handling can be inconsistent.
Sentiment score
6.6
VMware vSphere Foundation's customer service saw a ratings drop post-acquisition, cited for slower response times despite stable performance.
Priority one issues are usually addressed by engineers within one to two hours.
Recently, support has been less friendly and slower, especially after the company was acquired by Broadcom.
If we have issues, the support tends to be unreliable
There is nonstop support available around the world, which allows issues to be resolved continuously without interruption, regardless of whether the problem occurs in the USA, India, or another location.
Now, with Broadcom's management, I would rate it a three out of ten.
Most of the time, VMware operates smoothly without requiring support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
VMware vSphere offers scalable, flexible environments with minimal downtime, seamless integration, and excellent performance across diverse hardware and business needs.
Sentiment score
8.8
VMware vSphere Foundation is praised for its seamless scalability, efficient integration, and ability to handle multiple workloads.
Scaling is easy, whether it is hyperconverged or a three-tier architecture.
VMware vSphere is highly scalable in terms of the number of users and the number of servers it can handle.
It is a highly scalable solution.
The return on investment is high because we can maximize the use of one server for multiple workloads.
It's straightforward to procure additional licenses, install them on the host and add them to the same cluster.
You can simply add more hosts to your VMware stack seamlessly, scaling up vertically or horizontally.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
VMware vSphere is highly stable and reliable, with minimal outages and quick resolution of issues, ideal for critical applications.
Sentiment score
8.5
VMware vSphere Foundation is praised for stability and low management needs, though it requires regular updates for security.
It is a very stable hypervisor solution.
While they are generally stable, if outages occur, they tend to be due to brands like HP or Dell, not VMware vSphere itself.
I would rate the stability of VMware vSphere as eight out of ten.
Stability is optimal.
Frequent updates are required due to constant security challenges and attacks.
It is a standard tool and is considered very stable.
 

Room For Improvement

VMware vSphere needs pricing, interface, compatibility, management, integration, fault tolerance, performance, and technology support improvements due to user concerns.
Post-Broadcom, VMware vSphere Foundation struggles with pricing, language, and licensing issues, causing delays and customer dissatisfaction.
The cost changed from perpetual to subscription, and there is a need for alternative solutions.
Another area is the stability during upgrades from older versions to newer versions, where we face issues.
Sometimes, it is difficult to find documentation for specific tools and solutions.
I highly recommend that continuous support for perpetual licenses be provided.
VMware needs to improve cost efficiency, especially in Pakistan, as customers often seek more affordable solutions.
Recently, VMware shifted its licensing models, and they should streamline it.
 

Setup Cost

VMware vSphere is costly but valued for advanced features and stability, especially in large-scale environments, warranting careful budgeting.
VMware vSphere Foundation faces high costs and complexity, driving users towards cheaper cloud options and open-source alternatives.
Many customers are trying to avoid it due to its high cost.
Costs significantly increased from perpetual to subscription, with prices rising by two to three times over three to five years.
The solution is too expensive.
It's expensive, however, the stability it offers is optimal.
In Brazil, we are increasingly using open-source alternatives like Proxmox due to their lower prices in comparison.
During one project, the price doubled or even tripled before implementation, causing issues with clients.
 

Valuable Features

VMware vSphere offers centralized management and flexibility, enhancing data center efficiency with strong security and fast, efficient operations.
VMware vSphere Foundation offers scalable virtualization, efficient infrastructure management, and user-friendly tools, enhancing server utilization and cost-effectiveness.
The vMotion feature is beneficial for online migration of virtual machines from one host to another without downtime.
The tool is highly available, which is crucial for implementing critical applications requiring 24/7 availability.
The high availability feature is significant.
vSphere Foundation is valuable due to its scalability, reliability, and ease of management.
VMware provides the tools needed to move environments between private and public clouds seamlessly.
The virtual stack of vCenter, its distributed resources system, high availability engines, and the ability to move VM workloads from one host to another are outstanding.
 

Categories and Ranking

VMware vSphere
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
454
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware vSphere Foundation
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Neeraj Mehra - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlines virtualization and has features like high availability and vMotion
The primary use case is for virtualization, including the implementation of vSphere, vCloud Foundation, vCloud Director, and cloud automation with vSphere My customers, particularly SMBs, mainly utilize High Availability (HA), DRS, and vMotion features. The vMotion feature is beneficial for…
ErmiasGirma - PeerSpot reviewer
Virtualization enhances management and utilization in enterprise environments
In the past, we faced challenges with VMware's transition to Broadcom, which caused a lot of frustration. Issues like not being able to upgrade to version eight without support and the end-of-life of perpetual licenses were concerning. Pricing fluctuation and increased licensing costs were also significant challenges. I highly recommend that continuous support for perpetual licenses be provided.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Virtualization Software solutions are best for your needs.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user234735 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 10, 2015
Hyper-V 2012 R2 vs. VMware vSphere 5.5
I was won with Hyper-V 2012R2 recently and the table below based on customer RFP (edited). This articles all about technical, there is not related with TCO/ROI, licensing cost, “political”, etc. Another to noted is the Windows Server 2012 licenses is based on 2 socket CPU, meanwhile…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is IOMMU?
DEEPEN DHULLA did explain well IOMMU. IOMMU has to be activated at the bios level. It exists on Intel and AMD platforms. It is used a lot inside virtualization platforms like VMware VSphere. It pr...
Why KVM??? Help please!
We use VMware and KVM. We find that KVM is a lot simpler to use and it provides the virtualization we need for Linux and Windows. For us, VMware does not offer any advantage. Moreover, KVM is free.
What is the biggest difference between Nutanix Acropolis and VMware vSphere?
We found the reduced power consumption with Nutanix Acropolis AOS a very attractive feature. We also like the interface that allows you to talk directly to your VM from the present software. We fou...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware vSphere Foundation?
There's definitely room for improvement on the pricing of VMware vSphere Foundation. Recently, the cost has increased for various organizations, depending on their licensing post-Broadcom acquisition.
What needs improvement with VMware vSphere Foundation?
I can't really say because I don't have much experience with other platforms in the commercial space. Recently, the pricing has gone up a lot for different organizations depending on what licensing...
What is your primary use case for VMware vSphere Foundation?
We are hosting our internal infrastructure with VMware vSphere Foundation ( /products/vmware-vsphere-foundation-reviews ).
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Abu Dhabi Ports Company, ACS, AIA New Zealand, Consona, Corporate Express, CS Energy, and Digiweb.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about VMware vSphere vs. VMware vSphere Foundation and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.