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

VMware vCenter pros and cons

Vendor: Broadcom
4.3 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.
Get the report

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

VMware vCenter offers centralized management, enabling efficient handling of virtual machines across multiple ESXi hosts.
VMware vCenter enhances system support with built-in AI tools and integrates smoothly with third-party software.
The platform's high availability and DRS capabilities ensure resource optimization and system reliability.
VMware vCenter facilitates virtualization, allowing remote management and eliminating the need for physical server access.
VMware vCenter provides elasticity, enabling easy resource ramp-up for specific workloads, enhancing virtual user experience.

CONS

VMware vCenter's main issue is its pricing and licensing model, which has seen significant cost increases, particularly affecting smaller organizations.
The license model transition to a subscription-only structure after Broadcom's acquisition has been a drawback.
Fault Tolerance features in VMware vCenter are difficult to manage, complex, and have bugs, according to user feedback.
Organizations may need to purchase additional VMware products to fully utilize centralized management.
The technical support services provided by VMware vCenter need considerable improvement in response time and efficiency.
 

VMware vCenter Pros review quotes

MW
Head of presales team at Aptronics
Jan 23, 2024
It's a very good tool for centralized management.
EU
IT infrastructure lead at 0
Feb 2, 2024
The most valuable features of VMware vCenter for our organization include its centralized management capabilities and the ability to handle virtual machines across multiple ESXi hosts efficiently.
Mizanur-Rahman - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 6, 2024
The product has improved our system's proactive support for in-built AI tools.
Learn what your peers think about VMware vCenter. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
882,637 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Gaurav Sharma. - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technology Officer at a cloud solution provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Aug 18, 2025
The integration of vCenter server with any software, whether from VMware or a third party, is smooth and straightforward.
FD
Senior Architect at Noovle
Feb 21, 2024
The product is scalable.
AI
Head of IT department at Monetars
Feb 21, 2024
It is easy to create and manage virtual infrastructure.
Ahmed-Mahrous - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at a non-profit with 51-200 employees
Feb 29, 2024
The most valuable aspect for us is the ability to monitor all servers simultaneously and effortlessly move them between hosts.
Genesis Dapoza - PeerSpot reviewer
Email Administrator at Technopaq, Inc.
Mar 1, 2024
We typically manage VMs after the OS is installed. vCenter simplifies VM management by allowing for the configuration and operation of VMs once an OS, like Windows, is installed.
Gus Thompson - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Principal Analyst at Pima Community College
Mar 1, 2024
The initial setup is straightforward even for complex environments with around 100 hosts.
Soundar Rajan - PeerSpot reviewer
VMware Administrator at Ingram Micro Saudi Arabia
Mar 6, 2024
The product's emphasis on high availability and DRS aligns with our priorities, making vCenter an integral component in our virtualized environment.
 

VMware vCenter Cons review quotes

MW
Head of presales team at Aptronics
Jan 23, 2024
We have to buy more VMware products to leverage the centralized management.
EU
IT infrastructure lead at 0
Feb 2, 2024
VMware vCenter is an expensive product. Its price needs improvement.
Mizanur-Rahman - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feb 6, 2024
One notable area for enhancement revolves around cost considerations, as introducing features such as DDoS protection or data compression could reduce expenses.
Learn what your peers think about VMware vCenter. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
882,637 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Gaurav Sharma. - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technology Officer at a cloud solution provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Aug 18, 2025
There is a feature called Fault Tolerance (FT), which has been part of vCenter servers since the product's inception. However, it has a lot of complexity, and when my team tested it, we found it difficult to manage. It also has some bugs. Consequently, we decided not to offer any fault tolerance features to our customers.
FD
Senior Architect at Noovle
Feb 21, 2024
The technical support team could respond faster.
AI
Head of IT department at Monetars
Feb 21, 2024
They could provide flexibility and cost-effectiveness for product licensing.
Ahmed-Mahrous - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at a non-profit with 51-200 employees
Feb 29, 2024
Consolidating these plugins into a unified environment with customizable options to enable or disable features would be highly beneficial.
Genesis Dapoza - PeerSpot reviewer
Email Administrator at Technopaq, Inc.
Mar 1, 2024
Sometimes, vCenter management can be difficult if you forget the password. You can't change or recover the password easily. We then have to reinstall vCenter, which means reconfiguring everything. That's a challenge we've encountered.
Gus Thompson - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Principal Analyst at Pima Community College
Mar 1, 2024
It could display the status of the storage space in terabytes, the number of VMs, etc.
Soundar Rajan - PeerSpot reviewer
VMware Administrator at Ingram Micro Saudi Arabia
Mar 6, 2024
They could provide an easier way to learn NSX and troubleshooting processes for the product.