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

Citrix XenServer vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Citrix XenServer
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Server Virtualization Software (11th)
VMware Workstation
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Virtualization solutions, they serve different purposes. Citrix XenServer is designed for Server Virtualization Software and holds a mindshare of 4.9%, up 4.3% compared to last year.
VMware Workstation, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), holds 17.2% mindshare, up 14.8% since last year.
Server Virtualization Software
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

VivekKumar10 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cost efficiency enables significant savings but improvement in support and backup integration is needed for enhanced reliability
In the past, we utilized the live migration feature in Citrix XenServer, but not in this project. This is a new, fresh deployment, so there is no live migration. The support of heterogeneous resource pool in Citrix XenServer depends on the deployment and customer requirements. If a customer requires heterogeneous deployment, we accommodate that. Generally, Citrix XenServer goes in straightforward vanilla deployment because it is majorly used for Citrix farms. Very few customers use it for other products or applications. Intelligent performance optimization is available in this product, but very few customers use it, and those who do aren't using it extensively. I cannot comment extensively on this feature at present.
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
VMware Workstation makes it easy to manage all the resources that we are handling. VMware Workstation has reduced our infrastructure cost. If someone wants machines, I can create them easily using the solution. VMware Workstation is easier to manage than other workstations like Oracle Workstation. VMware Workstation is an easy-to-manage solution, and its support is really good compared to other market players. Overall, I rate VMware Workstation an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is quite flexible and rugged. It is also easy to understand and user-friendly. It is not as complicated as some of the other solutions. It has its technicalities, but it is easy to understand. You can easily pick up in a short period of time and understand how to manage the infrastructure."
"The solution's security is its most valuable aspect."
"Citrix Hypervisor is simple to use."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is very fast. It also works very well for physically small servers."
"This is a dependable solution for virtualization with a good community for product support."
"What I like the most is the support of the GPU Graphics and the VM Live migration."
"The solution is extremely user friendly."
"Citrix Hypervisor is quick to deploy and easy to manage."
"VMware Workstation allows you to run a virtual machine."
"Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice."
"VMware Workstation works correctly and has more features compared to Oracle VirtualBox."
"Having ten people working off a single piece of hardware reduces costs."
"The product is really easy to use."
"The most valuable features of the VMware Workstation solutions are the ESXi and vCenter."
"The product's initial setup phase was simple."
"The features are good."
 

Cons

"The USB support for the virtual server needs improvement."
"We'd like them to add more automation to the product."
"While Citrix Hypervisor remains a reliable virtualization platform, several areas could be improved to better meet enterprise needs."
"It can be useful to have a web management program because we have to install our client-server. We have to properly manage the host, if we had administration tools through a web interface it would be a benefit."
"I did not favor Citrix XenServer in the past due to numerous issues and complications that made it a nightmare to use."
"Integration with other vendors and other applications could be improved."
"The licensing costs are too high on the solution. They should work to make the costs more reasonable."
"There are several areas that need improvement including the stability of the networking stack and networking management."
"They could add more integration between them, and compatibility with the standard virtualization format."
"VMware Workstation could improve the export and import of virtual machines."
"Performance could be improved, it's somewhat clunky."
"It would be better if software updates occur automatically."
"The GUI interface could be improved."
"VMware Workstation has some network limitations which could improve, it is not as flexible as VMware NSX. Additionally, it could support operating systems better. I only run some Linux versions and Windows at the moment but it would be nice to be able to take whatever operating system you want and run it."
"They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."
"The network configuration was not as easy as it could be and could take less time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license required to use this solution. You need a license on every server, but the license is more for support than anything else. The cost is not expensive, it is a fraction of the cost of VMware. When you look at the cost overall and features, Citrix Hypervisor has a very attractive offering."
"Citrix Hypervisor can be fairly expensive."
"To subscribe to the paid version with support, it is approximately $6,000 per year."
"Citrix is a good low-cost alternative to VMware, so if budgeting is an issue then I would recommend it."
"Citrix Hypervisor is a licensed product, and customers who buy the Citrix XenDesktop get Citrix Hypervisor for free. If they don't buy the license for Citrix XenDesktop, they'll need to pay for Citrix Hypervisor and its price is high. Pricing is even higher than VMware. The licensing policy for Citrix Hypervisor is good. It's straightforward. The only issue is the price because it's an expensive product."
"There are three editions available and I believe they are perpetual licenses."
"The most valuable feature is the cost; it is a free product."
"This solution is open source, it's free."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"The product is expensive."
"With a VDI solution, there is always extra cost running a VDI solution but it's not for cost purposes anymore. In the beginning, it was to save money on hardware but at the moment it's other aspects that are more important why you should use a VDI solution."
"VMware Workstation's costs are lifetime."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
"The product has a moderate price."
"The pricing is a bit steep in my opinion for testing and there are other options."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Virtualization Software solutions are best for your needs.
857,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

VL
Jan 13, 2015
vSphere vs. RHEV vs. Hyper-V vs. XenServer
We have used the following functions: 1. Hypervisor: to ensure that the virtual server provide web and email services to the company, thus providing a stable operation a with single sign-on integration of an AD server and vCenter. 2. Network and Storage: centralized data server…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
28%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Hypervisor?
The core function enables multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server. This maximizes hardware utilization and efficiency.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Hypervisor?
Citrix XenServer multi-cloud includes all necessary products, allowing for a diverse deployment. Licensing includes all the server courses, Unicom, and features from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop...
What needs improvement with Citrix Hypervisor?
Citrix XenServer needs to improve compatibility with other solutions and support various services hosted on it. There's also a need for more companies supporting backups for Citrix XenServer as a h...
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
 

Also Known As

Hypervisor
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

U.S. Army Shared Services Center, SoftLayer, Educational Services of America, Independent Bank, and SK Telecom.
Akademiska Hus
Find out what your peers are saying about Proxmox, VMware, Microsoft and others in Server Virtualization Software. Updated: June 2025.
857,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.