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Citrix XenServer vs RHEV 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Citrix XenServer
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
RHEV
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
12th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of Citrix XenServer is 5.0%, up from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RHEV is 3.6%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

Tonatiuh Torres Zamorano - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers comprehensive solutions for small and medium businesses with a straightforward setup
I find Citrix XenServer valuable for small to medium-sized businesses. It is user-friendly and easy to deploy, making it an attractive option. When included with Citrix virtualization solutions, it provides a comprehensive package with existing licenses. Despite being effective for small to medium infrastructures, it may not be the best hypervisor for larger deployments.
Sujeet-Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution is scalable and affordable, but it lacks features, and it is not easy to manage
Management of RHEV is not as easy as VMware. Some features do not work. The product does not provide features similar to VMware’s VMotion. After creating the cluster, the VM is moved to another node if we move down. However, the VM does not move the parent node automatically. It has to be moved manually. VMware moves it automatically. RHEV moves it to the parent node only if we restart. Everything can be handled in VMware through the GUI. However, in RHEV, some things can be managed through UI, and others cannot. We have to troubleshoot and use CLI. A few features of the product do not work as well as those in VMware.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I like the most is the support of the GPU Graphics and the VM Live migration."
"The solution's security is its most valuable aspect."
"We can easily migrate VMs from one host to another."
"Citrix Hypervisor is quick to deploy and easy to manage."
"Citrix is easy to use and is stable."
"The support for this solution is phenomenal."
"The feature I find most valuable, is its performance"
"Scripting can automate procedures."
"Technically, the main reason why I'm using Red Hat is because of its stability."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the support portal."
"I can control and manage everything. I know everything that's cooking inside. This is the best part for me."
"The solution is a great all-round product. The virtualization is especially good."
"Red Hat is the most stable system."
"The solution is overall very good with all the facilities. It is user friendly, easy to configure, has documentation, and support is available."
"When you purchase RHEV, you are essentially buying a subscription license. This license can be integrated with various client types, including these integrations with the subscription."
"Customers are moving to open source and Red Hat is the leader in this particular space. I think customers feel more confident running Red Hat Virtualization than VMware."
 

Cons

"It needs improvement with the security features."
"The marketing of Citrix lacks effectiveness. Although the product is technically competitive, it is not widely known or used due to poor marketing."
"The graphics user interface is pretty bad."
"The USB support for the virtual server needs improvement."
"The interface has to be updated."
"Citrix needs to improve the hypervisor, specifically in security and performance."
"The solution needs better backup facilities that are available for virtual machines to create servers on."
"There are several areas that need improvement including the stability of the networking stack and networking management."
"We should improve how we manage storage domains and make more comprehensive control available through the command line."
"The documentation is not as good as it should be."
"We hope that Red Hat can produce a paradigm edition. We are looking for paradigm computing and paradigm storage. Its scalability can be improved. It is not easy to scale, and we hope that Red Hat can provide a more scalable system. They should also provide local service and support. Our customers are looking for a good software vendor to provide professional services."
"We would like the dashboard feature of this solution to be improved, as it is not very detailed at present."
"The availability of technical expertise with the solution may be limited in some areas."
"While everything needs improvement in some way, I have no specifics."
"It lags behind in that you need to go to something like Fedora to get all the extra bells and whistles."
"The UI should be more interactive with additional features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The licensing is straight forward based on usage and features."
"The most valuable feature is the cost; it is a free product."
"The pricing and licensing is so important. Customers do consider the price seriously."
"We used it only for some desktop licenses, so the pricing is great. We used the free licenses for server virtualization."
"To subscribe to the paid version with support, it is approximately $6,000 per year."
"I am fine with their license support. What we have right now is permanent, so I don't have a problem with their license."
"There are three editions available and I believe they are perpetual licenses."
"This product has a variety of licensing options available. However, the level of licensing, and therefore the cost of licensing, is dependent on the number of servers being utilized."
"We have to pay extra for vulnerability and fault tolerance."
"Price-wise, RHEV is okay, in my opinion."
"We buy a license for commercial use, and we also use the free editions."
"I would say the price is acceptable."
"It's a budget product as far as I'm concerned. It's way cheaper than any of its competitors. The only thing cheaper than Red Hat is that the people who take the Red Hat code clone it and then self-support it."
"Its price depends on the use cases."
"I believe we pay on a yearly basis."
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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
47%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Educational Organization
44%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

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?
XenServer is considered cost-effective, as its licensing allows users to utilize the hypervisor as part of Citrix virtual app or desktop licenses. It is cheaper compared to its competitors.
What needs improvement with Citrix Hypervisor?
Citrix needs to improve the hypervisor, specifically in security and performance. Additionally, the response time from customer support has room for improvement, which could enhance the overall use...
What do you like most about RHEV?
The initial setup is fairly straightforward and well-documented. The process is very similar to its competitors. The success of your setup depends on how well you plan.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for RHEV?
It's the open source. There's not much cost. It's very minimal comparably. Compared to what I am paying for VMware, it's negligible.
What needs improvement with RHEV?
My teammates and I often complain that VMware is well-documented and has a large community since it is the de facto standard. I would love to see better documentation and ease of use. For newcomers...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Hypervisor
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

U.S. Army Shared Services Center, SoftLayer, Educational Services of America, Independent Bank, and SK Telecom.
Qualcomm and Bonham's Auction House.
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix XenServer vs. RHEV and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.