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Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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

Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
307
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (1st), Data Center Networking (3rd), Blade Servers (2nd)
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 22.1%, down from 27.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is 8.9%, down from 15.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series22.1%
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers8.9%
Other69.0%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Tom van Mil - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Administrator at Lico Innovations B.v.
Supports flexible hosting needs through seamless upgradability and strong monitoring capabilities
The most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series for me are the feature richness and the upgradability. I really love the way that it is so dynamically applicable for every situation, and they manage to have an all-in-one solution for every single situation. Dell PowerEdge has supported the growth and operational success of my company through its great compute power and price-to-performance ratio. Every time Dell is at the top of its game for us, and there is just no other brand for us that is able to reach that kind of price-to-performance ratio. Dell PowerEdge R-Series has features that specifically cater to the needs of my small company, such as iDRAC. The iDRAC system is a complete feature set for managing servers and hardware technically and monitoring-wise. It really fits in our system and our ecosystem, and monitoring-wise, it is excellent. They have all these sensors available via different protocols and end points, which I love, and the ability to manage and control everything via the iDRAC interface is just a welcome bonus. In our use case, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is very flexible. It is another computer which helps a lot because of the durability over time. They keep running, making scalability for getting more of those resources in our environment so easy.
Mike Bellemans - PeerSpot reviewer
Project manager at Sopraco NV
One of the products in the market that is the easiest to set up and maintain
Performance and scalability-wise, there are certain areas where the product lacks and needs improvement as it does not provide a lot of fancy features presently. In general, it is a normal product that is good enough for our company. For the time being, my company does not need any extra features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"From using Dell PowerEdge R-Series, I've seen benefits in that it's a very popular platform, so we have a lot of information online."
"The reconstructive compatibility with VMware ESXi is the most valuable."
"The solution is very strong and reliable."
"Dell PowerEdge R-Series has absolutely enhanced the overall flexibility of our operations and business without a doubt."
"The price-to-performance ratio of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is good, and performance is great."
"The burden on the IT team has been reduced thanks to this solution, the monitoring, and other features."
"The stability is good, it also lasts a relatively long time, our customers are typically looking for something that will hold up for about five years, and this solution does that, as it's not buggy, there aren't glitches, and it doesn't crash or break down."
"Overall, I've seen an improvement in the network bandwidth, as well as an improvement in the speed of the blades and the processors."
"I like everything about this solution. It is a very good server, with excellent availability. The size of the power is adequate and the low heating is beneficial."
"It is a scalable product."
"It performs really well, and the price is cheaper than other solutions."
"It is a very good product, it is very easy to implement, and you can scale it easily."
"Ensures high availability, better hardware management, and support for active features."
"Easy integration with UPS systems provides added convenience and efficiency for our operations."
"One of the main advantages of this tool is its ease of use, as it is a GUI-based tool needing a simple and easy configuration...It is a stable solution."
"The pricing is the most valuable aspect of the solution."
 

Cons

"The only thing that could be improved is documentation. The product is highly customizable with a lot of options for each component."
"The only growth complexity with Dell PowerEdge R-Series is that the cost of adding memory after the first purchase is always high."
"I understand that the licensing can be confusing, and I would prefer to see that aspect become simpler."
"The choice of CPUs, RAM configuration, and modifications is very large, partly even a bit too large, because I sometimes get lost in the configuration options, but nothing negative really stands out to me at this point."
"We'd want the solution to be faster, and of course, for them to bring down the price."
"Occasionally, there might be extended wait times between placing an order and receiving the delivery."
"One of the things that I've noticed is that over time, the system degrades, meaning that little things don't work. For example, the hard drive would need to be replaced or iDRAC would not be functioning properly. We may have to flash the firmware. It is not like some other hardware where it just runs without issues for four or five years. With Dell, generally, there are little hiccups here and there."
"I haven't seen ROI from Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers."
"I would like to see an automatic call home feature for IMM2."
"There are other solutions that are less expensive."
"Upgrading firmware is easier in Dell than in Lenovo."
"To be frank, the technical support from Lenovo's team needs improvement. There seems to be a lack of support, and it is important for Lenovo to address this issue."
"HP has a riser inside, but Lenovo does not have a riser. It would be good to have a riser with Lenovo. The GUI of the system is really bad. HP has a very good UI for smart memories and everything inside, but in Lenovo, we have a black-and-white UI. HP right now manufactures a server with scalable SP1 and SP2 on a single machine, which is not the case with Lenovo. They are changing the machine. For SP 1, there is one server, and for SP2, there is another server, which is really bad. In HP, we can use two models of processors in a single case. Lenovo should also be improved to have SP1 and SP2 scalable processors simultaneously on a single machine. They should not release another machine. This issue is also there in H3650 severs. They are all inside, but only V3 CPU or only v4 CPU can work, whereas, in HBG9, we can deploy V3 and V4 simultaneously. Lenovo also needs to advertise more because I can't see advertisements anywhere."
"Improvements could be made in the network cards, particularly by offering options for higher-speed cards beyond the current 10 GB."
"It should have tools for integration with the cloud. We should be able to transmit data from our on-premises server to the servers in the cloud."
"For the price my company pays for Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers, we can have more from other vendors offering the same functionalities that are present in Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers at a lower price."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a strong agreement in place with our parent company, that typically ensures favorable pricing terms for us, although occasionally we may need to negotiate with Dell representatives for further discounts to provide competitive pricing to our customers."
"The licensing comes with a warranty."
"The solution’s pricing is competitive with other products."
"We have a contract with the OEM of the equipment for licenses, so we possess all OEM licenses for the Dell software. We have licenses for Linux and VMware software, with a special price and an annual contract for updates of Linux and VMware. Additionally, we have an Oracle database on the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers."
"The pricing is very competitive."
"The pricing for PowerEdge servers is reasonable."
"The pricing is fair enough."
"The pricing could always be better."
"In India, the solution is cheap compared to its competitors."
"I don't know the exact amount of money, but when I compared it to Dell or HPE, Lenovo was the best when it comes to price and equipment."
"The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is highly competitive. Many customers prefer this solution because of the price. However, the price could be reduced."
"The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is competitive."
"Other than the standard licensing fees there are no other additional costs. The price of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers could be better, and the availability of the solution could improve. We have been waiting two months for one server."
"It is the cheapest solution we have seen on the market."
"The price of the solution is very expensive when compared to other solution like HP or Dell."
"Your budget determines the scalability."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business110
Midsize Enterprise66
Large Enterprise128
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
I think Dell PowerEdge R-Series can support more storage capacity, which would be great. Most other OEMs are trying to ensure you have a one-stop shop for just one server where you could get a whol...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
My main use case for Dell PowerEdge R-Series is to use it as standalone servers but also as part of some clusters. I have some OpenStack private cloud deployed on them and some Ceph software-define...
How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?
Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...
 

Also Known As

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
SR Series, Lenovo SR Series, ThinkSystem Rack Servers, IBM Rack Servers, ThinkSystem SR Series, Lenovo Rack Servers,
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
immixGroup, Komsomolskaya Pravda, SRG Global, Seekr, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, jKool, Tennis Australia, VEKA, Netpoints, Gamma Powersports
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.