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Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Dell PowerEdge XR-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 2025

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
7.2
Number of Reviews
268
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (1st), Data Center Networking (2nd), Blade Servers (4th)
Dell PowerEdge XR-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
9th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Rugged Servers (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 25.9%, down from 27.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is 1.6%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series25.9%
Dell PowerEdge XR-Series1.6%
Other72.5%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2776431 - PeerSpot reviewer
Supply Chain and Procurement Specialist at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Relied on consistent support and efficient hardware to streamline engineering test environments
Currently, it is sometimes challenging when a component gets out of fashion or is no longer available at end of life, to quickly get a drop-in replacement. I would appreciate an XE version of the server where we have some drop-in replacements lined up beforehand, and we already know how to validate them. Right now, when this happens, we have about three months to validate the new systems, and that is usually a little short notice for us. I am already happy we get the time we get. I do have something to say about customer service and support. From time to time, we need to get special licenses or extended warranties or other items, especially for end customers. I think that could be streamlined. Right now, there is a human factor in it; there is not a click and buy option. This could save Dell some time to iterate that as well. If we have a technical question, it can take a little time, especially if we are trying to reach the Dutch support line. Usually, we still get redirected to a UK representative, which is acceptable because I speak English, but some of our customers are a little less happy. It would be beneficial if there were more local technical support. All of our questions get answered usually within a day or two, which I consider pretty quick. If it is high priority or critical, it gets answered within a couple of hours.
Igor Tiskov - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Virtualization Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Redfish manageability has supported remote site operations and consistent private cloud deployment
I think Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved in appearance. I would say that the improvement opportunity is probably on the monitoring side, the overall monitoring side. I would love to see closer integration with different vendors. As a company, we are still using a multi-vendor approach and cannot go all-in with one single vendor. What we struggle with is that we cannot afford to have three different monitoring systems, management systems, or lifecycle management systems for different environments. I would love to see in the future how that integrates with other vendors as well. Perhaps not as a primary tool, but at least some features and functions from other vendors.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are that they are very reliable, and Dell's technical service is also optimal."
"It's required for our business. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers benefit our organization as we build satellites and use images from Earth to check the planet's health and constellation for telecommunication purposes."
"It is user friendly and easy to configure."
"The best features of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for me include the iDRAC for remote access to turned-off servers, which is a very good feature as an admin."
"The feature I appreciate most about Dell PowerEdge R-Series is iDRAC, which allows me to connect to the server without having to attach a screen to it."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is a user-friendly solution that provides performance stability."
"We are very satisfied with Dell in terms of servers and service. We are happy with Dell servers. They are aligned with our services. They are robust."
"Dell PowerEdge R-Series supports the growth and operational success of my company in an amazing way, as we had several meetings with Dell representatives who came to our office, understood our forecast, and helped us build infrastructure that would support our goal."
"The storage and the disc performance in terms of IOPS is great."
"I appreciate the management tool, iDRAC, in Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, as it is convenient for administrators to use when managing Dell PowerEdge XR-Series."
"The best features in Dell PowerEdge XR-Series are all-flash storage, which is easy to implement and install, and it was also easy to upgrade."
"Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is a super server, so compared to HP, I see big differences from the technical side."
"What I like the most about Dell PowerEdge R-Series is probably the Redfish manageability, which provides management, remote management, and remote configuration capabilities."
"Stability, good performance, and good tools to manage the system are the best features for me."
"The scalability of the Dell XR2 Rugged Server is good and easy to do."
"Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is better compared to other servers and runs more efficiently, with stability and reliability that have been good so far."
 

Cons

"The product must provide more options to add GPUs to the machines."
"From the licensing model perspective, it might be useful for enterprises to get an overall enterprise license, rather than licensing each server. That is one option because we tend to buy the service with the licenses, but some of our older equipment does not have them."
"My experience with customer service is that it can sometimes be challenging because there are GPUs in that system. When there is an error and the customer support asks if I can remove all kinds of items like network cards and GPUs, I have to do that myself."
"When trying to quote devices and servers for our Mexico City offices directly with Dell instead of through a partner, we encountered some challenges. It took several months to negotiate appropriate pricing, requiring escalation to the director of Dell Mexico and communication with Dell US."
"Where it would take an hour to set up an HPE server, for example, it took almost two working days for the first Dell PowerEdge to get it running."
"It would be nice if they could make the solution cheaper and faster."
"Many things could be improved, and maybe Dell PowerEdge R-Series could help us with that, but that would require development, and it is possible that it could definitely help us."
"Dell can improve or speed up the deployment process with more intuitive dashboards, a more intuitive installing process, and maybe more detailed guides that can help the end user to install and implement their servers and racks."
"The support could work faster, but that is the only small thing that could be better."
"Regarding the weakness of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, I think the main drawback is that it is more expensive than other servers."
"It lacks a modular option to expand to a 16-bay system."
"Service is a specific aspect that could be improved, but it is nothing bad."
"Dell XR2 Rugged Server could improve if there was more customization allowed."
"I think Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved in appearance. I would say that the improvement opportunity is probably on the monitoring side, the overall monitoring side."
"Customization could be improved; more customization options are needed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We do use Dell's OpenManage console. It is easy to use this console for lifecycle management or PowerEdge servers."
"The cost structure associated with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers presents itself as a potential point of contention for budget-conscious consumers, as it could be more strategically positioned to compete within the broader marketplace."
"Dell's solution was cheaper than HP's solution."
"I wouldn't say the solution's pricing is the best, but it's very competitive."
"I personally think the pricing and licensing of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is actually fairly decent, though the way the business runs leads to sticker shock anytime we give them a quote."
"This is an expensive solution."
"The server is a one-time purchase, but the support is on a subscription basis."
"It is very competitive. I have not been too involved in the licensing, but from a hardware perspective, I always find them to be competitive."
"The price of one Dell XR2 Rugged Server is approximately $10,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
15%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business95
Midsize Enterprise59
Large Enterprise112
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

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 do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
I am not the right person to talk about improvements for Dell PowerEdge R-Series because I am not related to the networking aspect; I am related to CAE. At my end, everything looks good for me. In ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?
I am not certain if Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is financially beneficial to use. Recently, I received a quote from Dell, and the price is much cheaper.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?
Regarding the weakness of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, I think the main drawback is that it is more expensive than other servers. The price of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is expensive, and there are much...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?
I usually use Dell PowerEdge XR-Series to build images and build code to image for deployment. I used to build code with Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, and the time it takes depends on the project scope...
 

Also Known As

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
XR2 Rugged Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
DIGISTOR - Secure Data Storage
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. Dell PowerEdge XR-Series and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.