Dell SC Series vs VAST Data comparison

Dell Technologies and VAST Data are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Dell Technologies is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.8, while VAST Data is ranked #30. Dell Technologies holds a 1.2% mindshare in AFS, compared to VAST Data’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of VAST Data users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Dell SC Series and VAST Data are prominent choices in the storage market. VAST Data seems to have the upper hand due to its high performance and advanced storage capabilities.

Features: Dell SC Series is known for its scalable architecture, comprehensive data management, and positive feedback about user experience. VAST Data is noted for high performance, advanced storage capabilities, and innovative features that many users find advantageous.

Room for Improvement: Dell SC Series users indicate areas for improvement such as better integration with third-party tools, enhancements in system reliability, and improved support. VAST Data users suggest improvements in documentation, support for additional protocols, and better user guidance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell SC Series is recognized for straightforward deployment processes, though customer service experiences vary. VAST Data is praised for efficient deployment and consistent customer support, providing a slight advantage in service quality.

Pricing and ROI: Dell SC Series offers competitive pricing but is perceived to provide only moderate ROI. VAST Data, while more expensive, delivers superior ROI due to its advanced performance, making it worth the additional cost.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data

February 2026

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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

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell SC Series is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VAST Data is 2.7%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell SC Series	1.2%
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	1.5%
VAST Data	2.7%
Other	94.6%

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

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RafaelGamaluis

Architect Engineer, IT INFRASTRUCTURES Project Manager at Vilavi

User interface offers clarity and detailed information while technical support consistently delivers

The best features of Dell SC Series are stability and replication. The replication solution is excellent, and they have a solution named Live Migration. It is a robust platform. The interface and the GUI (graphical user interface) for administrating the Compellent are exceptional, with abundant information that is very clear. The management capabilities are excellent, and the stability of our storage hardware is remarkable.

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Alan Powers

HPC CTO at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Stability-wise, a device that has been up and running for years

The failover capability and resiliency are some of the solution's valuable features. The big thing is resilience because it has richer coding in it, so multiple devices can't fail. Also, one can still access a number of CBoxes that can allow one to access their file system. Once a device fails, it fails the transparency of the end-user, and it just starts using another resource. The encryption capability, the snapshots, along with a whole bunch of features make the tool valuable. VAST Data keeps adding more and more features all the time.

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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 feature of this solution is its ease of use."

"On a scale of one to ten, I rate Pure FlashArray as ten."

"The tool's valuable features are speed, security, data compression, and reliability. Its data compression feature is the best that we have ever seen. It helps us to save money and resources."

"The most valuable features of Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its superior performance compared to other flash tiers, as well as its ease of use, with an intuitive user interface that is simple to deploy and use."

"One of the best features is the support, which is excellent."

"The standout features for us in Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its robust DDoS protection, seamless transparent failover, and failback capabilities ensuring high availability."

"We're able to get higher-density workloads on the same infrastructure, and we have a smaller physical footprint. The performance is excellent – during our test the bottlenecks are never on the X array, it just keeps picking up the pace to match what you need. The real-time visibility is a differentiator in my opinion."

"I use the tool for Oracle databases, Oracle virtual machines, and Oracle Linux databases. I'm on the storage side, not a database administrator."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"The most valuable features are the with back-end dedupe, and the thin nodes. For a 20TB or 60TB, we're using almost a one-to-two ratio."

"The Dell support is helpful and the response is quick. The agents' knowledge is very good."

"The solution has a wide variety of valuable features. The data progression works well. We use the snapshot functionality quite a bit and really like it."

"Dell SC Series offers a lot of performance, being one of the best performing storages Dell ever made."

"I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits my customers. It's highly advantageous due to its affordability. The operational aspect is also noteworthy. Additionally, its availability and performance are commendable. The speaker are also equally powerful."

"In terms of stability, it's good enough. It's okay."

"We see very low latency with very high IOPS for mixed workloads."

"It was very easy to install, maintain, and provides excellent manageability."

More Dell SC Series pros

"This has been one of the most reliable storage systems that I have ever used."

"The solution is useful for machine learning and scientific applications, including computer simulations."

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the pricing of the product."

"Many options to check performance, like read, writes, random writes, and random reads, are missing in Pure FlashArray X NVMe."

"We would like to see VNC integration or be able to use Pure Storage with VNC."

"The software layer has to improve."

"There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class features."

"We would like to see more visibility into garbage collection and CPU performance in the GUI."

"It is on the expensive side."

"Every time I think of something that needs to improve, they're one step ahead, which I love. The only area I wish to see improve, I believe is coming, is in the FlashBlade product. Blade implementation fell short on a few of the services."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"The ease of use could be improved. It took me a while to learn it."

"I would like to improve the processing ability."

"An issue we had was that the controller went down during an upgrade because of their upgrading the code. One side of the switch was down."

"The lack of reporting would be the main issue."

"We had times that we needed a file service solution. We've used FluidFS, but it's a solution that is being transitioned out."

"The tool's pricing is high and not suitable for medium companies."

"While the price is competitive, in the next release it would be better if they could reduce the fees."

"The lower model, the 3000, should have duplication. It doesn't right now. It's only from 5000 that this is offered, but it depends on the performance. It could be they don't offer it on lower models because the duplication is too much of a burden to the performance."

More Dell SC Series cons

"The write performance could be improved because it is less than half of the read performance."

"The read/write ratio is an area in the solution with some flaws and needs improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is an investment that we've budgeted for. While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see it as a market leader with benefits. We don't regret purchasing it."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."

"The tool's pricing is cheap; I rate it a six to seven out of ten. Most of our sales are not subscription-based. We sell the hardware, and customers keep using it. They only renew the service part annually. The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there."

"Our licensing fees are $500,000+ USD."

"Its price could be better. It is not too expensive, but it is the high-end cost. It is kind of a Rolls-Royce. You pay a lot, but you get a lot out of it. So, the price pressure on the way down would be great, but at the end of the day, if you need to do the work, you just pay for it."

"We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"As far as the licensing costs, everything is included in the license."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is reasonable, but it is expensive."

"Pricing depends on varying life cycles."

"The pricing of this solution is competitive."

"We have reviewed many platforms over the years. It is probably the best solution for its value."

"We were able to afford two tiers of flash storage at a price where the competition was giving us one tier or just a handful of discs."

"It's absolutely affordable. Again, not having to do a forklift upgrade like some of the others have had to do in the past, it's very affordable for our customers and they continue to buy."

"It's a very affordable solution."

"This solution could be better priced in comparison with other vendors."

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"We acquired VAST Data as a one-time, capital purchase."

"Price-wise, VAST Data is not the cheapest, not the most expensive one."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

University

Computer Software Company

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	20

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

The price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell SC Series?

In our case, we received favorable pricing with Dell because of our strong partnership. While I acknowledge that Dell...

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What needs improvement with Dell SC Series?

For us, it is a great product. The deduplication and compression could potentially be improved, though they are alrea...

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What is your primary use case for Dell SC Series?

We use Dell SC Series in a VMware environment.

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Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 15% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 10% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Nimble Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 3% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Dell SC Series

Compared 16% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

HPE 3PAR StoreServ vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

Huawei OceanStor V3 Storage System vs Dell SC Series

Compared 4% of the time

More Dell SC Series Competitors

Pure Storage FlashArray vs VAST Data

Compared 9% of the time

NetApp AFF vs VAST Data

Compared 8% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs VAST Data

Compared 7% of the time

MinIO vs VAST Data

Compared 7% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs VAST Data

Compared 7% of the time

More VAST Data Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

February 2026

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

February 2026

Download Dell SC Series product report

Buyer's Guide

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

February 2026

Download VAST Data product report

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

SC Series Storage, Compellent

No data available

Overview

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Pure Storage

Dell EMC SC Series arrays provide a unified platform for the ultimate in performance, adaptability and machine-driven efficiency. SC Series software delivers modern features that help you meet aggressive workload demands using the fewest drives necessary. With an open, future-ready design, SC Series storage integrates seamlessly with applications and infrastructure, enabling you to scale on a single platform and add capabilities without forklift upgrades.

Dell Technologies

Innovation to break decades of data storage trade-offs.

VAST Data

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric

Norwest Venture Partners, General Dynamics Information Technology, Ginkgo Bioworks

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data

February 2026

Free Report: Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell SC Series vs. VAST Data and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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