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HPE Hyper Converged vs StarWind Virtual SAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 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

HPE Hyper Converged
Ranking in HCI
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
StarWind Virtual SAN
Ranking in HCI
5th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
193
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the HCI category, the mindshare of HPE Hyper Converged is 3.2%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.0%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Ray Baruwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Advantageous from a sustainability perspective since the networking, storage, and compute are all located within one unit
Hyperconverged is used in an environment where the footprint in the data center is restricted. It is advantageous from a sustainability perspective since the networking, storage, and compute are all located within one unit The most beneficial feature is the life cycle management. I haven't had…
WJHG - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integrations, high availability, and offers a free version
Although I am generally satisfied with VSAN and its performance, there are some areas that could be improved to enhance its effectiveness even further. One area that could benefit from improvement is scalability. While the tool works well in its current configuration, allowing for greater ease and flexibility in adding new nodes to the cluster without complications would be very beneficial, especially in growing environments. Additionally, I would like to see additional features in the next version, such as better support for automated resource management. This could include proactive suggestions for optimizing storage and memory usage, as well as preventive alerts about the health status of the servers. A more intuitive interface or an improved dashboard for monitoring the cluster would also be helpful, as it would facilitate performance tracking and help identify potential issues before they affect services.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product enables me to use any software or database."
"HPE Hyper Converged is stable."
"It is a scalable solution."
"It's a very complete product with residencies to protect data and secure it end-to-end. It includes storage, computing, and networking, offering a fully ten-key solution."
"The most valuable features of this solution are fast deployment, security, and it is easy to upgrade."
"The most valuable feature was its time to delivery."
"The most valuable feature is the in-built backup system. The backup speed is also excellent."
"It is a scalable solution."
"Quick setup, great support, stability is great"
"The most valuable features are high availability and real-time replication between two servers."
"Besides being 80% cheaper than the other alternatives, the simplicity makes reconfiguration and support much easier."
"The ROI is great on this product."
"The StarWind products have enabled our organization to modernize stations where larger and more expensive equipment was not an option."
"In our case, the cost and high availability are the two most important factors which we were looking for in a solution."
"Integration with Microsoft clustering has been perfect, allowing us to leverage our investment in MS server licensing to the fullest."
"StarWind vSAN has a lot of great features and is a perfect solution for mirroring internal disks and flash between servers."
 

Cons

"There are some general issues around component failure and raising technical support. Overall, the stability is rated seven or eight out of ten."
"Providing local technical support and improving the price are areas this service needs to consider improving."
"The price can be improved. We would like to see support for some open source virtualization technology like for example KVM."
"The solution would be better served if it integrated with other solutions better."
"If the solution could further compress the data, it would use less storage."
"Could be more secure and more economical."
"The solution is not very stable."
"Scalability requires using additional nodes."
"Updates seem to be non-existent."
"It would help if the manufacturer provided clearer and more detailed documentation, with explanations of how the application can be installed in various HA configurations."
"Security on the ISCSI protocol could be improved by adding features like OS-type control access, especially for the data center environment."
"I wish the sync after a failure, such as hardware failure or power-related issues, for example, was faster."
"One point for improvement is to increase the performance capabilities of the Windows-based executable as compared to its Linux Controller Virtual Machine (CVM) equivalent."
"The software monitoring should be web-based to be reachable from any VLAN workstation."
"For me, the product could be improved by it being made cheaper."
"I am expecting to see it more user-friendly in the future."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"It is an expensive solution, however. If they could adjust the pricing, that would be helpful."
"It could be cheaper, everything could be cheaper."
"We have a very good return on investment due to data savings through compression and deduplication methods. It simplifies IT management and enhances security, including the end-to-end security of the IT data engine. The product is complete, simple, and provides visibility."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"The solution is expensive - not only the hardware costs but server costs too. And the more you scale, the more expensive it gets."
"The solutions cost us a lot."
"The entire solution is packaged with all licenses and support."
"This is the best priced solution for an SMB."
"StarWind is best price/performance for SMB."
"The license is reusable. We can always rebuild it and apply the license. Then, boom, we get new servers, apply the license, and we're back up and running."
"I think the bang for the buck is much better with StarWind Virtual SAN."
"The support contract is well worth it. The price for it was very reasonable and their team has been very engaged whenever we reach out."
"When we did all the analysis for StarWind, it was approximately 20 percent less than any of the other solutions that we looked at."
"We evaluated other options and this one was the most cost-effective."
"The pricing is fine for the work that it does."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Hyper Converged?
The solution's most valuable features are scalability, easy migration, easy recovery, and flexible backup possibilities.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Hyper Converged?
The pricing is competitive. Initially, I misunderstood and rated it as higher, but on a scale of one to ten where one is cheap, I would rate it as a four.
What needs improvement with HPE Hyper Converged?
I haven't had issues personally. I've heard from other people that maybe there could be some improvements around technical support.
What do you like most about StarWind Virtual SAN?
It is easy to use and can monitor system synchronization and check Storage status. StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) combines flash and disks of the cluster and forms a virtual shared storage “pool” acce...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual SAN?
I have had no setup costs and no challenges with setup and installation for StarWind Virtual SAN. The costs are acceptable and very competitive compared to other hardware-only HCI solutions.
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
There are times when the feedback in the event of an impending issue or an actual failure can be limited. The remediation steps are usually fairly simple to resolve the issue, but the management GU...
 

Also Known As

HPE Hyper Converged 380, HPE Hyper Converged 250, HPE Hyper Converged 250 for Microsoft CPS
StarWind SAN & NAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

North Lindsey College, FireWhat?, HudsonAlpha
Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Hyper Converged vs. StarWind Virtual SAN and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,162 professionals have used our research since 2012.