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Hyper-V vs Proxmox VE vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Organizations find Hyper-V cost-effective, citing savings on hardware, electricity, and maintenance, with quick value realization and efficiency.
Sentiment score
7.5
Proxmox VE offers cost savings, enhanced server capabilities, and improved efficiency, with benefits outweighing its learning curve challenges.
Sentiment score
1.0
VMware Workstation enhances cost savings, enabling efficient application testing and integration, resulting in improved job performance and satisfaction.
You need only one physical server that can host several virtualized servers within the same physical server instead of having multiple physical servers.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Hyper-V customer service receives mixed reviews, with satisfactory support often relying on Microsoft documentation and online resources.
Sentiment score
7.4
Proxmox VE users often utilize community resources and documentation over paid support, though improved direct communication is desired.
Sentiment score
2.9
VMware Workstation's customer service is mixed, with varying responsiveness and reliance on community resources after HP acquisition.
Technical support from Microsoft is excellent, rated ten out of ten.
The technical support for Hyper-V is excellent
The technical support is very good
On a scale of one to 10, I would rate their support or customer service a two or three since they never did anything.
The documents provided for Workstation were not hard to understand.
It's a very special way of working with VMware Workstation.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
Hyper-V scalability depends on licensing and infrastructure, with mixed reviews but praised for new features and resource allocation.
Sentiment score
7.2
Proxmox VE is praised for its scalability, ease of resource addition, and seamless migrations, though vertical scaling could improve.
Sentiment score
6.7
VMware Workstation is versatile, supporting multiple VMs, though opinions vary on scalability for larger operations and single installations.
Hyper V can support over two hundred virtual processors and around 12 TB of memory.
The scalability of Hyper-V is great; I would rate it nine out of ten.
VMware Workstation is scalable enough for larger companies, though it requires some skills.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Hyper-V is stable with dependable performance, though updates and I/O tasks can cause occasional instability and resource issues.
Sentiment score
8.1
Proxmox VE is highly stable and reliable, performing well on older hardware with minimal performance issues.
Sentiment score
7.8
VMware Workstation is highly reliable, with improved stability post-v6, though minor virtual network issues may occur in specific scenarios.
Automation is unavailable, and reporting is difficult.
Frequent Windows updates can impact stability compared to VMware ESXi.
The problem we are facing with stability is that the network adapter causes crashes of the VM when we're using it for developing purposes.
 

Room For Improvement

Hyper-V needs better user management, disaster recovery, interfaces, security, automation, cloud integration, and scalability for improved user experience.
Proxmox VE faces challenges with performance, interface complexity, support, and lacks effective monitoring, documentation, and scalability features.
VMware Workstation needs performance, usability, and cost improvements, enhanced stability, better documentation, and streamlined integration and scalability.
Hyper-V should ensure the features of VMware are covered within its platform.
Hyper-V could be improved by implementing the same set of features that other tools provide.
In future updates, I would like to see improvements in reporting and a resolution to some security weaknesses.
Eventually, we had to get some licenses with Broadcom, and all the costs went up dramatically.
We faced challenges with backup due to limitations in the free version, requiring us to switch to a paid version.
The problem we are facing with stability is that the network adapter causes crashes of the VM when we're using it for developing purposes.
 

Setup Cost

Hyper-V is cost-effective, especially for small enterprises, but additional costs can arise with management tools and licenses.
Proxmox VE is an open-source, cost-effective virtualization solution with optional support, valued for its affordability against competitors.
VMware Workstation is pricey but offers integration benefits with cost-saving opportunities through sales and varies by user needs.
Hyper-V is completely free and requires no licensing fee.
Hyper-V's licensing costs are lower compared to VMware, making it cost-effective for smaller workloads.
Until 2019, Hyper-V was a cost-effective solution because it was available as a free product.
 

Valuable Features

Hyper-V provides cost-effective virtualization with dynamic memory, live migration, seamless Azure integration, and an intuitive management interface.
Proxmox VE provides a user-friendly, scalable, and affordable virtualization solution with strong community support and feature-rich environment.
VMware Workstation offers user-friendly virtualization, multi-OS operation, and superior testing flexibility, outperforming alternatives like Oracle VirtualBox.
It is completely free, which is a significant advantage.
I have seen return on investment with Hyper-V because it is both time-saving and cost-effective.
It offers the stability needed for non-enterprise data centers and has improved over time.
VMware Workstation works correctly and has more features compared to Oracle VirtualBox.
VMware will just create a new machine immediately if we have a problem.
Simply being able to run several Windows PCs with different development environments has had the largest impact on our operational efficiency.
 

Mindshare comparison

Server Virtualization Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Hyper-V15.2%
VMware vSphere16.8%
Proxmox VE16.1%
Other51.9%
Server Virtualization Software
Server Virtualization Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Proxmox VE16.1%
VMware vSphere16.8%
Hyper-V15.2%
Other51.89999999999999%
Server Virtualization Software
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware Workstation14.5%
VMware Fusion Pro17.4%
Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service)13.7%
Other54.400000000000006%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Ananth Narayana Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
Cost-effective and good for small workloads while addressing update-driven challenges is needed
I use Azure Monitor and other monitoring solutions to support clients in Accenture's managed services. We support multiple environments, primarily on cloud platforms like Azure and AWS, and also on-premises environments with operating systems like Windows, Linux, and Solaris, among others…
Juan Barandiaran - PeerSpot reviewer
Effortless management with robust support enhances performance and cost savings
My primary use case for Proxmox VE focuses on replacing VMware solutions and migrating to a Centric Solution for medium-sized companies. This product serves as a hypervisor in environments where performance is crucial Proxmox VE has provided performance improvements, particularly with its…
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
VMware Workstation makes it easy to manage all the resources that we are handling. VMware Workstation has reduced our infrastructure cost. If someone wants machines, I can create them easily using the solution. VMware Workstation is easier to manage than other workstations like Oracle Workstation. VMware Workstation is an easy-to-manage solution, and its support is really good compared to other market players. Overall, I rate VMware Workstation an eight out of ten.
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Comparison Review

it_user234735 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 10, 2015
Hyper-V 2012 R2 vs. VMware vSphere 5.5
I was won with Hyper-V 2012R2 recently and the table below based on customer RFP (edited). This articles all about technical, there is not related with TCO/ROI, licensing cost, “political”, etc. Another to noted is the Windows Server 2012 licenses is based on 2 socket CPU, meanwhile…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business68
Midsize Enterprise37
Large Enterprise46
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

How does KVM compare with Hyper-V?
KVM is better. But let's just look at the software instead of judging. Hyper-V was a free solution from Microsoft to ...
How does Proxmox VE compare with Hyper-V?
One of the best things about Proxmox VE is that it is open-source and very inexpensive. You get all of the same featu...
What do you like most about Hyper-V?
The initial setup is not difficult at all. It is very easy.
Proxmox vs ESXi/vSphere: What is your experience?
For me the biggest impact is the cost of licensing in the case of VMware despite its overall intuitiveness and ease o...
Proxmox VE or KVM?
I use Proxmox VE and have been very happy with it. In my opinion, it is a complete and stable solution with excellent...
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM ...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Large customer base from all industries, all over the world. Two major Hyper-V customers are Telefonica and EmpireCLS.
Municipality of Trento, SwitchMIA, inDenova, Valmeita City Council, Alpha IT AS, Grupo Inversor Veracruzano S.A.P.I. de C.V. (GRIVER), Laut und Schoen, IT-Services - Hamburg e.K., KMI Learning, Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd., Serwise AG
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