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Hyper-V vs VMware vSphere Foundation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

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 save costs with Hyper-V by reducing physical server needs and IT expenses, compared to VMware.
Sentiment score
5.3
VMware vSphere Foundation improves scalability, recoverability, and cost management through server consolidation and infrastructure optimization for hybrid architectures.
You need only one physical server that can host several virtualized servers within the same physical server instead of having multiple physical servers.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
It saves us money compared to VMware because we still need to pay Microsoft licenses, but in addition to that we need to pay for VMware for virtualization.
IT Professional at NIPOS
In an environment where the infrastructure has to be up for monitoring and controlling physical infrastructure like water plants, it has absolutely returned on its investment.
OT Technologist at a energy/utilities company with 201-500 employees
There is flexibility and interoperability with multi-mode architectures that accommodate both on-prem and cloud realities.
CIO and Chief Digital Officer at Reliance Industries Ltd
Server consolidation is one return on investment where we can use one server for multiple workloads.
Enterprise Virtualization Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Hyper-V support receives mixed feedback; generally positive but varies due to factors like regional availability and direct contact challenges.
Sentiment score
5.9
VMware vSphere Foundation's customer service is mixed, praised for availability and support but critiqued on costs and response times.
Technical support from Microsoft is excellent, rated ten out of ten.
Vice President Hybrid Cloud Operations at Accenture
The technical support for Hyper-V is excellent
Head it at Ace Designers Limited
The technical support is very good
Manager of Systems at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology
There is nonstop support available around the world, which allows issues to be resolved continuously without interruption, regardless of whether the problem occurs in the USA, India, or another location.
Product Manager at MSiT Technology
Now, with Broadcom's management, I would rate it a three out of ten.
Enterprise Virtualization Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Most of the time, VMware operates smoothly without requiring support.
Senior System Administrator at Interactive Group
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.4
Hyper-V is highly scalable, enabling effective growth across environments, with some challenges but generally favorable user perception.
Sentiment score
7.7
VMware vSphere Foundation is scalable, supports third-party integration, but users note potential limitations in specific configurations.
There is a redundancy cost for high availability because data are stored mirroring on two nodes.
IT Professional at NIPOS
Hyper V can support over two hundred virtual processors and around 12 TB of memory.
Vice President Hybrid Cloud Operations at Accenture
The scalability of Hyper-V is great; I would rate it nine out of ten.
Head it at Ace Designers Limited
The return on investment is high because we can maximize the use of one server for multiple workloads.
Enterprise Virtualization Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
It's straightforward to procure additional licenses, install them on the host and add them to the same cluster.
Technology Solution Consultant at DWP Technologies
You can simply add more hosts to your VMware stack seamlessly, scaling up vertically or horizontally.
Senior System Administrator at Interactive Group
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Users praise Hyper-V for stability, despite occasional backup and performance issues, with Windows updates impacting stability more than VMware.
Sentiment score
7.5
VMware vSphere Foundation is reliable, minimally managed, requires updates, effectively monitors performance, and is highly praised for stability.
Automation is unavailable, and reporting is difficult.
Software Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Frequent Windows updates can impact stability compared to VMware ESXi.
Vice President Hybrid Cloud Operations at Accenture
We have stable performance, but we see some glitches with some snapshots on Linux boxes in Linux virtual machines.
IT Professional at NIPOS
Stability is optimal.
Enterprise Virtualization Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Frequent updates are required due to constant security challenges and attacks.
Solutions Manager at ICSI
It is a standard tool and is considered very stable.
Quality Engineer at KML
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek Hyper-V improvements in cloning, virtualization, cost, security, RAM, interface, compatibility, networking, and cross-platform management.
VMware vSphere faces issues with access, pricing, language support, and multi-cloud management following Broadcom's merger, requiring better solutions.
Hyper-V should ensure the features of VMware are covered within its platform.
Head it at Ace Designers Limited
Hyper-V could be improved by implementing the same set of features that other tools provide.
Software Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
In future updates, I would like to see improvements in reporting and a resolution to some security weaknesses.
Technical Manager at OAK integrated System Pvt Ltd
I highly recommend that continuous support for perpetual licenses be provided.
Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at Safaricom Ethiopia plc
VMware needs to improve cost efficiency, especially in Pakistan, as customers often seek more affordable solutions.
Technology Solution Consultant at DWP Technologies
Recently, VMware shifted its licensing models, and they should streamline it.
Senior System Administrator at Interactive Group
 

Setup Cost

Hyper-V is free with Windows Server, but additional management tools and scale affect overall cost-effectiveness compared to competitors.
VMware vSphere costs, especially post-merger, are high, leading organizations to consider open-source alternatives for cost-effectiveness.
Hyper-V is completely free and requires no licensing fee.
Software Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Hyper-V's licensing costs are lower compared to VMware, making it cost-effective for smaller workloads.
Vice President Hybrid Cloud Operations at Accenture
Until 2019, Hyper-V was a cost-effective solution because it was available as a free product.
Manager of Systems at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology
It's expensive, however, the stability it offers is optimal.
Enterprise Virtualization Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
In Brazil, we are increasingly using open-source alternatives like Proxmox due to their lower prices in comparison.
Product Manager at MSiT Technology
During one project, the price doubled or even tripled before implementation, causing issues with clients.
Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at Safaricom Ethiopia plc
 

Valuable Features

Hyper-V offers cost-effective virtualization with dynamic memory, live migration, PowerShell automation, and seamless Windows integration for enterprises.
VMware vSphere Foundation provides scalable virtualization, efficient management, robust security, and facilitates seamless cloud integration with high availability.
It is completely free, which is a significant advantage.
Software Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I have seen return on investment with Hyper-V because it is both time-saving and cost-effective.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
We switched to Hyper-V because it was lower cost than paying for high availability in VMware.
IT Professional at NIPOS
vSphere Foundation is valuable due to its scalability, reliability, and ease of management.
Technology Solution Consultant at DWP Technologies
VMware provides the tools needed to move environments between private and public clouds seamlessly.
Product Manager at MSiT Technology
The virtual stack of vCenter, its distributed resources system, high availability engines, and the ability to move VM workloads from one host to another are outstanding.
Senior System Administrator at Interactive Group
 

Categories and Ranking

Hyper-V
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
145
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware vSphere Foundation
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of Hyper-V is 17.2%, up from 14.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vSphere Foundation is 0.6%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Hyper-V17.2%
VMware vSphere Foundation0.6%
Other82.2%
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

Tomas Basus - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Professional at NIPOS
Virtualization has reduced licensing costs and improved integration but still needs better performance insight
Integrations bring the biggest benefit to us. We use half of our virtual machines that are Microsoft, so it works better hosted in Hyper-V compared to VMware. Clustering and failover capabilities in the product help with our availability. It helped because we switched to Hyper-V because it was lower cost than paying for high availability in VMware. We need Microsoft licenses for virtual machines, so it costs less than buying two solutions for that. We have data center editions, so it did not cost us additional money compared to paying for high availability from VMware. I think it helped a little, but not so different compared to VMware regarding security and bandwidth optimization.
RB
CIO and Chief Digital Officer at Reliance Industries Ltd
Hybrid cloud integration provides seamless management while multiple cloud optimization is needed
I have concerns regarding VMware's strategy, particularly about how it manages multiple cloud environments since clients and my company need to navigate multiple clouds. The ability to manage all these environments through a single management interface has become increasingly important. Additionally, companies often arbitrage between different cloud environments, which means we need to optimize workloads based on varying computational abilities and cost points—something I haven't seen fully addressed in your product yet, but which I believe will be necessary. When discussing improvements for VMware vSphere Foundation, many people bring up cost as an issue, but I don't consider that to be the main concern. A key aspect to consider is that we often lack a comprehensive understanding of all the moving parts related to how the product evolves. The conversation we've had illustrates that we may not fully recognize or appreciate all the new features and updates being rolled out.
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Comparison Review

it_user234735 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology Consultant, ASEAN at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
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
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
University
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business70
Midsize Enterprise37
Large Enterprise46
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

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 virtualize Server or Client OS as it is a feature on Windows Server since 2008 a...
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 features as with the more well-known products. Proxmox VE is very easy to deploy - it...
What do you like most about Hyper-V?
The initial setup is not difficult at all. It is very easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware vSphere Foundation?
I don't know the exact pricing for the VMware vSphere Foundation, but I think the last license model to upgrade is three or four times more expensive.
What needs improvement with VMware vSphere Foundation?
It is not the best because something is bothering me and could be enhanced. I want to discuss disadvantages because I have covered some positive things. There are potential areas that could be better.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Large customer base from all industries, all over the world. Two major Hyper-V customers are Telefonica and EmpireCLS.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Hyper-V vs. VMware vSphere Foundation and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.