Hyper-V vs VMware Workstation comparison

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46,701 views|38,652 comparisons
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8,531 views|5,556 comparisons
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Sep 7, 2022

We performed a comparison between Hyper-V and VMware Workstation based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions say deployment is straightforward.
  • Features: Users of both products are happy with their stability and scalability.

    Users of Hyper-V like the solution’s ease of use, user friendliness, and the ability to do checkpoints and roll back to the checkpoint. Reviewers mention that its cloud integration could be improved, and they would like to see better disaster recovery capabilities.

    VMware Workstation users report that it is reliable and high performing but its interface could be improved.
  • Pricing: Users of Hyper-V are satisfied with the solution’s pricing. VMware Workstation users say that it is a low-cost solution.
  • Service and Support: Hyper-V users share mixed reviews on the technical support. VMware Workstation users report being satisfied with the level of the support they receive.
  • ROI: Users of both solutions report a positive ROI.

Comparison Results: The two solutions are very comparable and receive similar ratings in most categories. However, VMware Workstation users are more satisfied with the technical support they receive than are Hyper-V users.

To learn more, read our detailed Server Virtualization Software Report (Updated: September 2023).
735,226 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The solution is stable and the cost is reasonable.""There are some products that you can mount over Hyper-V that provide the features that, in today's Hyper-V, are not present.""The implementation process is simple.""It is an affordable platform.""The most valuable feature of the solution is the storage virtualization.""Hyper-V's technical support is good - they're responsive and sort cases based on criticality and category, so they get dealt with quickly and by the correct team.""I like that Hyper-V comes for free with Windows Server. You don't need to buy the license, and you only have to pay for the management aspect in System Center.""The solution is easy to configure."

More Hyper-V Pros →

"The most valuable features of the VMware Workstation solutions are the ESXi and vCenter.""The features are good.""The simplicity of the deployment and the implementation, and the footprint for the hardware are some of the solution's valuable features.""The most valuable feature of the VMware Workstation is the ease to create a development environment. When you have different ongoing developments, you often need to create a lot of different development environments. With this workstation solution, you can have a development environment for all the things you develop.""Technical support is very good.""It's stable.""The solution's customer service is good.""Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice."

More VMware Workstation Pros →

Cons
"Hyper-V requires improvement with manageability.""They should include a few more hardware components for integration with servers.""Failure capabilities are insufficient for disaster recovery.""The management of Hyper-V could improve, there is a lot to improve in that area.""Hyper-V's management platform falls short in terms of scalability, especially when handling multiple Hyper-V servers. VMware has a central console to pull in all your VM servers, so you can easily manage them all through one console. You can manage servers in Hyper-V's admin centers, but it's not as scalable. It's doable with a couple of Hyper-V servers, but it becomes harder to manage when you get over two or three Hyper-V servers.""I have found it difficult to manage more than one virtual machine.""The solution should improve its native integration with other public cloud solutions.""I'd like to see better predictive diagnostics, so I know what's going on with the machines."

More Hyper-V Cons →

"Installing VMware Workstation isn't so easy. It's highly complex compared to Windows. I rate it four out of 10 for ease of installation. Setting up a remote desktop only takes a minute or so, but the Workstation itself takes some time.""The support can be improved.""Its price could be better.""The product could provide the features available in Microsoft Hyper-V.""It would be better if software updates occur automatically.""My experience with Workstation is limited, so I don't know all the functionalities of this tool. Maybe Workstation could add some more compatibility with other vendors.""I would want to see features included that make deployment easier.""The GUI interface could be improved."

More VMware Workstation Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I think I'm okay with the cost. There are no monthly or yearly costs or additional costs."
  • "I recommend Hyper-V to customers with budget constraints."
  • "The licensing costs depend on the environment you have. If you have an environment of less than 10 or 30 VMs, It's nice to have a Hyper-V, but if you have more than 100 or 200, I would recommend using VCenter, VMware virtualization, especially for an on-premise solution."
  • "Hyper-V is more cost-effective for the size of our business One of the Hyper-V's biggest advantages over VMware is the cost. We are a small business, so Hyper-V allowed us to virtualize everything we need without breaking the bank."
  • "Licensing needs to be a lot easier to manage with Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware is easier."
  • "Hyper-V is free when you buy Windows Server. You only have to pay for engaging in the management aspect in System Center."
  • "There is a license to use this solution and it is an annual purchase."
  • "Hyper-V is free-of-charge."
  • More Hyper-V Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
  • "The licensing costs are cheap. I pay approximately $100 per year."
  • "The cost differs depending on the customer's requirement."
  • "VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
  • "With a VDI solution, there is always extra cost running a VDI solution but it's not for cost purposes anymore. In the beginning, it was to save money on hardware but at the moment it's other aspects that are more important why you should use a VDI solution."
  • "Licensing fees are paid on an annual basis."
  • "The price of the solution per workstation is approximately 200 Francs annually. We pay a total of 800 francs. Everything is included in the price such as the support."
  • "You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
  • More VMware Workstation Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: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… more »
    Top Answer: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… more »
    Top Answer:The solution is highly scalable.
    Top Answer:VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will… more »
    Top Answer:VMware Workstation has tons of third-party support, the largest partner ecosystem. VMware works with a ton of different vendors. They have plugins for almost everything. Other hypervisors lack the… more »
    Top Answer:It would be great if VMware Workstation had more networking options and compatibility, that would be great. I would like to deploy virtual switches and play around with networking a bit more… more »
    Ranking
    Views
    46,701
    Comparisons
    38,652
    Reviews
    35
    Average Words per Review
    415
    Rating
    7.7
    Views
    8,531
    Comparisons
    5,556
    Reviews
    16
    Average Words per Review
    473
    Rating
    8.8
    Comparisons
    Learn More
    Overview

    Hyper-V is a hardware virtualization tool that allows users to create virtual computer environments with multiple operating systems on a single physical server. Each virtual machine has computer parts, such as memory, processor, storage, and networking, and acts like a standard computer - running its own operating system and software programs. Each component of the virtual machine can be configured to meet your specific requirements.

    Hyper-V creates a cost-effective, stable, and productive server virtualization environment by running multiple operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, and more, in parallel on one machine or server. Each virtual machine runs in its own isolated space, which means you can run many virtual machines simultaneously but independently of each other. This helps prevent problems such as a crash affecting the other workloads and enables different users to separately access various systems.

    Benefits of Hyper-V

    • Simplify application testing: With Hyper-V you can easily add and remove operating systems from your virtual machines, enabling you to run and test your applications on each of them all from one single computer.

    • Minimize resource usage and scalability: Virtual machines are easier to manage than physical hardware and less expensive. You can also maximize your server use by allocating its resources more efficiently than you can with physical hardware alone.

    Hyper-V key features:.

    • Replication and migration: Hyper-V can replicate virtual machines for backups onto different sites. Hyper-V also provides a migration tool for moving a virtual machine from one Hyper-V host to another without causing any downtime.

    • Remote connection: Hyper-V’s remote connectivity tool allows administrators to remotely access a virtual machine.

    • Security: Hyper-V keeps virtual machines secure from malware attacks, unauthorized access, and data breaching attempts.

     Reviews from Real Users

    Hyper-V stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Several major ones are its flexibility, its replication capabilities, and the fact that its virtual machines utilize a small amount of resources..

    Liam L., the owner of a tech services company, writes, “It is actually very low on resources. It doesn't use many resources. It is also very easy to tailor. You can change things like the amount of memory and storage on the fly. It is very stable and reliable. I like its replication feature, which is very good. It is also very easy to move the virtual machines across push servers without any difficulty. Its performance is also very good. Now with this pandemic, a lot of workers are working from home. A lot of workers have been using laptops as their desktop computers, and they would remote into a virtual PC. There is no difficulty, and they can't tell the difference between this and the real one. It is much easier to manage.”

    Kevin E. an IT director at Homeland Technology Group, LLC, notes, “We've probably seen a 50 percent speed increase on our SQL server. Hyper-V has also significantly reduced our downtimes with faster boot-up and reboot. If we have to reboot a server, there is maybe two or three minutes of downtime. When we were on a bare-metal server, it could be five to ten minutes due to the total boot time.”

    VMware Workstation is part of a suite of robust Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) tools or Desktop Hypervisors that allows users to run Kubernetes clusters, containers, and Virtual Machines (VMs). Users have the option to choose between VMware Workstation Pro or VMware Workstation Player to ensure that they get the most out of their VMware Workstation experience.

    Workstation Player is best used as a command line or single graphical operation. It works very well for running different operating systems using a secure cloistered sandbox on a general consumer PC. Workstation Player is an industry favorite for use in an educational environment to better expand the knowledge concerning computer systems and global information technology. Workstation Pro is created for astute IT developers and professionals. The solution provides an intuitive next-generation interface and gives users the ability to seamlessly run several virtual machines at the same time. Users can easily create clones, configure virtual networks, connect to vSphere, and more, using a crisp, visually enhanced dashboard that provides full transparency to show multiple VMs and more.

    VMware Workstation solutions rely on components in next-generation 64-bit x86 CPUs to develop robust, secure VMs that are able to utilize many different operating systems and all of their applications. VMware Workstation’s modern technology intuitively links the physical hardware devices to the virtual machine's virtual resources enabling each VM to have its own I/O devices, memory, disks, and CPU in addition to the equivalent of a standard x86 actual machine. It easily installs onto the host operating system and is able to offer comprehensive hardware support by utilizing the device support from the original host.

    VMware Workstation Benefits

    VMware Workstation has many desirable benefits. Some of those benefits include:


    • Improved overall IT processes.
    • Better, more efficient deployment outcomes.
    • Enhanced application performance.
    • Better server availability.
    • Less physical hardware and additional devices needed.
    • Cost-effective.
    • Decreased outages or downtime.
    • Faster provisioning of applications and resources.
    • Reduced power consumption.
    • Reduced Environmental Impact.



    Reviews from Real Users

    Walter G., Owner at Secacon Gygli Engineering LLC says, “The most valuable feature of the VMware Workstation is the ease of creating a development environment. When you have different ongoing developments, you often need to create a lot of different development environments. With this workstation solution, you can have a development environment for all the things you develop.” 

    Toni L., CEO at Virtual Consultants Sverige AB says, “The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support; you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments, which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution.” 


    “Having a user-friendly interfaceis important for me. I'm not a coder, even though I do a little bit of programming. Also, I don't use the command-line interface when I can avoid it. When I do have to use it, I look up what I'm supposed to type and then type it.” A PeerSpot user who is a Chief Technical Officer at a construction company.

    are Workstation is part of a suite of robust Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) tools or Desktop Hypervisors that allows users to run Kubernetes clusters, containers, and Virtual Machines (VMs). Users have the option to choose between VMware Workstation Pro or VMware Workstation Player to ensure they get the most out of their VMware Workstation experience.

    Workstation Player is best used as a command line or single graphical operation. It works very well for running different operating systems using a secure cloistered sandbox on a general consumer PC. Workstation Player is an industry favorite for use in an educational environment to better expand the knowledge concerning computer systems and global information technology. Workstation Pro is created for astute IT developers and professionals. The solution provides an intuitive next generation interface and gives users the ability to run seamlessly several virtual machines at the same time. Users can easily create clones, configure virtual networks, connect to vSphere, and more using a crisp, visually enhanced dashboard that provides full transparency to show multiple VMs and more.

    VMware Workstation solutions rely on components in next-generation 64-bit x86 CPUs to develop robust, secure VMs that are able to utilize many different operating systems and all of their applications. Vmware Workstation’s modern technology intuitively links the physical hardware devices to the virtual machine's virtual resources enabling each VM to have its own I/O devices, memory, disks, and CPU in addition to the equivalent to a standard x86 actual machine.VMware easily installs onto the host operating system and is able to offer comprehensive hardware support by utilizing the device support from the original host.

    VMware Workstation Benefits

    Vmware Workstation has many desirable benefits. Some of those benefits include:


    • Improved overall IT processes.
    • Better, more efficient deployment outcomes.
    • Enhanced application performance.
    • Better server availability.
    • Less physical hardware and additional devices needed.
    • Cost-effective.
    • Decreased outages or downtime.
    • Faster provisioning of applications and resources.
    • Reduced power consumption.
    • Reduced Environmental Impact.



    Reviews from Real Users

    “The most valuable feature of the VMware Workstation is the ease of creating a development environment. When you have different ongoing developments, you often need to create a lot of different development environments. With this workstation solution, you can have a development environment for all the things you develop.” Walter G., Owner at Secacon Gygli Engineering LLC

    “The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support; you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments, which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution.” Toni L., CEO at Virtual Consultants Sverige AB

    A Chief Technical Officer at a construction company says,“Having a user-friendly interfaceis important for me. I'm not a coder, even though I do a little bit of programming. Also, I don't use the command-line interface when I can avoid it. When I do have to use it, I look up what I'm supposed to type and then type it.” 

    Offer
    Learn more about Hyper-V
    Learn more about VMware Workstation
    Sample Customers
    Large customer base from all industries, all over the world. Two major Hyper-V customers are Telefonica and EmpireCLS.
    Akademiska Hus
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Outsourcing Company9%
    Energy/Utilities Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization29%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Government7%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company18%
    University12%
    Manufacturing Company12%
    Construction Company12%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise26%
    Large Enterprise27%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise37%
    Large Enterprise43%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business43%
    Midsize Enterprise27%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise58%
    Buyer's Guide
    Server Virtualization Software
    September 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Proxmox, VMware, Microsoft and others in Server Virtualization Software. Updated: September 2023.
    735,226 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Hyper-V is ranked 3rd in Server Virtualization Software with 38 reviews while VMware Workstation is ranked 3rd in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 20 reviews. Hyper-V is rated 7.6, while VMware Workstation is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Hyper-V writes "It's a low-cost solution that enabled us to shrink everything down into a single server ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of VMware Workstation writes "Easy to use, powerful virtualization capabilities, and good performance". Hyper-V is most compared with VMware vSphere, Proxmox VE, Oracle VM VirtualBox, KVM and Citrix Hypervisor, whereas VMware Workstation is most compared with VMware vSphere, KVM, Oracle VM VirtualBox, Proxmox VE and VMware Fusion.

    We monitor all Server Virtualization Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.