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Hyper-V vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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

Hyper-V
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
Server Virtualization Software (3rd)
VMware Workstation
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Virtualization solutions, they serve different purposes. Hyper-V is designed for Server Virtualization Software and holds a mindshare of 14.1%, down 15.0% compared to last year.
VMware Workstation, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), holds 17.2% mindshare, up 14.8% since last year.
Server Virtualization Software
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…
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Hyper-V deployment is very user-friendly. It supports partial scripting and offers a UI for a smooth experience. There's also PowerShell scripting available for advanced users."
"I find Hyper V useful in managing virtual machines in environments with smaller workloads."
"It is a stable product."
"The solution is stable."
"The initial setup is not difficult at all. It is very easy."
"The most valuable feature is that it is user-friendly and easy to use."
"It's scalable."
"Hyper-V is much easier to deploy because Hyper-V is already installed inside Windows Server OS. You only need to turn on Hyper-V as a service, and then you can use it. The most convenient thing about Hyper-V is the operating system."
"I have found this product excellent for test/dev environments. This is 90% of what I use this product for."
"The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up."
"The solution's customer service is good."
"The most valuable feature of VMware Player is the ability to snapshot with or without memory."
"It is much more mature compared to Nutanix or SimpliVity when it's cross-platform based."
"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."
"I appreciate the ease of backup and snapshot creation. The ability to revert to previous versions without losing data is very useful for our team."
 

Cons

"We would like to have a cloning function added to this product."
"The corrupted volume is a problem."
"If I want to create a cluster of around five to 10 physical servers Hyper-V does not get integrated with any kind of virtual sense, such as vSense."
"One of the network problems I face is I cannot introduce other security layers on top of Hyper-V as you can in VMware. When it comes to the network the VMware is more flexible than Hyper-V."
"The area revolving around operations in the product has certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"The backup site could be better. We used to face a lot of issues, and we are looking to solve that now. We are in the process of moving all the infrastructure to the cloud. It could also use more integration on the management part. We also need more integration on the monitoring sites."
"We'd like a template feature to help deploy VMs quickly."
"Hyper-V requires improvement with manageability."
"The product could provide the features available in Microsoft Hyper-V."
"The solution freezes sometimes."
"Its price could be better."
"It takes too much time to load all the plug-ins and software."
"Its networking features need improvement."
"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. Otherwise, I have to deploy ESXi Virtual Edition and emulate it, which is painful and clunky."
"The dashboard can be improved."
"They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is not much. We have a very big environment, and pricing is no problem."
"The licensing is good for a data center environment."
"Microsoft Hyper-V is not expensive and is easy to set up."
"We did not have to pay extra money for the Failover Clustering feature."
"I do not have experience with the pricing or the licensing of the product."
"If you have the standard edition of Windows server then with each copy of the operating system, you have two virtual machines for free."
"This product costs less than other competitor products on the market."
"There is no cost associated with it if customers are already using Microsoft products."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"Licensing fees are paid on an annual basis."
"The tool is not the cheapest."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"VMware Workstation's costs are lifetime."
"The product has a moderate price."
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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
Educational Organization
25%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
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 Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
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.
Akademiska Hus
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