LizardFS vs VMware Software Defined Storage comparison

LizardFS and VMware are both solutions in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category. LizardFS is ranked #21, while VMware is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.5. LizardFS holds a 1.9% mindshare in SDS, compared to VMware’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 66% of LizardFS users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of VMware users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

LizardFS and VMware Software Defined Storage are products competing in scalable storage solutions. LizardFS has the upper hand in cost-effectiveness and ease of use, while VMware is preferred for its comprehensive feature set and enterprise capabilities.

Features: LizardFS provides strong data replication and distribution, ensuring data safety and availability. It is cost-effective, making it suitable for budget-conscious projects. VMware offers integration capabilities and support for virtualized environments, automated provisioning, and detailed analytics, appealing to enterprises with complex needs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: LizardFS delivers straightforward deployment with flexible on-premises or cloud options and responsive support. VMware Software Defined Storage offers a structured deployment process with strong enterprise support, though it may be more complex. LizardFS's simple deployment allows for quicker implementation, but VMware's extensive support provides a beneficial experience for those needing detailed guidance.

Pricing and ROI: LizardFS is recognized for its lower setup costs and quicker ROI due to minimal initial investment. VMware Software Defined Storage requires higher upfront costs but provides a significant ROI through its broad features and long-term scalability. LizardFS is preferable for budget-sensitive projects, while VMware is suited for those prioritizing advanced features and scalability.

To learn more, read our detailed LizardFS vs. VMware Software Defined Storage Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

LizardFS vs. VMware Software Defined Storage

April 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 850,028 peers since 2012

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

Pure Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 4.2%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LizardFS is 1.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Software Defined Storage is 0.9%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

Featured Reviews

Eric Black

Solutions Architect at Recovery Point Systems

The ability to leverage multi-tenancy along with immutability is a huge benefit for us

The only thing I feel FlashBlade is missing is the SOS API. If it had SOS API, that would put it well over the top. Veeam Backup specifically has started to streamline their API, and they are doing that with SOS API. They have optimized it. Any of the S3 devices out there that support this SOS API can have far more API calls at once. On our side, that translates to better restoration. With SOS API, it can leverage far more restorations at a single given time or read from the device in simple terms. That results in maximizing the output and throughput from the device itself.

Read full review

it_user302112

Senior Consultant IT Infrastructure at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

There is an automated built-in failover mechanism, but you must build it yourself if you have no support contract in place.

LizardFS allows storing data across several nodes (which run on commodity hardware, even inside virtual machines) and also has a built-in HA mechanism. This works very well if failover can be done in a manual or simple way (e.g. by using Pacemaker). Also there is an automated built-in failover mechanism if you are ready to spend money for a support contract (it is not expensive, though). Update: After having tested the commercial failover mechanism which comes with signing the support contract or a software demo I can say that it works as expected. It is easy to manage and just seems to work. To be fair I have to state that I didn't use it in production yet, only within tests. But it looks very good.

Read full review

RashidAnwar

Senior Project Lead at Tetra Pak

A stable solution that can be used for database applications and virtualization for multiple locations

VMware Software Defined Storage is used for database applications and virtualization for multiple locations VMware Software Defined Storage gives higher availability against data corruption. Redundancy and scalability are the other valuable features of the solution. You can scale it on the go,…

Read full review

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined Storage (SDS) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

29%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power out...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The pricing for FlashBlade is between cheap and moderate. FlashBlade is worth the money due to the experience and per...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?

Its configuration should be easier. There should be easier language for the configuration.

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

What do you like most about VMware Software Defined Storage?

VMware Software Defined Storage gives higher availability against data corruption.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Software Defined Storage?

The price of VMware Software Defined Storage is on the pricey side, rated four out of five in cost. There is room for...

See all answers

What needs improvement with VMware Software Defined Storage?

There is room for more integrations and plugins into more storages. More automation, such as using Playbook on Ansibl...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 21% of the time

VAST Data vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 11% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 11% of the time

MinIO vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 11% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 8% of the time

More Pure Storage FlashBlade Competitors

Red Hat Gluster Storage vs LizardFS

Compared 52% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs LizardFS

Compared 48% of the time

More LizardFS Competitors

DataCore SANsymphony vs VMware Software Defined Storage

Compared 100% of the time

More VMware Software Defined Storage Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure Storage FlashBlade

April 2025

Download Pure Storage FlashBlade product report

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

April 2025

Download LizardFS product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware Software Defined Storage

April 2025

Download VMware Software Defined Storage product report

Also Known As

No data available

VMware SDS

Overview

FlashBlade is the industry’s most advanced scale-out storage for unstructured data, powered by a modern, massively parallel architecture to consolidate complex data silos (like backup appliances and data lakes) and accelerate tomorrow’s discoveries and insights.

Pure Storage

Software Defined Storage LizardFS is a distributed, scalable, fault-tolerant and highly available file system. It allows users to combine disk space located on many servers into a single name space which is visible on Unix-like and Windows systems in the same way as other file systems. SDS LizardFS makes files secure by keeping all the data in many replicas spread over available servers. It can also be used to build space-efficient storage, because it is designed to run on commodity hardware. Disk and server failures are handled transparently without any downtime or loss of data. If storage requirements grow, it's possible to scale an existing SDS LizardFS installation just by adding new servers _ at any time, without any downtime. The system will automatically move some data to newly added servers, because it continuously takes care of balancing disk usage across all connected nodes. Removing servers is just as easy as adding a new one.

LizardFS

VMware software-defined storage is a simple, yet intelligent, storage data center architecture that aligns with business and application demands—eliminating static, purpose-built and inefficient hardware with dynamic, agile and automated solutions.

VMware

Sample Customers

ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL

Orange Polska, Platige Image, United State Department of Agriculture, Virtu Financial

Helse Nord, Sky

Buyer's Guide

LizardFS vs. VMware Software Defined Storage

April 2025

Free Report: LizardFS vs. VMware Software Defined Storage

Find out what your peers are saying about LizardFS vs. VMware Software Defined Storage and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our LizardFS vs. VMware Software Defined Storage report.

See our list of best Software Defined Storage (SDS) vendors.

We monitor all Software Defined Storage (SDS) 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.