NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays vs VAST Data comparison

NetApp and VAST Data are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. NetApp is ranked #24 with an average rating of 9.0, while VAST Data is ranked #30. NetApp holds a 0.9% mindshare in AFS, compared to VAST Data’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of NetApp users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of VAST Data users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays and VAST Data are advanced storage solutions designed to enhance performance and scalability. NetApp seems to have the upper hand in support and pricing, while VAST Data stands out for its innovative feature set.

Features: NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays are known for reliability and high performance in data-heavy environments, efficient storage management capabilities, and consistent workload handling. VAST Data is praised for scalability, unique architecture allowing massive data capacity, and faster access times.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest improvements for NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays in areas of flexibility, advanced functionality, and complexity during upgrades. VAST Data could improve documentation quality, address stability issues during peak operations, and enhance overall reliability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays have a straightforward deployment process and dependable customer service, with responsive support teams. VAST Data also offers easy deployment and notable customer service, though some users experience response delays.

Pricing and ROI: NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays are considered cost-effective with good value and satisfactory ROI due to robust performance. VAST Data, perceived as more expensive, is regarded worth the price for enhanced features and scalability, offering strong long-term ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays vs. VAST Data Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays vs. VAST Data

December 2025

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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 FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VAST Data is 2.5%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	1.4%
NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays	0.9%
VAST Data	2.5%
Other	95.2%

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

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Tayo Olubanke

Managing Director at GCET

Offers flexibility and top-notch technology

You can go to bed peacefully if you have a NetApp. If you have NetApp within your data center, you get to know about power failure if you are using it. Your NetApp will still come alive. Even if it does not come alive, I can say that it is not like other tools when it comes to dealing with power failure. The tool is affordable, and the technology is top-notch. It is the only technology that has software for what we call inline compression and deduplication. All the products under NetApp are aiming to use AI. I know that you can achieve whatever you want to do with NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays. I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

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Alan Powers

HPC CTO at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Stability-wise, a device that has been up and running for years

The failover capability and resiliency are some of the solution's valuable features. The big thing is resilience because it has richer coding in it, so multiple devices can't fail. Also, one can still access a number of CBoxes that can allow one to access their file system. Once a device fails, it fails the transparency of the end-user, and it just starts using another resource. The encryption capability, the snapshots, along with a whole bunch of features make the tool valuable. VAST Data keeps adding more and more features all the time.

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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 scalable."

"The duplication algorithm allows us to get a lot more use out of less storage. We're running a five terabyte array right now and we're running probably about 30 terabytes on it. So the duplication rate is pretty phenomenal, without a cost to performance. It still runs pretty smoothly."

"The high availability of the product is the most valuable feature."

"It has good, reliable, fast storage."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is reliability."

"FlashArray has some fresh efficiency features. I've never seen a storage solution with a compression rating this high before. It's at least 4-to-1 on Oracle databases. It's the best flash storage for Oracle."

"The most valuable features of Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its superior performance compared to other flash tiers, as well as its ease of use, with an intuitive user interface that is simple to deploy and use."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"The hardware and software of NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays are easy for us to use."

"This storage solution is both stable and scalable, and it works for our needs."

"It provides multi-protocol, which is what gives the edge when it comes to big lineage PC workloads."

"Considering the cost, I find NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays to be the best storage available in the market."

"The management software is very good."

"Rapid deployment, easy integration management and cloning of areas."

"One of the most valuable features is the overall performance it provides. You're able to throw a pile of IOPS at it and it will handle that without much issue."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is its speed."

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays pros

"The solution is useful for machine learning and scientific applications, including computer simulations."

"This has been one of the most reliable storage systems that I have ever used."

Cons

"One point I'd like to improve is that the tool should start selling small boxes again. It discontinued some products and is focusing on bigger, more capable boxes, neglecting the SMB market. Even though it's not a big market, it shouldn't have removed them."

"We need better data deduplication."

"I want to see Pure Storage not only be for fast storage, but I want to see it be for the entire data center."

"The UI for this solution needs to be improved."

"The software layer has to improve."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing of the product."

"We would like to see VNC integration or be able to use Pure Storage with VNC."

"Maybe the price can be reduced since the solution is very expensive."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"As far as the manageability, being able to port between the two and have to do less training in-house from a customer point of view, that would be the part to improve."

"This solution has limited storage."

"We need a center related to NetApp in Egypt so that we can deal with them directly."

"There could be an improvement when it comes to SLA support, it could be faster."

"There could be better integration with some of our Cisco products."

"Things like the FlexClones, SnapVault, SnapMirror, all of that. Some of it's available on the EF series, but we like what we have in the FAS system."

"I’d like to see bigger, faster, better hardware, of course. I think that is the way the hardware is trending anyway; bigger, faster CPU, better software, fewer bugs, all that stuff. T"

"I would like to shrink it more, if we can. The smaller, the better."

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays cons

"The write performance could be improved because it is less than half of the read performance."

"The read/write ratio is an area in the solution with some flaws and needs improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."

"The tool's pricing is cheap; I rate it a six to seven out of ten. Most of our sales are not subscription-based. We sell the hardware, and customers keep using it. They only renew the service part annually. The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."

"As far as the licensing costs, everything is included in the license."

"With VMware, we pay $300,000 annually."

"The product is expensive."

"Pretty much everything that you need is licensed when you buy the product. Licensing to me is different than the maintenance cost, but they can bleed into one another. We buy the product, and we expect three years of support bundled into what we negotiate on our storage arrays. I would start to see maintenance costs going into the fourth year, but we're not there yet."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"It's a lot cheaper than what the other vendors have for the same type of environment. It saves us money."

"They need to improve its pricing. The storage market is dying. So, they need to improve the price because it should reach all people. NetApp is one of the top ones, and they are charging a little bit of royalty as compared to other storage solutions."

"The pricing is comparable with other competitors and similar in mid-range solutions, and for high range solutions, it would depend on our requirements or needs."

"It's a way to get relatively low-cost, very high-performance, low-latency block storage as a point solution."

"Most of my customers pay for the license on a yearly basis. It can be expensive depending on the capacity number."

"The price point for EF is considerably lower than the alternatives."

"The cost of our license is approximately $200,000 over three years for NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays. There can be additional costs for storage. For example, if you want to have eight terabytes."

"Cheaper pricing is always good. NetApp has been doing everything the right way. They've been figuring out things really well, going in the right direction."

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays pricing and cost advice

"Price-wise, VAST Data is not the cheapest, not the most expensive one."

"We acquired VAST Data as a one-time, capital purchase."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Performing Arts

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	18

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

The price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...

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What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?

One has to opt for a perpetual-based licensing model for one year or three years. After three years, you need to rene...

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?

The support of the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required. I want NetApp's supp...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?

There are so many things to talk about around the use cases associated with the tool. There are so many reasons why I...

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Comparisons

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TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 9% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 16% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 13% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 10% of the time

NetApp ASA vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 10% of the time

Dell XtremIO vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 9% of the time

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Pure Storage FlashArray vs VAST Data

Compared 9% of the time

NetApp AFF vs VAST Data

Compared 9% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs VAST Data

Compared 8% of the time

MinIO vs VAST Data

Compared 7% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs VAST Data

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

January 2026

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

January 2026

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays report

Download NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays product report

Buyer's Guide

NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays

January 2026

Download VAST Data product report

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

NetApp EF540, NetApp EF-Series

No data available

Overview

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Pure Storage

The NetApp EF560 all-flash array is an all-SSD storage system for applications that demand extremely high levels of performance and reliability. Requiring just 2U of rack space, the EF560 all-flash array combines extreme IOPS, microsecond response times, and up to 12GBps of bandwidth with leading, enterprise-proven availability features.

NetApp

Innovation to break decades of data storage trade-offs.

VAST Data

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

RP Data, Western Oregon University, Toei Animation

Norwest Venture Partners, General Dynamics Information Technology, Ginkgo Bioworks

Buyer's Guide

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays vs. VAST Data

December 2025

Free Report: NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays vs. VAST Data

Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays vs. VAST Data and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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