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Nutanix Flow Network Security vs VMware NSX comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

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

Nutanix Flow Network Security
Ranking in Microsegmentation Software
5th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware NSX
Ranking in Microsegmentation Software
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (3rd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (7th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (9th), Network Automation (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Microsegmentation Software category, the mindshare of Nutanix Flow Network Security is 5.8%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware NSX is 16.0%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsegmentation Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware NSX16.0%
Nutanix Flow Network Security5.8%
Other78.2%
Microsegmentation Software
 

Featured Reviews

MohammadJundiah - PeerSpot reviewer
Has enabled consistent enforcement of zero-trust policies at the virtual layer
The micro-segmentation feature helps to manage network security effectively because it helps the virtual machines that are already on the cluster and the applications inside the cluster itself. It protects them and helps them communicate with each other without needing a complex external or internal firewall in this use case. Working with the zero-trust security model means never trust but always verify. Every VM, application, and service in your environment must explicitly prove it's allowed to communicate with others. An application would be able to talk to a VM and vice versa. This zero-trust means explicitly proving that they are allowed to talk to each other, with no implicit trust just because they are on the same VLAN, subnet, cluster, or environment. Nutanix Flow brings the zero-trust model natively to the virtual layer inside the Nutanix software itself, the AHV. The AHV software enforces strict communication rules between workloads. Integration between Nutanix Flow and other products natively benefits the infrastructure itself as this is a networking segmentation software coming from Nutanix itself. This provides ultimate compatibility. There is no need for extra firewall VMs such as Palo Alto or third-party switches. Security becomes established at the hypervisor level, which creates a new conglomeration of security segmentation. The network performance analysis that Nutanix Flow Network Security provides is very beneficial and effective.
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved network visibility and security through micro-segmentation and SDN capabilities
This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane. We can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior. Monitoring and security are among the best features for VMware NSX. For micro-segmentation, it's integrated with our endpoint security. If there are any issues with servers or VMs, it notifies us so we can isolate the servers and investigate. It provides distributed security features such as firewall and intrusion, IDS, IPS. The security level with IPS and IDS in VMware NSX is excellent. It also provides logical switching and routing which gives an extra layer for Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching requirements. The solution provides flexibility, automation, and self-service capabilities, resulting in cost savings as extensive expertise isn't required. Once automation and self-service are implemented, many tasks can be completed automatically. Load balancing is another excellent feature. Multiple servers can run on load balancing features, which is particularly useful since we have many application servers running. Sharing loads between servers provides the best performance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Nutanix Flow has a lot of data protection features. It's also valuable for operations and management. It's a big solution that works well with different solutions and is suitable for most business cases."
"We appreciate the fact that this solution allows us to segregate two virtual machines that are in the same cluster."
"The network view was excellent as it allowed us to expand the server view and visualize all connections it made within the environment. This was particularly useful in identifying the path of our data and not just its location within the data center."
"Nutanix Flow Network Security is a simple solution that is usable, easy to understand, and easy to deploy."
"Flow Network Security's most valuable features are user-friendliness, the console, and policy creation."
"Nutanix Flow is straightforward to install. You only need to select a checkmark that you want to enable Nutanix Flow."
"It allows for policies that enable complete visibility and traffic control."
"The micro-segmentation feature helps to manage network security effectively because it helps the virtual machines that are already on the cluster and the applications inside the cluster itself, protects them and helps them communicate with each other without needing a complex external or internal firewall in this use case."
"The most valuable feature of VMware NSX is the ability to set up virtual networking environments."
"The stability is great. That's one of the things that we can quantify and leverage through NSX, because it's less complex. We have the availability to manage multiple things at the same time. You can identify problems before they manifest."
"The solution is easy to use and is good for management control."
"Any administrator with basic networking knowledge, in a couple of days, can be in full control of their networking without going through a networking engineer."
"The most valuable feature of VMware NSX is the load balancing and routing of firewall rules. Many of the features are beneficial."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"NSX gives us the ability to put our network, NSX, onto any network there is, which allows us not to have to go to the network team to create networks our VLANs for networks."
"The solution is robust as it covers everything we want to do and is stable, so we're happy enough with it. We have had no problems so far. Everything is great."
 

Cons

"The documentation offered by the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"For customers who are running Nutanix Flow and AHV, the largest area for improvement is in the disaster recovery environments. To automate the populate of rules from one side to the other side in case of disaster you report everything on the disaster recovery site, and you have all the rules automatically applied. This was something that was being built when I left Nutanix. It might already be available. Additionally, the usability of the rules editor could improve."
"The most difficult part is the configuration of the initial blueprints."
"Nutanix Flow's networking features could use some improvement. Also, I don't know if it's currently supporting load balancing or not."
"Last time I used it, it was not handy to see or to analyze traffic logs."
"We would like the reporting functionality of this solution to be improved."
"Nutanix Flow Network Security needs to improve threat hunting, compliance, and policy optimization - these things that security officers would use."
"While the graphical interface of Nutanix Flow Network Security could have been improved, and some of the reporting features needed extra work, the product's features were similar to VMware's NSX. The difference lay more in the presentation and user interface."
"The initial configuration and integration within our existing environment were not easy. The configuration process was a bit complex, specifically during the initial setup."
"Going through and getting more features sets from the routing protocols is definitely necessary for the future."
"Despite being somewhat behind in the cybersecurity field, VMware should develop a cloud and a red team to continuously monitor for new malware and ransomware."
"Nowadays, NSX supports the KVM and ESXi hypervisors only. It should also support Hyper-V and Citrix hypervisors."
"The price is rather high."
"I want to see the solution expand to more than just the network, for example, perhaps it could provide some VLAN technologies."
"We have been satisfied with the technical support. They were able to solve our problems. However, they could be faster."
"We would like tenant segmentation available in future releases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"In comparison to other options available in the market, I would rate their pricing as very competitive, probably a two or three out of ten for cost."
"The product is available for free use."
"This model is very accessible to implement."
"Flow Network Security is available on a three-year license, with annual renewals of the maintenance fee."
"There is an annual subscription to use this solution. There is a 60-day trial to use the solution, it gives you time to decide if you want to continue using the solution."
"There are different licensing models."
"There is a license required for this solution, we pay annually."
"I was not involved in the purchase of the solution but I hear it is on the expensive side."
"You can scale NSX if you have the resources, but it's usually expensive and complex to scale up."
"We are using a perpetual license to use the solution and we have support."
"We are using the free version of the solution."
"The price of VMware NSX is very good compared to other solutions."
"We can't go without NSX, so it's invaluable from this perspective."
"The solution is free and the price for the support can be expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Nutanix Flow?
Nutanix Flow Network Security is a simple solution that is usable, easy to understand, and easy to deploy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nutanix Flow?
There are different models like Nutanix AOS Pro or Ultimate license. The prices are different, but it's not in the same price range as Cisco ACI, for example.
What needs improvement with Nutanix Flow?
Last time I used it, it was not handy to see or to analyze traffic logs. As a Check Point partner as well, we have some more expectations to log in. Probably, it's possible to forward all the traff...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What do you like most about VMware NSX?
The product has valuable features for security and network extension.
 

Also Known As

Nutanix Flow Microsegmentation
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, Volkswagen SAIC, Brighton and Hove City Council, Foresters Financial, Janus International Group, Cloud Comrade, Serco
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Nutanix Flow Network Security vs. VMware NSX and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,771 professionals have used our research since 2012.