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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

"We appreciate the fact that this solution allows us to segregate two virtual machines that are in the same cluster."
"Nutanix Flow Network Security is a simple solution that is usable, easy to understand, and easy to deploy."
"They also introduced that they develop API first and the rest follows."
"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."
"It allows for policies that enable complete visibility and traffic control."
"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."
"It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"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 solution is very stable and reliable."
"The security offered by VMware NSX is the most valuable, plus it's a feature-rich product that's straightforward to install and configure."
"The most valuable features are security and dynamic routing."
"I value the ability to dynamically configure our network on the fly using VMware NSX."
"It's a beneficial tool."
"This solution comes with an API that can easily integrate with other solutions."
"I have found the system to be very intuitive, functional, and they have great technology."
"One significant advantage of VMware NSX is the ability to provide advanced security at the micro-level, focusing on securing applications and workloads rather than just the network structure or virtualization-based network security."
 

Cons

"We would like the reporting functionality of this solution to be improved."
"Last time I used it, it was not handy to see or to analyze traffic logs."
"I would rate Flow Network Security's stability seven out of ten - it could be improved."
"Nutanix Flow Network Security needs to improve threat hunting, compliance, and policy optimization - these things that security officers would use."
"The documentation offered by the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"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."
"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."
"The technical support could use some improvement."
"We've have had good and bad experiences with them. We don't always find them to be so impactful. Sometimes the support guy isn't so on top of resolving the issue and it can take a while to sort out."
"An area for improvement in VMware NSX is that it uses up more resources and is heavy on the network. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is more automation."
"We had some complexities implementing into the other parts of a network."
"We would like better integration with the standards on the market. For example, with OSPF, their integration in NSX is very low. It's not a full OSPF integration. It is too thin from a protocol perspective."
"It could be cheaper!"
"The engineering team has room for improvement. They should have have more of a Knowledge Base about different case studies and should develop more advanced features. These kinds of improvements will change the way things get done."
"Nowadays, NSX supports the KVM and ESXi hypervisors only. It should also support Hyper-V and Citrix hypervisors."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is available for free use."
"There are different licensing models."
"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."
"This model is very accessible to implement."
"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."
"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."
"Flow Network Security is available on a three-year license, with annual renewals of the maintenance fee."
"The solution is very expensive."
"I was not involved in the purchase of the solution but I hear it is on the expensive side."
"The price of this product is too high."
"The price of VMware NSX is reasonable."
"The implementation of VMware NSX can be cost-intensive, especially if an organization is looking for a comprehensive solution. The costs can vary based on factors like the level of conversation and discounts obtained during negotiations. Some government organizations, for instance, may find the prices relatively high, leading to concerns about budget hikes, especially when deploying the solution across the entire organization. Regarding maintenance and support, they are typically included in the standard licensing costs for enterprise-level businesses. While these costs can be significant, many companies opt for standard licensing to ensure they have access to necessary support and maintenance services."
"There is a license required for this solution and there is also a support license available. The price of the solution could be better."
"You can scale NSX if you have the resources, but it's usually expensive and complex to scale up."
"We are using the free version of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Healthcare Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
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.
869,513 professionals have used our research since 2012.