Red Hat OpenShift vs VMware Tanzu Platform comparison

Red Hat and VMware are both solutions in the Agile and DevOps Services category. Red Hat is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while VMware is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8. Additionally, 96% of Red Hat users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of VMware users who would recommend it.

Red Hat OpenShift

Read 61 Red Hat OpenShift reviews

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341 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

VMware Tanzu Platform

Read 21 VMware Tanzu Platform reviews

475 Views
349 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Red Hat OpenShift

VMware Tanzu Platform

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

Red Hat OpenShift and VMware Tanzu Platform compete in the container management and application development category. OpenShift appears to have the upper hand with its extensive out-of-the-box functionalities, strong security features, and user-friendly interface, whereas Tanzu requires more customization and has less comprehensive features without additional components.

Features: OpenShift is recognized for its rapid CI/CD integration, robust automated scaling, and strong security features. It offers seamless Kubernetes integration and powerful management tools. Tanzu is valued for its integration capabilities with VMware’s ESX and vSAN, as well as its infrastructure tie-ins, which are appreciated by users seeking a unified solution.

Room for Improvement: OpenShift users point to challenges with its documentation and complex configurations, indicating a need for improved templates and simplified scalability solutions. They also seek enhancements in its security model. Tanzu users experience issues with restrictive third-party integration, network control, and on-premises support, urging improved pricing and flexibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: OpenShift provides effective hybrid and on-premises deployment solutions, though users express concerns about support document consistency and response times. Tanzu offers smoother initial hybrid deployments but presents challenges in lifecycle management. Despite limited on-premises support, its integration within the VMware ecosystem is appreciated.

Pricing and ROI: OpenShift's licensing is considered high but justified by strong integrations and improved resource management. Users report significant ROI from resource efficiencies. Tanzu’s pricing, often bundled with Cloud Foundry, is expensive and less attractive for startups, despite occasional competitive discounts, leading to affordability concerns for smaller enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed Red Hat OpenShift vs. VMware Tanzu Platform Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Red Hat OpenShift vs. VMware Tanzu Platform

April 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

Red Hat OpenShift

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

3rd

Ranking in Container Management

12th

Ranking in Agile and DevOps Services

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Virtualization Software (9th), Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (7th)

VMware Tanzu Platform

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

12th

Ranking in Container Management

3rd

Ranking in Agile and DevOps Services

2nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Build Automation (13th), Cloud Management (25th), Development Platforms (3rd), Service Mesh (7th)

Featured Reviews

Mikhael Ibrahim

Platform Engineer & Manager at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Seamlessly monitor microservices with streamlined DevOps capabilities

Most benefit from it, however, I work with Kubernetes, and installing Vanilla Kubernetes is easy. That said, it introduces many tools that need to be set up individually. OpenShift comes ready out of the box, with all tools installed and configured. Red Hat certifies and confirms that all the components are compatible with each other. OpenShift's superior dashboard is a notable strength, especially when compared to Kubernetes. The integrated DevOps capabilities, such as pipelines and the container registry, are extremely beneficial. Additionally, its capability to monitor microservices and containers with integrated tools like Prometheus is a major advantage. The horizontal pod scaling exceeds the scalability features I found in Kubernetes.

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DarshanChaudhari

Solutions Architect Hybrid Cloud Practice US/Europe at Tech Mahindra Limited

Empowers seamless connectivity and integration through APIs while offering robust auto-scaling

I am involved in IT services and we provide a solution to customers. We work with VMware, Nutanix, OpenShift, and Microsoft Hyper-V The Tanzu platform is highly available, scalable, and flexible. It offers native services for autoscaling and integrations through APIs, allowing seamless…

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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 easy to scale."

"The developers seem to like the source-to-image feature. That makes it easy for them to deploy an application from code into containers, so they don't have to think about things. They take it straight from their code into a containerized application. If you don't have OpenShift, you have to build the container and then deploy the container to, say, EKS or something like that."

"Security is also an important part of this solution. By default, things are running with limited privileges and securely confined to their own resources. This way, different users and projects can all use the same infrastructure."

"This solution helps us to account for peak seasons involving higher demand than usual. It also gives us confidence in the security of our overall systems."

"The most valuable feature is the high availability for the applications."

"The security is good."

"The most valuable aspect of this solution is the great customer service and the ability for our team to get assistance when we need it."

"The security features of OpenShift are strong when in use of role-based access."

More Red Hat OpenShift pros

"A feature we find valuable is that other products can also be integrated with Mission Control. This means that we can see the status of specific clusters, as well as view the monitoring application logs all from one point."

"The multi-tenancy with the VCD is great."

"The Tanzu platform is highly available, scalable, and flexible."

"The valuable feature I have found to be the management of Kubernetes clusters in a private cloud or public clouds, such as Azure or Google Cloud Platform."

"The most important thing about the solution is its flexibility."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ability to check the flow of all the different variants within our applications."

"Tanzu Mission Control has quite a set of rich features when compared to OpenShift."

"There are a lot of services available in VMware Tanzu Application Service, such as databases and application servers. You have everything you need in one application and you do not need to search outside of the solution."

More VMware Tanzu Platform pros

Cons

"The solution only offers support for one server."

"Its virtual upgrades are time-consuming."

"My team has found some bugs in OpenShift due to continuous integration, and this is an area for improvement in the platform. RedHat should fix the bugs. Another area for improvement in OpenShift is that upgrading clusters can be challenging, resulting in downtime. Application support also needs improvement in OpenShift because the platform doesn't support all applications in the cloud. I'd like upgraded storage in the next release of OpenShift, especially when I need to do a DR exercise. It would also be good if the platform allows mirroring with another cluster, or more portability in terms of moving applications to another cluster."

"Not a ten because it's not a standard solution and the endpoint protection user has to prepare with documentation or have training from other people. It's not easy to start because it's not like other solutions."

"The speed of deploying new applications can be improved."

"Autoscaling is a very unique feature, but it could be useful to have more options based on traffic statistics, for example, via Prometheus. So, there should be more ready solutions to autoscale based on specific applications."

"The software-defined networking part of it caused us quite a bit of heartburn. We ran into a lot of problems with the difference between on-prem and cloud, where we had to make quite a number of modifications... They've since resolved it, so it's not really an issue anymore."

"The latest 4.0 version of OpenShift disabled a few of the features we previously made use of, although this wasn't a huge deal."

More Red Hat OpenShift cons

"Another area of improvement is pricing."

"The solution is currently focused on VMware infrastructure and I would like to see more options made available."

"The solution could improve by having better integration with other solutions such as HPE."

"It is not easy to build a solution with containers. It has a graphical user interface, but you need to have a lot of knowledge of Linux and how to work in the command mode. Its support can also be improved. Currently, its biggest disadvantage is that it is a new product, and the clients prefer to go for a solution that has been in the market for a long time. There are not that many people who know this product."

"Having a unified dashboard to manage all infrastructure, whether it involves additional IT infrastructure or modern apps, would be highly advantageous"

"The disaster recovery feature could be improved to provide better tracking of issues. I would also like to see the introduction of a dashboard view, for even further integration of all the areas that Mission Control looks at."

"Customers have noticed a considerable price increase after VMware's acquisition by Broadcom."

"VMware Tanzu Service Mesh could add better integration with other cloud platforms, such as vRealize Automation or VMware vCloud Director for cloud providers."

More VMware Tanzu Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We use the license-free version of Red Hat Openshift but we pay for the support."

"The product’s pricing is expensive."

"I don't deal with the cost part, but I know that the cost is very high when compared to other products. They charge for CPU and memory, but we don't worry about it."

"The product has reasonable pricing."

"We are currently using the open version, OKD. We plan to get the enterprise version in the future."

"It's important to start small because the solution is scalable. We can build our cluster and look at the bundle option, not the external subscriptions. Talking to the people at Red Hat can save us money."

"My company makes payments towards the licensing costs attached to OpenShift."

"The licensing cost for OpenShift is expensive when compared to other products. RedHat also charges you additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees."

More Red Hat OpenShift pricing and cost advice

"The price of VMware Tanzu Mission Control is greater than that of Red Hat's competitor solution"

"There are different licenses available. You have to upgrade your license if you want to scale the solution more."

"Since we were at a large data center, the price might not have been a concern for us."

"One of our Spanish customers told us that VMware Tanzu Service Mesh is a very expensive product for their data center."

"The product is not expensive, but it is not cheap."

"Its pricing is very competitive. We get around 70% or 75%, sometimes even 80%, discount on the product. I would rate it a four out of five in terms of pricing."

"VMware Tanzu Mission Control is cheaper than Red Hat OpenShift."

"The solution is only for large or medium size enterprises because it is expensive."

More VMware Tanzu Platform pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

32%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How does OpenShift compare with Amazon AWS?

Open Shift makes managing infrastructure easy because of self-healing and automatic scaling. There is also a wonderful dashboard mechanism to alert us in case the application is over-committing or ...

See all answers

Which would you recommend - Pivotal Cloud Foundry or OpenShift?

Pivotal Cloud Foundry is a cloud-native application platform to simplify app delivery. It is efficient and effective. The best feature is how easy it is to handle external services such as database...

See all answers

What do you like most about OpenShift?

OpenShift facilitates DevOps practices and improves CI/CD workflows in terms of stability compared to Jenkins.

See all answers

Which is better - OpenShift Container Platform or VMware Tanzu Mission Control?

Red Hat Openshift is ideal for organizations using microservices and cloud environments. I like that the platform is auto-scalable, which saves overhead time for developers. I think Openshift can b...

See all answers

What do you like most about VMware Tanzu Application Service?

The solution is integrated very well with a lot of other systems. Also, its GUI is very good.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for VMware Tanzu Application Service?

Since I have a developer team, they use the solution for testing purposes.

See all answers

Comparisons

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 17% of the time

Pivotal Cloud Foundry vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Azure vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 14% of the time

Amazon AWS vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 9% of the time

Proxmox VE vs Red Hat OpenShift

Compared 4% of the time

More Red Hat OpenShift Competitors

Rancher Labs vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 17% of the time

Kubernetes vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 13% of the time

Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 11% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon EKS vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 6% of the time

More VMware Tanzu Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Red Hat OpenShift

April 2025

Download Red Hat OpenShift product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware Tanzu Platform

April 2025

Download VMware Tanzu Platform product report

Also Known As

No data available

Tanzu Application Catalog, Application Platform, Application Service, Hub, Mission Control, Service Mesh, Build Service, Concourse for VMware Tanzu

Overview

Red Hat OpenShift offers a robust, scalable platform with strong security and automation, suitable for container orchestration, application deployment, and microservices architecture.

Designed to modernize applications by transitioning from legacy systems to cloud-native environments, Red Hat OpenShift provides powerful CI/CD integration and Kubernetes compatibility. Its security features, multi-cloud support, and source-to-image functionality enhance deployment flexibility. While the GUI offers user-friendly navigation, users benefit from its cloud-agnostic nature and efficient lifecycle management. However, improvements are needed in documentation, configuration complexity, and integration with third-party platforms. Pricing and high resource demands can also be challenging for wider adoption.

What are the key features of Red Hat OpenShift?

Security: Comprehensive security features ensure safe deployments and operations.
Scalability: Auto-scaling and monitoring capabilities cater to high-demand environments.
CI/CD Integration: Seamless integration for efficient continuous deployment processes.
Cloud Compatibility: Supports multi-cloud and on-premise solutions with ease.
GUI: Simplifies platform management and enhances usability.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Efficiency: Streamlined operations reduce time and resource investments.
Enhanced Flexibility: Adapt quickly to changing demands and environments.
Quick Deployment: Fast application deployment supports agile project timelines.
Robust Support: Access to dependable customer support services.

Red Hat OpenShift is strategically implemented for diverse industries focusing on container orchestration and application modernization. Organizations leverage it for migrating applications to cloud-native environments and managing CI/CD pipelines. Its functionality facilitates efficient resource management and microservices architecture adoption, supporting enterprise-level DevOps practices. Users employ it across cloud and on-premises platforms to drive performance improvements.

Red Hat

VMware Tanzu Platform is designed for cloud-native development and management of Kubernetes, CI/CD processes, microservices, and containerized workloads. It supports deployments both on cloud and on-premises, providing centralized management via Mission Control.

VMware Tanzu Platform offers seamless integration with vSphere, ESX, and vSAN, supporting centralized cluster management and lifecycle management. The platform provides a GUI for monitoring CI/CD pipelines and network policies, enhancing multi-tenancy and Day 2 operations. Users can easily manage Kubernetes clusters, monitor applications, and integrate with tools such as GitHub, GitLab, Cloud Foundry, and Azure. It ensures compliance and security for service providers, financial institutions, and businesses.

What are the key features of VMware Tanzu Platform?

Integration with vSphere, ESX, and vSAN: Enhances compatibility and flexibility.
Seamless Cluster Management: Centralized control over Kubernetes clusters.
CI/CD Pipelines and Network Policies: Simplifies monitoring and management.
Multi-tenancy Support: Facilitates resource sharing among multiple users.
Comprehensive Lifecycle Management: Streamlines deployment and scalability.
Observability Platform: Provides enhanced visibility and control.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in VMware Tanzu Platform reviews?

Centralized Management: Simplifies operations and reduces manual effort.
Enhanced Compliance and Security: Meets regulatory requirements.
Flexibility in Deployment: Supports both cloud and on-premises options.
Seamless Integration: Works with multiple vendors and tools.
Developer-Friendly Environment: Improves productivity and innovation.

Industries such as financial institutions, service providers, and businesses requiring rigorous compliance and security deploy VMware Tanzu Platform. These entities benefit from centralized management, streamlined DevOps processes, and integrated tools, enhancing their capabilities in cloud-native developments and containerized workloads.

VMware

Sample Customers

UPS, Cathay Pacific, Hilton

Verizon, Cerner, Zipcar, Avarteq

Buyer's Guide

Red Hat OpenShift vs. VMware Tanzu Platform

April 2025

Free Report: Red Hat OpenShift vs. VMware Tanzu Platform

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