RHEV vs VMware vSphere comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Red Hat and Broadcom are both solutions in the Server Virtualization Software category. Red Hat is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0, while Broadcom is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2. Red Hat holds a 2.6% mindshare in SVS, compared to Broadcom’s 18.2% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Red Hat users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

RHEV

Read 37 RHEV reviews

4,316 Views
4,230 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

VMware vSphere

Read 461 VMware vSphere reviews

35,994 Views
32,395 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

RHEV

VMware vSphere

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

RHEV and VMware vSphere are competing virtualization products in the enterprise market. VMware vSphere seems to have the upper hand with its extensive feature suite, higher deployment sophistication, superior customer service, and long-term ROI potential despite its higher cost.

Features: RHEV provides efficient resource management, seamless application migration, and open-source integration, which are beneficial for enterprises needing specific customization. VMware vSphere offers advanced automation tools, enhanced security features, and high availability, which makes it ideal for businesses seeking a comprehensive virtual environment.

Room for Improvement: RHEV can enhance its automation capabilities, expand third-party support, and improve its user interface for better manageability. VMware vSphere could lower costs, simplify its complex licensing model, and improve performance documentation to assist user understanding.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: RHEV's straightforward deployment process appeals to organizations prioritizing simplicity, while its customer service meets expectations. VMware vSphere, on the other hand, offers a detailed and sophisticated deployment model, supported by a range of extensive customer service options, suited for complex environments requiring detailed assistance.

Pricing and ROI: RHEV is budget-friendly with a faster ROI for cost-conscious companies. VMware vSphere, with higher upfront costs, provides superior features justifying its pricing, and offers greater long-term ROI potential for enterprises prioritizing performance, hence, appealing to those willing to invest in top-tier virtualization solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed RHEV vs. VMware vSphere Report (Updated: November 2026).

Buyer's Guide

RHEV vs. VMware vSphere

November 2026

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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

RHEV

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

12th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

VMware vSphere

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

461

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of RHEV is 2.6%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vSphere is 18.2%, up from 17.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Virtualization Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
VMware vSphere	18.2%
RHEV	2.6%
Other	79.2%

Server Virtualization Software

Featured Reviews

Mike Neuliep

Linux Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Has supported virtualization projects in side jobs but has required workarounds due to lack of maintenance

In my opinion, the best features of RHEV are that it is a real hypervisor and it is free, so it performs better than VMware. I have used the live migration feature in the past with RHEV. There is a free clone of it that is based on the open source. Live migration is a nifty feature if your app is not highly available and you need to do maintenance on a machine. You can migrate the VM off of it, do your maintenance, and move it back when you are done. RHEV has a high availability architecture with a built-in monitoring feature where you could see machines other than the one you are operating on. I tend to implement high availability not so much in RHEV, but by using standard application high availability strategies. Red Hat has another product specifically for high availability.

Read full review

RajeshK10

Information Technology Architect at Central Bank of India

Reliable virtualization has supported smooth DR drills and efficient resource allocation

VMware vSphere has proven to be robust in nature, and the new features are quite acceptable. The new features in NSX network switching make it more useful in the reliability management of data centers. vMotion has helped my organization's business continuity strategies during our planned DR drill activity. The migration of VMs from DC to DR is quite smooth with respect to the network link. I assess the impact of VMware vSphere's High Availability feature on my infrastructure resilience as effective during DR drill activities and firmware upgrades, which we perform every six months. During those times, we rely on maintenance mode of several servers, and HA works properly. I have nothing to complain about. We have utilized VMware vSphere's Distributed Resource Scheduler effectively. Even though we have over-provisioned the vCPUs, it efficiently manages the CPU cores and memory of the servers intelligently, so I am not experiencing any bottleneck in resource utilization. Distributed Resource Scheduler has affected my resource allocation performance positively, providing a 20 percent advantage over my old hardware.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If you have a heterogenous data centre that is specially focused on Linux platforms, this is safe money, and good if you are looking for automation."

"They are so advanced today and so mature in what they do that they could easily give any top-notch industry leaders a run for their money."

"The biggest aspect for me is the disk usage, the virtual manager, and the deployment of machines."

"It is easy to deal with when comes to application migration and its compatibility with the multiple component applications."

"In my opinion, the best features of RHEV are that it is a real hypervisor and it is free, so it performs better than VMware."

"Stability and speed are the most valuable aspects."

"This solution is very stable. Much more so than similar products."

"There aren't any bugs on the solution."

More RHEV pros

"Once you have everything configured, it is relatively straightforward."

"The most valuable features are its flexibility and the ability to move workload."

"When I first tested vSphere against other competitors 9 years ago, there was no question on which product our company would use."

"With VMWare virtualization environment; deploying servers; backing, replication and restoration are done in a matter of minutes."

"It is easy to use and the features are very rich."

"The most valuable features are the seamless HA with vMotion and being able to run vCenters in HA mode."

"The connectivity is fantastic, and many functions can run together in one server. If you need to scale, we can continue to add components or modules. It's a beautiful virtual solution that has many advantages over physical hardware, where you have to use devices and wiring to connect all your projects."

"We haven't had any difficulties with it at all so far and it's been five years."

More VMware vSphere pros

Cons

"The initial setup is not simple or straightforward. It's very complex."

"RHEV is not improving because it has been discontinued. It has been discontinued for years."

"The documentation is not as good as it should be. There is a need for making it descriptive and in sequence."

"This solution could be more secure."

"Its scalability can be improved. It is not easy to scale, and we hope that Red Hat can provide a more scalable system."

"If you wanted to go to the desktop computer side of things, it lags behind in that you need to go to something like Fedora to get all the extra bells and whistles."

"We'd like it if it would be possible on Red Hat Virtualization to possibly connect two or three VMs to the same disk."

"Red Hat by itself is not scalable. But you can have third party add-ons like Ceph to make it massively scalable."

More RHEV cons

"Cost and lack of support for virtualization (all hypervisors) are key areas that need improvement."

"Unfortunately, this software has reached its End-Of-Life, and has held that status for almost two years."

"The solution could improve by having more integration."

"I would like to see DRS for the GPU machines."

"I'd like to see a simplified integration with services automation."

"My advice when it comes to pricing is that pricing is a bummer, especially when it comes to SnS coverage."

"The only problem with it is that it is now in the category of obsolete products. Though it's still very good, its support and updates won't be available."

"VMware vSphere is perfect for the on-premise solution, but we are in the cloud era, so I think maybe VMware needs to invest more in the cloud and the microservice chain. It would be better if VMware offered more cloud solutions and continuous applications."

More VMware vSphere cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a budget product as far as I'm concerned. It's way cheaper than any of its competitors. The only thing cheaper than Red Hat is that the people who take the Red Hat code clone it and then self-support it."

"The solution does not require licencing but a subscription is necessary, which is very affordable."

"We buy a license for commercial use, and we also use the free editions."

"We have to pay extra for vulnerability and fault tolerance."

"I would say the price is acceptable."

"The price of RHEV is high. It is an open-source solution, the price should be less. The price should not be on par with a solution, such as VMware. It's not more or equal to VMware, it's less, but the difference should be more substantial."

"This is an open-source solution."

"Its price depends on the use cases."

More RHEV pricing and cost advice

"VMware vSphere on-premises is still cheaper than the cloud."

"We are using the tool's free version."

"The licensing price is fair compared to other similar solutions."

"It's a pricey solution."

"There is an annual subscription to use this solution."

"Pricing can still be improved for this solution."

"Do not buy based on price alone. Many of my customers chose the lowest cost option only to discover that the additional funds needed to access even a few more features would have been money well spent. Likewise, if you are going to spend more money on additional features, then have a plan to actually deploy and integrate those features into your infrastructure. Many customers never take full advantage of the many features that they are paying for and that can be avoided by being proactive in developing your overall vision for the infrastructure."

"Licensing fees are not paid yearly, or monthly."

More VMware vSphere pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

Thang Le Toan (Victory Lee)

CIO at Robusta Technology & Training

Jan 13, 2015

vSphere vs. RHEV vs. Hyper-V vs. XenServer

We have used the following functions: 1. Hypervisor: to ensure that the virtual server provide web and email services to the company, thus providing a stable operation a with single sign-on integration of an AD server and vCenter. 2. Network and Storage: centralized data server…

Read full review

Answers from the Community

Sridhar Battarusetty

VP-Global Supply Chain Management at mobileum

Feb 7, 2024

What are the differences between RHEV and VMware vSphere?

See 2 answers

Anne Cubarrubia

Editor at PeerSpot

Aug 21, 2023

Here is a comparison of the two hypervisors, RHEV (Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization) and VMware vSphere: RHEV Pros: Open source Highly scalable Cost-effective Cons: Not as mature as VMware vSphere Not as widely supported as VMware vSphere VMware vSphere Pros: Mature and widely supported Wide range of features Easy to use and manage Cons: Not open source Can be expensive Some prefer RHEV because it is open-source and cost-effective. However, VMware vSphere may be the better option if you need a hypervisor with a wide range of features and support. As to which solution consumes fewer resources, RHEV is a lighter-weight hypervisor than VMware vSphere, so it consumes fewer resources. However, you must remember that each hypervisor's resource consumption depends on the configuration and workload.

Read full answer

Rajkumar Gera

Vice President, IT Infrastructure ( DC Operations ) at Vodafone Idea Ltd.

Feb 7, 2024

Hi Sridhar, This is Rajkumar Gera, VP IT in one of the Telecom. Below are some of the points, may help you: FEATURE RED HAT ENTERPRISE VIRTUALIZATION VMWARE VSPHERE Key differentiators Open source solution Proprietary solution Purchased via one subscription Multiple levels of functionality sold in editions with different price points Bare-metal performance for virtualized applications Application high availability (Enterprise Plus version only) Prioritized high availability so critical workloads are restarted first Desktop and server virtualization One infrastructure for managing desktops and servers Add-on products for desktop virtualization: VMware Player, VMware Horizon View, VMware Horizon DaaS, and VMware Horizon Mirage Remote access to virtual desktops through SPICE Full support for multimedia applications Management server Included in the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization subscription Requires purchase and license of VMware vCenter and database support Virtual machine density 40 cores: 4,682@288 40 cores: 3,824@234 160 cores: 14,061@864 160 cores: result not available Self-service portal Allows users to provision and manage VMs and templates with a browser Requires the purchase of VMware vCloud Automation Center Integration with OpenStack technology Supports the open Neutron pluggable networking API Supports VMware’s NSX networking plug-in Supports the OpenStack image service for a unified image repository between virtual and cloud platforms Does not support the OpenStack image service

Read full answer

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Outsourcing Company

Manufacturing Company

11%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	177
Midsize Enterprise	137
Large Enterprise	262

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for RHEV?

It's the open source. There's not much cost. It's very minimal comparably. Compared to what I am paying for VMware, it's negligible.

See all answers

What needs improvement with RHEV?

RHEV is not improving because it has been discontinued. It has been discontinued for years. I would love to get back into RHEV, but the job market is difficult and no one is hiring. RHEV is designe...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for RHEV?

I have done some consulting where I used RHEV, taking on side jobs to run virtual machines in the financial industry for a startup. The last time I used RHEV was in my home lab, but that has been d...

See all answers

What is IOMMU?

DEEPEN DHULLA did explain well IOMMU. IOMMU has to be activated at the bios level. It exists on Intel and AMD platforms. It is used a lot inside virtualization platforms like VMware VSphere. It pr...

See all answers

Why KVM??? Help please!

We use VMware and KVM. We find that KVM is a lot simpler to use and it provides the virtualization we need for Linux and Windows. For us, VMware does not offer any advantage. Moreover, KVM is free.

See all answers

Proxmox vs ESXi/vSphere: What is your experience?

For me the biggest impact is the cost of licensing in the case of VMware despite its overall intuitiveness and ease of handling and management. However, KVM-based Open Source solutions are becoming...

See all answers

Comparisons

Hyper-V vs RHEV

Compared 19% of the time

Proxmox VE vs RHEV

Compared 12% of the time

Oracle VM vs RHEV

Compared 9% of the time

KVM vs RHEV

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle VM VirtualBox vs RHEV

Compared 7% of the time

More RHEV Competitors

Hyper-V vs VMware vSphere

Compared 41% of the time

Oracle VM vs VMware vSphere

Compared 19% of the time

Proxmox VE vs VMware vSphere

Compared 6% of the time

VMware Workstation vs VMware vSphere

Compared 4% of the time

IBM PowerVM vs VMware vSphere

Compared 2% of the time

More VMware vSphere Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

RHEV

October 2026

Download RHEV product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware vSphere

October 2026

Download VMware vSphere product report

Also Known As

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization

No data available

Overview

RHEV offers a cost-effective virtualization platform with support for up to 160 cores and 2 TB of RAM per host, emphasizing open-source accessibility and integration with applications like OpenStack.

RHEV stands out with features such as high performance, stability, ease of migration, and robust security. Its integration capabilities with diverse applications and the self-service Power user portal enhance its appeal for IT environments. While the platform's affordability compared to VMware is noted, areas for improvement include the GUI, user-friendliness, network virtualization, and the need for enhanced pricing and support in regions lacking system integrators. RHEV's ability to facilitate seamless migration from legacy systems to virtual environments is widely adopted in sectors such as government, banking, and IT services.

What are the key features of RHEV?

Open-Source Accessibility: Offers flexibility and customization options.
High Performance: Supports up to 160 cores and 2 TB of RAM per host.
Seamless Integration: Integrates well with applications like OpenStack.
Live VM Migration: Enables continuous operations without downtime.
Power User Portal: Provides self-service capabilities for users.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Cost Optimization: Provides a cost-effective alternative to VMware.
Scalable Computing: Allows flexible resource allocation and scaling.
Migration Efficiency: Facilitates moving from legacy systems smoothly.
Robust Security: Enhances data protection and privacy management.

RHEV is widely used in high-computing tasks like AI and big data analytics within data centers, supporting cloud solutions, AI, and ERP systems. It's implemented in privacy clouds for industries such as government, banking, and IT services to migrate workloads from physical to virtual environments and optimize operational costs.

Red Hat

VMware vSphere offers robust virtualization capabilities with features that enhance data center performance and optimize workloads. Centralized management and ease of deployment make it a cost-effective choice for many industries.

VMware vSphere is recognized for its high availability, vMotion, and Distributed Resource Scheduler, essential for efficient server infrastructure management. Users value its virtual machine management, seamless live migration, and strong resource allocation across data centers. Though the web client can be slow, and individual management of multiple ESXi hosts is challenging without central management, vSphere remains popular due to its flexibility and integration capabilities. While fault tolerance and free version features have their limitations, the product supports private clouds and hybrid cloud deployments effectively.

What are the key features of VMware vSphere?

High Availability: Ensures uptime through automatic failover and load balancing.
vMotion: Facilitates live migration without downtime.
Distributed Resource Scheduler: Optimizes workload distribution across servers.
Centralized Management: Simplifies administration tasks through single-pane control.
Resource Allocation: Allocates computing power and memory efficiently.

What benefits and ROI does VMware vSphere offer?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces hardware requirements and energy usage.
Scalability: Easily scales to meet growing business requirements.
Improved Performance: Enhances application performance and reliability.
Flexibility: Supports integration with other technologies for operational agility.
Ease of Management: Simplifies monitoring and administrative efforts.

VMware vSphere is widely used in industries to manage server infrastructure effectively, hosting mission-critical applications like ERP and SQL servers. It supports development, testing, and backup environments, contributing to data center consolidation and cost reduction while enabling private and hybrid cloud setups.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Qualcomm and Bonham's Auction House.

Abu Dhabi Ports Company, ACS, AIA New Zealand, Consona, Corporate Express, CS Energy, and Digiweb.

Buyer's Guide

RHEV vs. VMware vSphere

November 2026

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