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VMware Aria Automation vs vCenter Orchestrator comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.0
Medium to large enterprises gain ROI from virtualization, but quantifying returns is challenging; vCenter Orchestrator suits specific needs.
Sentiment score
7.2
VMware Aria Automation improved ROI through cost savings, enhanced productivity, and faster provisioning, reducing manual processes and boosting efficiency.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
VMware support is praised for communication and resolution but needs faster response and deeper expertise in some cases.
Sentiment score
6.6
VMware Aria Automation support is generally responsive and knowledgeable, but some delays occur with escalated issues and case handling.
When you open a ticket, in very, very few cases, they solve it. This is around a particular solution, Tanzu.
Senior IT at ITSolutions
We never had major issues to report or request support.
IT Infrastructure Manager at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
vCenter Orchestrator effectively scales from small to large environments, adapting well despite some hardware-specific challenges.
Sentiment score
7.5
VMware Aria Automation is highly scalable, adaptable to various setups, and appreciated for integration and ease of expansion.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
vCenter Orchestrator is highly stable, reliable, and efficient, with occasional issues, praised for trustworthy performance by users.
Sentiment score
6.8
VMware Aria Automation is generally stable, with improvements noted; issues mainly occur during upgrades or complex deployments.
Until version eight, it was perfect because it was very proven and stable, and it was doing very well what it was promising.
Senior IT at ITSolutions
 

Room For Improvement

vCenter Orchestrator requires affordability, interface improvements, better integration, automation features, simpler workflows, and accessible support and resources.
VMware Aria Automation needs improved documentation, integration, UI, and cost-effectiveness, along with enhanced orchestration, training, and error management.
VCF 9 will bring VCF Automation and VCF Operations, the new product line of VMware.
Senior IT at ITSolutions
It operates for both of my products, however, as a product, it is complicated to integrate and automate with other products.
Cloud Engineer at BIDV - Ngân hàng TMCP Đầu tư & Phát triển Việt Nam
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise users have mixed opinions on vCenter Orchestrator pricing, with some finding it expensive due to complex licensing.
Enterprise users find VMware Aria Automation costly yet appreciate its integration and savings, comparing it to free alternatives like SaltStack.
 

Valuable Features

vCenter Orchestrator offers seamless automation, easy integration, scalability, user-friendly interface, and cost-effective virtual machine management.
VMware Aria Automation streamlines tasks through extensive integration, scalability, and user-friendly interfaces, enhancing operational agility and hybrid cloud support.
We leverage VRO when the going gets tough. When something is not doable with the tools we have with VMware Aria Automation, we use the capabilities of VRO because it has many plugins for many things.
Senior IT at ITSolutions
It helps us automate the workflow of creating many VMs and the TensorFlow key method.
Cloud Engineer at BIDV - Ngân hàng TMCP Đầu tư & Phát triển Việt Nam
We have strong regulations for maintaining compliance and mitigating risks with this product.
IT Infrastructure Manager at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

vCenter Orchestrator
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
Process Automation (11th)
VMware Aria Automation
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
172
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (3rd), Configuration Management (8th), Network Automation (6th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (19th), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

vCenter Orchestrator and VMware Aria Automation aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. vCenter Orchestrator is designed for Process Automation and holds a mindshare of 0.7%, up 0.2% compared to last year.
VMware Aria Automation, on the other hand, focuses on Cloud Management, holds 5.8% mindshare, down 11.2% since last year.
Process Automation Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
vCenter Orchestrator0.7%
Camunda15.7%
Temporal5.7%
Other77.9%
Process Automation
Cloud Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware Aria Automation5.8%
Morpheus4.4%
VMware Aria Operations4.3%
Other85.5%
Cloud Management
 

Featured Reviews

NB
Hybrid Cloud Engineer at RealPage
Boosts operational efficiency with flexible workflows and reliable cluster management
We currently use vCenter Orchestrator's pre-built workflow templates for our IT processes. The templates are flexible, allowing us to create and convert processes simply and manage patches. Regarding integration capabilities, we do not integrate any third-party tools. We exclusively use VMware products. The integration within the VMware infrastructure is limited to Single Sign-On (SSO). I have not created any workflows in vCenter Orchestrator as workflows are only used for change management. I have not encountered any drag and drop interface. The version control and logging features of vCenter Orchestrator have significantly improved the reliability of our automated processes, particularly during upgrades or patching to the cluster-wise. Previously, it would be done on a one-to-one cluster or one-to-one host basis, but now we only need to monitor it for upgrading or patching the entire cluster. I cannot comment on the pricing and licensing of vCenter Orchestrator as these aspects are managed by our onsite counterpart. Overall, I rate vCenter Orchestrator 8 out of 10. The rating reflects occasional delays in support response times and portal stability issues.
VasilisGiannitsiotis - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior IT at ITSolutions
Automation has streamlined complex financial workflows but still needs more intuitive orchestration
Something to improve in VMware Aria Automation would be related to VCF 9, as I do not know what it is trying to bring because they exposed it as the solution of everything. So VCF 9 will bring VCF Automation and VCF Operations, the new product line of VMware. I have not seen what this brings or what else it includes. Maybe in the area of vRealize Orchestrator, this would be beneficial because VRO can do everything. Perhaps a more user-friendly way to use that tool would be helpful because the possibilities there are endless. I am looking for more user-friendly navigation in VMware Aria Automation.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Marketing Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise130
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about vCenter Orchestrator?
The stability of the product is very good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Orchestrator?
We're running a low-profile budget. This is not our main focus on investment technology, so we're trying to reduce costs due to the change from perpetual to subscription licenses.
What needs improvement with vCenter Orchestrator?
For our environment, I do not see any areas of vCenter Orchestrator that could be improved or enhanced. We are currently satisfied with the orchestrator. If any improvements are needed, I will prov...
What's the difference between VMware vRA (automation) and vROps (operations)?
vROP is a virtualization management solution from VMWare. It is efficient and easy to manage. You can find anything you need from the software interface. It provides complete visibility over applic...
Is there any way to try VMware Aria Automation for free?
When it comes to VMware Aria Automation, you have three choices for free runs: Hands-on Lab (HOL) Advanced lab A free trial I cannot describe in detail the second and third options as my company ...
Which sectors can benefit the most from VMware Aria Automation?
I was looking at VMware Aria Automation case studies recently and I got the impression that three main kinds of companies were using it most often: Social organizations Financial institutions and ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware vRealize Automation, vRA, VMware DynamicOps Cloud Suite, SaltStack
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Beiersdorf Shared Services
Rent-a-Center, Amway, Vistra Energy, Liberty Mutual
Find out what your peers are saying about Camunda, BMC, Temporal Technologies and others in Process Automation. Updated: March 2026.
884,732 professionals have used our research since 2012.