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VMware ESXi vs VMware vSphere Foundation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

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
4.7
VMware ESXi boosts efficiency and eases management, but rising costs lead to interest in more cost-effective alternatives.
Sentiment score
5.3
VMware vSphere Foundation improves scalability, recoverability, and cost management through server consolidation and infrastructure optimization for hybrid architectures.
In an environment where the infrastructure has to be up for monitoring and controlling physical infrastructure like water plants, it has absolutely returned on its investment.
There is flexibility and interoperability with multi-mode architectures that accommodate both on-prem and cloud realities.
Server consolidation is one return on investment where we can use one server for multiple workloads.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
VMware ESXi support is generally praised for expertise, despite mixed response times and quality post-Broadcom transition.
Sentiment score
5.9
VMware vSphere Foundation's customer service is mixed, praised for availability and support but critiqued on costs and response times.
I rate the technical support from VMware as nine or ten out of ten.
In the last three or four years, we did not require any support from VMware engineers, indicating its high reliability.
Customer service and support are good; they are reachable, and at times remote support suffices.
There is nonstop support available around the world, which allows issues to be resolved continuously without interruption, regardless of whether the problem occurs in the USA, India, or another location.
Now, with Broadcom's management, I would rate it a three out of ten.
Most of the time, VMware operates smoothly without requiring support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
VMware ESXi is praised for its vertical scalability and management efficiency, despite challenges in horizontal scalability and licensing.
Sentiment score
7.7
VMware vSphere Foundation is scalable, supports third-party integration, but users note potential limitations in specific configurations.
The solution is scalable, allowing us to scale up or down regardless of infrastructure size.
vCenter Server can manage up to 1,000 ESXi servers within a single UI interface, allowing extensive deployment and management capabilities.
My customers are highly satisfied with its scalability.
The return on investment is high because we can maximize the use of one server for multiple workloads.
It's straightforward to procure additional licenses, install them on the host and add them to the same cluster.
You can simply add more hosts to your VMware stack seamlessly, scaling up vertically or horizontally.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
VMware ESXi is highly stable and dependable, often rated 8-10, with minimal issues and effective recent updates.
Sentiment score
7.5
VMware vSphere Foundation is reliable, minimally managed, requires updates, effectively monitors performance, and is highly praised for stability.
ESXi is stable, and our business operations depend on it year after year.
Stability rates a perfect 10.
Stability is optimal.
Frequent updates are required due to constant security challenges and attacks.
It is a standard tool and is considered very stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Users are concerned about VMware ESXi's pricing, support, and complexities post-Broadcom, desiring simpler licensing and improvements.
VMware vSphere faces issues with access, pricing, language support, and multi-cloud management following Broadcom's merger, requiring better solutions.
Providing a mobile application for remote access to ESXi servers would be beneficial.
It's not cost-effective for small users and creates a gap for alternatives, while favoring larger clients.
The cost of VMware ESXi is very high, especially after the acquisition by Broadcom, which led to price increases.
I highly recommend that continuous support for perpetual licenses be provided.
VMware needs to improve cost efficiency, especially in Pakistan, as customers often seek more affordable solutions.
Recently, VMware shifted its licensing models, and they should streamline it.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise evaluators find VMware ESXi pricing high, with complex licensing and costs exceeding competitors, challenging smaller users' budgets.
VMware vSphere costs, especially post-merger, are high, leading organizations to consider open-source alternatives for cost-effectiveness.
The product is very cost-effective, though not fixed, as pricing tends to fluctuate over time.
The solution is moderately priced, not exactly cheap yet not overly expensive either.
The pricing is expensive, with the cost for customers ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 yearly.
It's expensive, however, the stability it offers is optimal.
In Brazil, we are increasingly using open-source alternatives like Proxmox due to their lower prices in comparison.
During one project, the price doubled or even tripled before implementation, causing issues with clients.
 

Valuable Features

VMware ESXi provides cost-effective server consolidation, seamless migrations, high availability, resource optimization, and centralized management with strong compatibility.
VMware vSphere Foundation provides scalable virtualization, efficient management, robust security, and facilitates seamless cloud integration with high availability.
Its capability to move virtual machines to physical machines is very efficient for our live environment.
As a level one or bare metal hypervisor, its unmatched scalability depends on underlying hardware, capable of managing large numbers of physical servers with one management platform.
vMotion is a daily used technology that allows us to have machines distributed across different sites while maintaining redundancy between the sites.
vSphere Foundation is valuable due to its scalability, reliability, and ease of management.
VMware provides the tools needed to move environments between private and public clouds seamlessly.
The virtual stack of vCenter, its distributed resources system, high availability engines, and the ability to move VM workloads from one host to another are outstanding.
 

Categories and Ranking

VMware ESXi
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware vSphere Foundation
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of VMware ESXi is 1.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vSphere Foundation is 0.3%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware ESXi1.7%
VMware vSphere Foundation0.3%
Other98.0%
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ion Boni - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved daily operations and provides solid performance but recent licensing changes have created challenges
Licensing has become a major issue. The new subscription-based licensing model is problematic. They have dropped all the support services for small partners and cut all small partners. The last two years have been challenging - after building stability, we received an email announcing they dropped the current model. It used to be cost-efficient. Now, when compared with Red Hat OpenStack, it is more expensive, but our knowledge and client awareness is with VMware ESXi. At this moment, we still prefer VMware ESXi.
ErmiasGirma - PeerSpot reviewer
Virtualization enhances management and utilization in enterprise environments
In the past, we faced challenges with VMware's transition to Broadcom, which caused a lot of frustration. Issues like not being able to upgrade to version eight without support and the end-of-life of perpetual licenses were concerning. Pricing fluctuation and increased licensing costs were also significant challenges. I highly recommend that continuous support for perpetual licenses be provided.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
18%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about VMware ESXi?
My customers are satisfied with the solution’s performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware ESXi?
VMware ESXi is extremely expensive now compared to a few years ago. It's a core-based license now. We have bought VCF for about more than 2,000 cores. It's not a user-based license, and when you co...
What needs improvement with VMware ESXi?
It would be better if it had some scaling out features such as Kubernetes, automatic scale-out features, or automatic scheduling scale-out features, without being in a containerized platform such a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware vSphere Foundation?
I don't know the exact pricing for the VMware vSphere Foundation, but I think the last license model to upgrade is three or four times more expensive.
What needs improvement with VMware vSphere Foundation?
It is not the best because something is bothering me and could be enhanced. I want to discuss disadvantages because I have covered some positive things. There are potential areas that could be better.
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about VMware ESXi vs. VMware vSphere Foundation and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.