VMware vCenter vs WhatsUp Gold comparison

VMware and Progress Software are both solutions in the Server Monitoring category. VMware is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6, while Progress Software is ranked #15 with an average rating of 9.5. VMware holds a 0.7% mindshare in SM, compared to Progress Software’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of VMware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Progress Software users who would recommend it.

VMware vCenter

Read 36 VMware vCenter reviews

237 Views
60 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

WhatsUp Gold

Read 24 WhatsUp Gold reviews

489 Views
40 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

VMware vCenter

WhatsUp Gold

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

WhatsUp Gold and VMware vCenter are established tools for network monitoring and virtualization management respectively. Users are generally happier with WhatsUp Gold's pricing and customer support, but VMware vCenter often stands out due to its comprehensive feature set, which users find worth the investment.

Features: WhatsUp Gold is valued for its simplicity, ease of configuration, and accessibility for small to medium enterprises. VMware vCenter is praised for advanced functionalities such as extensive monitoring capabilities, deep integrations, and a robust, feature-rich environment.

Room for Improvement: WhatsUp Gold users suggest enhancing reporting capabilities, adding more third-party integration options, and improving scalability. VMware vCenter users desire improvements in scalability, interface enhancements, and more intuitive configuration options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WhatsUp Gold has a straightforward deployment process, allowing quick setup and ease of use. Customer service is frequently responsive and helpful. VMware vCenter's deployment is more complex, reflecting its advanced feature set but requires extensive planning. Users appreciate VMware’s depth of support resources available, although immediate customer service satisfaction can vary.

Pricing and ROI: WhatsUp Gold tends to have a lower initial setup cost, making it attractive for smaller budgets and offering rapid ROI. VMware vCenter, while more costly upfront, is deemed a worthwhile investment due to its extensive features and strong long-term ROI track record, particularly in larger, more complex environments.

To learn more, read our detailed VMware vCenter vs. WhatsUp Gold Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

VMware vCenter vs. WhatsUp Gold

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 857,162 peers since 2012

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

VMware vCenter

Ranking in Server Monitoring

3rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

WhatsUp Gold

Ranking in Server Monitoring

15th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (25th), Network Monitoring Software (27th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (29th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of VMware vCenter is 0.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WhatsUp Gold is 1.6%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Monitoring

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Fahad

Manager Tech. & Support (Information Technology) at Texitech

Great for live migration and storage management with simple deployments

I am using vMotion for live migration and storage migrations. I can use vCenter for both now. In vCenter, I can easily manage storage and move it from one server to another, which is beneficial for the environment. If any server is down, I can utilize the storage for different servers. I can easily manage from anywhere. Deployments are simple, and optimization can improve security management. Troubleshooting is easy, and it is possible to detect noncompliance configurations, minimizing costs. The deployment does not require high-cost human resources. I use a single dual machine for multiple VMs. This offers many benefits compared to physical servers or machines.

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Tom Condo

Supervisor Information Services Operations at Seminole County Public Schools

If CPU, memory, or disk space is over-utilized, it alerts us immediately via text or email if there is an issue

When it comes to the intuitiveness of the topology mapping feature, our network architect created a vision diagram of our entire network and then created the links tied into the WhatsUp active monitoring to different spots on our topology map. It's one of the more critical functions we do here. We have the map displayed in different places in our room and help desk. We get alerted via emails but we can also see it visually. It does what it says it's going to do. We find this feature very helpful. The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network issue is good. When we see a network there will sometimes be a spot that has one link. You can go into a particular part of the topology map, scroll in, and see exactly which module it is. All the information is provided. This feature really helps. You can see the correlation between that link and what failed. This feature is very helpful. The interface is fairly intuitive. Some of our users used SolarWinds and Nagios, and WhatsUp is easy in comparison. Once you get set up, the look, feel, and configuration are good. Our network architect had never used it before but he was able to create the Visio and map. It was very simple. He has no problems with it.

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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 most valuable feature is the ease of migrating services from one host to another during maintenance."

"VMware vCenter is the best from a management perspective, scoring ten on a scale of one to ten."

"The most valuable aspect for us is the ability to monitor all servers simultaneously and effortlessly move them between hosts."

"VMware vCenter has significantly improved our infrastructure management by enabling virtualization. We can virtualize our infrastructure, eliminating the need to access servers physically. Everything can be managed remotely."

"The most valuable features of the solution are virtualization and ease of backing up the virtual and on-premises servers."

"The platform is very effective for managing virtual infrastructure. It has improved our virtual infrastructure and virtual machine deployment in several ways."

"The product has improved our system's proactive support for in-built AI tools."

"It is easy to create and manage virtual infrastructure."

More VMware vCenter pros

"The solution effectively monitors network devices and servers."

"I use it on premises to monitor my network database. We monitor the link up/down and use the SNMP traps as well."

"The most valuable feature is the auto-discovery function."

"The installation and configuration process are easy."

"The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network issue is good. When we see a network there will sometimes be a spot that has one link. You can go into a particular part of the topology map, scroll in, and see exactly which module it is."

"The most valuable feature is the monitoring of resources."

"This is a good, stable network monitoring solution for devices."

"Auto scanning is most valuable. It looks for rogue devices on your network."

More WhatsUp Gold pros

Cons

"The scalability could be enhanced."

"It is not easy to upgrade VMware vCenter from an old version to a new version."

"One area where VMware vCenter has room for improvement is its transition to Broadcom. The change in licensing structure and pricing, particularly the shift from perpetual licenses to subscription-only models, is a significant drawback."

"vCentre licensing cost is on the higher side as well."

"The licensing model needs improvement, especially with the transition to Broadcom."

"One notable area for enhancement revolves around cost considerations, as introducing features such as DDoS protection or data compression could reduce expenses."

"VMware vCenter does not have a centralized security dashboard, and it is pretty tedious to configure."

"Enhancing the product's capabilities on the backend could be beneficial."

More VMware vCenter cons

"Regional product team support is not very good."

"Users want SMS available via Whatsapp Gold. They don't want to go through third party SMS servers. The solution should work to make this possible."

"The technical support does not bother to respond."

"We can never achieve or get a good picture of the network topology."

"The initial setup of WhatsUp Gold is a medium range of difficulty levels. However, if it is your first time it could be difficult."

"Pricing is too high relative to how many devices we use. The price list is not linear to number of devices."

"The tool should focus on increasing its market share, as it is the only area of concern where improvements are needed."

"The new release cadence needs to be improved. It takes a while for them to add new features and functionality. There should be a quicker turnaround with new versions."

More WhatsUp Gold cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product's three-year license package is inexpensive."

"For the healthcare industry, the price is considerably higher than the education industry."

"We have purchased monthly licenses for the platform. There are additional costs involved."

"We utilize the basic licenses of the product."

"The solution is expensive."

"The platform is highly-priced."

"The platform is expensive."

"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."

More VMware vCenter pricing and cost advice

"This is a well priced solution."

"There are some subscription charges that are quite heavy. I need to pay for support every year and these charges can be quite expensive. Aside from the initial cost for the tool, you need to pay additionally for support."

"Pricing is reasonable compared to other products."

"The tool's price is reasonable. WhatsUp Gold is cheaper than SolarWinds."

"There is a license needed to use WhatsUp Gold."

"The choice of version depends on the number of points, or devices, that you want to monitor, and this makes the product expensive."

"I'm not sure, but it's expensive. We don't pay any additional fees."

"The pricing can be on the expensive side when considering competing products."

More WhatsUp Gold pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about VMware vCenter?

The filtering capabilities also enhance scalability by optimizing resource allocation.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware vCenter?

The initial package for VMware vCenter is not less than $10,000, which can be prohibitive for smaller organizations. The licensing model now requires purchasing 96-core solutions, even if fewer cor...

See all answers

What needs improvement with VMware vCenter?

The main issue with VMware vCenter is its pricing and licensing model. The licensing model has shifted, leading to higher costs, particularly for smaller organizations. Additionally, the transition...

See all answers

What do you like most about WhatsUp Gold?

The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network issue is good. When we see a network there will sometimes be a spot that has one l...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WhatsUp Gold?

Clients find the licensing calculator confusing, but we simplify this for them by collecting relevant information first. The licensing is based on devices, providing better cost-effectiveness than ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with WhatsUp Gold?

Improvements are needed in integration, especially for WhatsApp call and messages. Our region heavily uses WhatsApp Messenger for communication, and integration with this platform would be benefici...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 61% of the time

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Compared 39% of the time

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Grafana vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 13% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 10% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 9% of the time

Zabbix vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 8% of the time

ManageEngine OpManager vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

VMware vCenter

May 2025

Download VMware vCenter product report

Buyer's Guide

WhatsUp Gold

May 2025

Download WhatsUp Gold product report

Overview

VMware vCenter is essential for managing virtual machines, deploying systems for customers, and centralizing ESXi servers' management. It aids in monitoring hosts, handling backups, recovering data, and virtualizing compute resources.

Organizations leverage VMware vCenter to oversee virtual infrastructure, automate administrative tasks, and provide self-service portals. It simplifies the management of IT environments by offering features like host profiles, high availability, and cluster configuration. Other notable features include scalability, resource management, performance monitoring, cloning, snapshots, DRS, LACP, and lifecycle management. VMware vCenter ensures continuous system availability, benefiting sectors like healthcare through efficient server management and process automation. The platform's alerting mechanisms, backup and restore functionalities, and elastic resource allocation enhance operational efficiency.

What are the key features of VMware vCenter?

Host Profiles: Simplifies and standardizes host configurations.
High Availability: Ensures system uptime and reliability.
Centralized Management: Allows comprehensive control over multiple ESXi servers.
Scalability: Adapts to growing infrastructure needs.
Performance Monitoring: Assesses and optimizes virtual machine performance.
Cloning & Snapshots: Facilitates quick deployment and recovery.
DRS: Distributes resources efficiently across the cluster.
LACP: Enhances network performance and reliability.
Lifecycle Management: Manages software updates and hardware lifecycles effectively.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Operational Efficiency: Automates routine tasks and improves resource management.
System Availability: Minimizes downtime and ensures continuous operations.
Cost Management: Optimizes resource usage and reduces operational costs.
Scalability: Grows with the company's infrastructure needs.
Enhanced Performance: Monitors and optimizes virtual machine performance.

Healthcare organizations use VMware vCenter to ensure uninterrupted access to critical applications and patient data. It helps manage large volumes of virtual servers, providing necessary performance and reliability. This platform's automation and monitoring capabilities are crucial for maintaining efficient IT operations and supporting healthcare needs.

VMware

Explore and manage your entire network infrastructure effortlessly with WhatsUp Gold's robust layer 2/3 discovery, creating a detailed interactive map from the edge to the cloud. Monitor devices, wireless controllers, servers, virtual machines, applications, and traffic flows across various environments. Real-time alerts ensure optimal performance, allowing you to meet or exceed SLAs. The platform offers customizable maps, dashboards, and alerts for easy network management. Quickly resolve issues with intuitive workflows, reducing Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR). WhatsUp Gold's integrated log management provides easy visibility and control of device log data, allowing monitoring, filtering, searching, and alerting on syslogs or Windows logs. Archive logs to comply with regulatory requirements and preserve historical data, all through a user-friendly interface. Streamline network monitoring and issue resolution with WhatsUp Gold, making network management efficient and hassle-free.

Progress Software

Sample Customers

1. Amazon 2. Apple 3. ATT 4. Bank of America 5. Cisco Systems 6. CocaCola 7. Dell 8. ebay 9. Facebook 10. Google 11. HP 12. IBM 13. Intel 14. JPMorgan Chase 15. LinkedIn 16. Microsoft 17. Netflix 18. Oracle 19. PayPal 20. SAP 21. Siemens 22. Tesla 23. Toyota 24. Twitter 25. Visa 26. Walmart 27. WeWork 28. World Bank

Artoni Trasporti, Austin Independent School District, Banca Marche, Burke County North Carolina, Cambridge University School of Clinical Medicine, Clayco, Community Integrated Care, Desca, Deutsche Bergbau, Flexi-Van, Gropper, Hamleys, Hammonds Furniture, Knowledge IT, Idras S.P.A., Sibeg, Swann Engineering, Trivium Lindenhof

Buyer's Guide

VMware vCenter vs. WhatsUp Gold

June 2025

Free Report: VMware vCenter vs. WhatsUp Gold

Find out what your peers are saying about VMware vCenter vs. WhatsUp Gold and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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