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Pros & Cons summary

Buyer's Guide

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

VMware ESXi is praised for its high reliability and stability, making it suitable for production environments and crucial business operations.
Users appreciate VMware ESXi for monetary savings by consolidating multiple machines onto a single server, optimizing resource usage.
VMware ESXi's most valuable features include disaster recovery, vMotion, DRS, HA, and resource scheduling, which are essential for maintaining uptime and performance.
The platform is noted for its scalability and the ability to efficiently virtualize infrastructure, making it ideal for small to medium-sized businesses.
The integration with VMware vCenter offers centralized management and ease in managing complex virtual environments.

CONS

VMware ESXi is criticized for being costly, especially after the Broadcom acquisition, and the price increases have become a major concern.
The licensing model has become problematic, transitioning from a perpetual to a subscription model, which is not cost-effective for small users.
The setup phase of VMware ESXi is complex, requiring significant expertise and making it an area needing improvement.
VMware ESXi often requires shutting down VMs to change resources, posing a challenge for users who need more seamless management.
The password recovery process in VMware ESXi is cumbersome, and improvements are necessary to make it user-friendly.
 

VMware ESXi Pros review quotes

Carlos Ortiz - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
Apr 3, 2024
The solution brings monetary savings for our company because we utilize a single server
Syed Shahid Hasan - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager- II | Unit Head - Technolgy Infra (Global) at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Apr 11, 2024
The product is very reliable.
reviewer2396244 - PeerSpot reviewer
HR Specialist at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
May 2, 2024
My customers are satisfied with the solution’s performance.
Learn what your peers think about VMware ESXi. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
880,844 professionals have used our research since 2012.
John Ilozor - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Development Executive at Digital Alliance Limited
May 3, 2024
VMware ESXi provides high availability and a good web interface.
reviewer2388204 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Product Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
May 30, 2024
VMware ESXi is very reliable, especially for our production environment.
reviewer1525815 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
May 30, 2024
The most valuable features are disaster recovery and vMotion. Those are the most important ones. Moreover, integrating ESI with ID Workflow is quite easy. The product is highly stable. I rate it a nine out of ten. The solution is highly scalable. I rate it a nine out of ten. The initial setup is straightforward. I recommend the product. It’s good and is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses. Overall, I rate this product an eight out of ten.
Nadeem Abdulla - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager IT Infrastructure at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Jun 11, 2024
The most valuable features of the solution are its high availability and resource scheduling areas.
ER
Managing Member at MedEqual Systems and Supplies
Jun 20, 2024
The software from GE Healthcare only needs the basic virtualization functions, such as creating VMs, adjusting the resources allocated to the VMs, making backups, restoring, etc.
MA
Senior cloud support engineer at RealPage
Jun 20, 2024
The migration and combination of vCenter, where I can manage everything at once, has helped me do my job.
Ramish Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Director IT at Punjab Education Foundation
Jun 25, 2024
The main function of ESXi is the ability to consolidate multiple machines onto a single server, saving space and energy.
 

VMware ESXi Cons review quotes

Carlos Ortiz - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist at INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC.
Apr 3, 2024
Some features should be added to the solution to enhance server management
Syed Shahid Hasan - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager- II | Unit Head - Technolgy Infra (Global) at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Apr 11, 2024
VMware is very costly.
reviewer2396244 - PeerSpot reviewer
HR Specialist at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
May 2, 2024
The solution’s pricing could be reduced.
Learn what your peers think about VMware ESXi. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
880,844 professionals have used our research since 2012.
John Ilozor - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Development Executive at Digital Alliance Limited
May 3, 2024
VMware should make recovering the password easier if customers forget it.
reviewer2388204 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Product Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
May 30, 2024
For horizontal scalability, VMware ESXi is not the right product, and we have been evaluating alternative options.
reviewer1525815 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
May 30, 2024
The pricing strategy could be improved.
Nadeem Abdulla - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager IT Infrastructure at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Jun 11, 2024
The tool's downtime is an area of concern where improvements are required.
ER
Managing Member at MedEqual Systems and Supplies
Jun 20, 2024
The solution’s licensing model could be improved.
MA
Senior cloud support engineer at RealPage
Jun 20, 2024
It would be really helpful if there were options to do things in one or two clicks rather than doing everything through more manual interaction.
Ramish Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Director IT at Punjab Education Foundation
Jun 25, 2024
I would rate the technical support as six out of ten. The response time could be better.