Azure Stack vs Microsoft Azure VMware comparison

Azure Stack and Microsoft Azure VMware are both solutions in the Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms category. Azure Stack is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft Azure VMware is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.7. Azure Stack holds a 23.9% mindshare in HCCP, compared to Microsoft Azure VMware’s 3.0% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Azure Stack users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Microsoft Azure VMware users who would recommend it.

Azure Stack

Read 67 Azure Stack reviews

3,290 Views
3,224 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure VMware

Read 3 Microsoft Azure VMware reviews

303 Views
303 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Azure Stack

Microsoft Azure VMware

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Azure Stack and Microsoft Azure VMware compete within the cloud solutions category. Azure Stack appears to have the upper hand in hybrid cloud environments with cost-effective options, whereas Microsoft Azure VMware is preferred by existing VMware users for its comprehensive cloud capabilities.

Features: Azure Stack provides seamless integration into hybrid cloud infrastructures, data locality for regulatory needs, and flexibility in hybrid solutions. Microsoft Azure VMware offers complete VMware environment support, excellent compatibility for enterprises using VMware, and strong VMware tool integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure VMware is known for its straightforward deployment and robust support for VMware tools, making the transition smoother for existing VMware users. Azure Stack requires more integration effort for hybrid solutions but supports complex hybrid strategies effectively.

Pricing and ROI: Azure Stack is cost-effective for those seeking hybrid solutions without extensive changes to existing systems, often providing a quicker ROI in such scenarios. Microsoft Azure VMware may have higher setup costs due to VMware licensing, but it offers strong ROI through enhanced cloud capabilities for established VMware environments.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Stack vs. Microsoft Azure VMware Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack vs. Microsoft Azure VMware

September 2025

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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

Azure Stack

Ranking in Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) (2nd)

Microsoft Azure VMware

Ranking in Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms category, the mindshare of Azure Stack is 23.9%, down from 29.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure VMware is 3.0%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Azure Stack	23.9%
Microsoft Azure VMware	3.0%
Other	73.1%

Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

Featured Reviews

MohammedAbdulAleem

Lead Enterprise Architect at Integrated Telecom

Security and compliance shine but integration and pricing need work

The difficulties we face involve the lack of support, which is one reason the product isn't selling well in the market. Perhaps it relates to our sales team's strategy, but management looks for a balanced product that utilizes existing hardware, fulfills external customer demand, and leverages the scalability of the cloud model. An improvement for Azure Stack would be in third-party integration; it feels very restricted and closed concerning hardware. For example, I have Dell EMC hardware, but I want to integrate it with other major hardware such as Cisco, IBM, Lenovo, or Supermicro, and I can't do that. They should also improve third-party integration regarding security and new services such as AI as a service. I expect more towards AI-enabled models, and GPU as a service is also not offered.

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BachirAbderrahmani

Cloud Architect at CGI

Offers a lot of flexibility during the migration to users

I cannot tell you exactly what will be added except one thing. The tool already did a great job integrating the native Azure SaaS and PaaS solutions. I think the tool can do better integration. We need to have a dedicated network connectivity with a dedicated ExpressRoute circuit. For example, in our experience with this client, we ended up with two circuits for ExpressRoute. If the tool can do better and flawless integration with the native Azure services, it will be a good enhancement. What we have right now is not bad, but it is an area where the tool can do a little bit of enhancements.

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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

"One of the features I really appreciate is the Hybrid Cloud Extension UI."

"The initial setup is very, very simple."

"It has every feature that we need and overall, it's pretty good."

"Azure Stack is stable."

"We use Azure Stack for migration, application modernization, and cloud-native modernization."

"The most valuable thing about Azure Stack is that it provides a unified control panel for managing cloud services."

"The most valuable features are that it is a Hybrid, and we can easily integrate with the Microsoft Public Cloud."

"Azure Stack integrates well with Microsoft. It's also good for transitioning from an on-premise or hybrid setup to the cloud. It's seamless."

More Azure Stack pros

"The integration is very good."

"For new users, if you have a scalable environment where a VMware data center makes sense for your business, I definitely recommend AVS."

"Regarding stability, it is like a five-star solution."

"The capabilities are like a lift-and-shift operation for moving existing VMware environments to the cloud. The time for migration onto the cloud has substantially reduced."

Cons

"There are limits to the bandwidth and sizing of the images."

"The technical support team's response time needs improvement."

"It's not stable as IBM solutions. It fully supports all the .NET solutions, but our main applications are based in Java. So in those cases, we've had some minor problems with Azure, but Microsoft always says that it can handle this stuff."

"Azure Stack doesn't have all the services available in Microsoft Azure."

"The pricing is expensive, especially today as most platforms embrace cloud models, promoting different stacks that support heterogeneous hardware and hybrid model environments, offering full multi-tenancy."

"The challenge in Azure Stack begins at an individual level when you try to monitor every service from Azure Stack that gets consumed."

"The way this solution gives you steps to follow to remediate vulnerability is not very well done."

"If you look at the documentation set, there are rims and rims of it. You try to drive something from the console, and it's quite complex. It's not it's not easy and straightforward. You've gotta sit down and review it, look at the documentation, and work your way through it. It's not intuitive."

More Azure Stack cons

"Azure VMware needs to cater to smaller enterprises, as it is currently meant for larger entities."

"Well, sometimes they release product after product, so it's it's kind of hard to keep an overview of all the different aspects of of the solutions."

"Azure VMware needs to cater to smaller enterprises, as it is currently meant for larger entities. One improvement could be more support for mid-sized or scalable environments."

"The only issue is that a small challenge was found regarding the network...to have extended, smooth VLANs and everything else was a little bit complicated."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are satisfied with the pricing."

"The cost of Azure Stack is much cheaper than VCE."

"Azure Stack has an annual licensing fee, which is very expensive."

"The pricing falls in the middle. It serves as a mediator between being expensive and being affordable, but it's not exactly cheap either. I would rate it a six out of ten."

"Azure Stack is a medium-priced product, so it is not overpriced, but the prices may be higher for certain services."

"Azure is reasonably priced compared to Google Cloud, AWS, or some other cloud giants."

"The people who manage the budgets are satisfied with the solution’s medium pricing, which is neither very expensive nor very cheap."

"I am using my Microsoft license, and it costs monthly. You need to pay additional costs apart from the standard costs."

More Azure Stack pricing and cost advice

"To be honest, the tool comes at a high price."

"The mandatory requirements, such as a minimum of three nodes, make it expensive. The customers need to sign up for approximately $20,000 per month."

"The solution is very competitive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	32
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	25

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Stack?

For hybrid cloud operations, the seamless transition it enables is key. Most enterprises have a lot of workloads on-premises, and they want a smooth way to move into the cloud. Some things are on...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Stack?

Maintenance is included as part of the overall cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Stack?

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure VMware?

The integration is very good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure VMware?

The pricing is high, rated around nine to 9.5 out of ten. The mandatory requirements, such as a minimum of three nodes, make it expensive. The customers need to sign up for approximately $20,000 pe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VMware?

Azure VMware needs to cater to smaller enterprises, as it is currently meant for larger entities. One improvement could be more support for mid-sized or scalable environments. The licensing policy ...

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware Cloud Foundation vs Azure Stack

Compared 42% of the time

AWS Outposts vs Azure Stack

Compared 34% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) vs Azure Stack

Compared 11% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift vs Azure Stack

Compared 3% of the time

More Azure Stack Competitors

Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) vs Microsoft Azure VMware

Compared 44% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Microsoft Azure VMware

Compared 20% of the time

VMware Cloud on AWS vs Microsoft Azure VMware

Compared 20% of the time

More Microsoft Azure VMware Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

August 2025

Download Microsoft Azure VMware product report

Overview

Information not available

Microsoft

Microsoft Azure VMware provides a seamless integration of VMware environments into Azure, offering enterprises an efficient way to extend workloads and optimize their IT infrastructure. This facilitates a native VMware experience within Azure, ideal for scaling and modernizing services.

Azure VMware enables businesses to leverage existing investments in VMware tools and skills while taking advantage of Azure's scalability and global reach. Users find it valuable for disaster recovery, datacenter extension, and application modernization. It supports consistent operations and reduces complexity by simplifying operations and cutting IT costs. Additionally, users appreciate its ability to integrate with other Azure services for increased functionality and performance.

What are the key features of Microsoft Azure VMware?

Hybrid Platform: Integrates on-premise VMware tools with Azure for consistent management.
Scalability: Easily scale VMware-based applications leveraging Azure's infrastructure.
Disaster Recovery: Offers robust solutions for backup and recovery scenarios, ensuring business continuity.
Flexibility: Supports various VMware workloads, optimizing performance and costs.

What benefits should you evaluate in reviews?

Cost Efficiency: Potential for reduced IT expenses by utilizing cloud resources for scaling.
Time Savings: Streamlines operations time with easy management and deployment.
Seamless Integration: Preserves existing investment in VMware tools and skills.
Enhanced Security: Utilizes Azure's comprehensive security features to protect workloads.

In industries like healthcare and finance, Microsoft Azure VMware is implemented to enhance datacenter capacities and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Its ability to integrate with existing resources allows companies to transition workloads without significant disruption, providing a flexible and scalable solution that supports innovation while maintaining operational continuity.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Weblink, Fathym, Sage, CFD Support Ltd, The UberCloud Inc.

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack vs. Microsoft Azure VMware

September 2025

Free Report: Azure Stack vs. Microsoft Azure VMware

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