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Citrix XenServer vs RHEV comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 2025

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

Citrix XenServer
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
RHEV
Ranking in Server Virtualization Software
13th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of Citrix XenServer is 4.6%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RHEV is 2.4%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Virtualization Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Citrix XenServer4.6%
RHEV2.4%
Other93.0%
Server Virtualization Software
 

Featured Reviews

SP
Citrix Specialist at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Support team resolves issues quickly and receives positive feedback
We can improve Citrix XenServer Performance Management in the server base by enabling CPU virtualization extensions such as Intel VT or AMD-V. We can use Paravirtualization (PV) drivers to enhance network performance. We can implement dedicated storage not shared with other applications and use thin provisioning for more efficient storage usage. Regular updates should be given to patches and hotfixes. XenCenter or web-based solutions provide better control and monitoring, which is useful for automatic tasks with PowerShell scripts. We can implement high availability and live migration with pools, along with security and backup to enable role-based access control for safer management. We can schedule VM snapshots and use VM export for backup and recovery. While Citrix Hypervisor remains a reliable virtualization platform, several areas could be improved to better meet enterprise needs. The user interface, though functional, lacks a more modern web-based experience compared to tools such as Proxmox VE or VMware vSphere. A more responsive browser-accessible interface would simplify management, especially for remote administrators. Citrix Cloud needs improved support for containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes, which are essential in today's hybrid cloud environments. Backup and disaster recovery features are somewhat limited, often requiring third-party tools. Better built-in snapshot management and cloud integration would enhance usability. Community support and documentation have fallen behind compared to open-source projects such as Proxmox. More transparent development and a stronger ecosystem would greatly benefit users. The streaming licensing and feature access make Citrix Hypervisor more competitive in a growing market of free and open-source hypervisors.
Mike Neuliep - PeerSpot reviewer
Linux Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Has supported virtualization projects in side jobs but has required workarounds due to lack of maintenance
In my opinion, the best features of RHEV are that it is a real hypervisor and it is free, so it performs better than VMware. I have used the live migration feature in the past with RHEV. There is a free clone of it that is based on the open source. Live migration is a nifty feature if your app is not highly available and you need to do maintenance on a machine. You can migrate the VM off of it, do your maintenance, and move it back when you are done. RHEV has a high availability architecture with a built-in monitoring feature where you could see machines other than the one you are operating on. I tend to implement high availability not so much in RHEV, but by using standard application high availability strategies. Red Hat has another product specifically for high availability.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can easily migrate VMs from one host to another."
"The benefits from using Citrix include increased productivity, as users don't have to search for what they need to open; they can see everything in one place instead of having numerous links in Chrome or on their home page."
"This is a good product for virtualization and it is easy to use."
"The onboarding process is pretty straightforward."
"The support for this solution is phenomenal."
"Scripting can automate procedures."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is very fast. It also works very well for physically small servers."
"It is user-friendly and easy to deploy, making it an attractive option."
"I can control and manage everything. I know everything that's cooking inside. This is the best part for me."
"In my opinion, the best features of RHEV are that it is a real hypervisor and it is free, so it performs better than VMware."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"Stability and speed are the most valuable aspects."
"There aren't any bugs on the solution."
"I advise keeping an open mind. It's an excellent solution."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the support portal."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is the popularity of the OS."
 

Cons

"Citrix needs to improve the hypervisor, specifically in security and performance."
"I find that the features in Citrix Hypervisor are not as rich as with VMware. It would be a benefit if they had some of the other features VMware has, such as the ability to expand a drive on the fly. You do not have to take down the machine to do it but in Citrix you do."
"There are several areas that need improvement including the stability of the networking stack and networking management."
"Integration with other vendors and other applications could be improved."
"The licensing costs are too high on the solution. They should work to make the costs more reasonable."
"The solution would benefit from faster technical support."
"It would be very helpful if I could browse the data store directly in the GUI, similar to VMware and Hyper-V. This feature would be particularly useful when something goes wrong with a virtual machine or virtual disk."
"It needs to have a more robust backup solution."
"It lags behind in that you need to go to something like Fedora to get all the extra bells and whistles."
"Specifically, enhancements in managing virtual machine migrations, cloning, and the creation of different VMs could further optimize its functionality."
"My teammates and I often complain that VMware is well-documented and has a large community since it is the de facto standard. I would love to see better documentation and ease of use."
"The Administration of the Oracle database and the SAP ERP needs improvement."
"The documentation is not as good as it should be."
"The solution has a very small lifecycle."
"There is not any proper documentation on the site to reference."
"In comparison to VMware, this solution isn't as stable. We're testing it right now, and we're not trusting the stability of the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are free and paid versions. The free version is limited in features but not by time limit. The paid version has more features."
"To subscribe to the paid version with support, it is approximately $6,000 per year."
"Citrix Hypervisor is a licensed product, and customers who buy the Citrix XenDesktop get Citrix Hypervisor for free. If they don't buy the license for Citrix XenDesktop, they'll need to pay for Citrix Hypervisor and its price is high. Pricing is even higher than VMware. The licensing policy for Citrix Hypervisor is good. It's straightforward. The only issue is the price because it's an expensive product."
"There is a license required to use this solution. You need a license on every server, but the license is more for support than anything else. The cost is not expensive, it is a fraction of the cost of VMware. When you look at the cost overall and features, Citrix Hypervisor has a very attractive offering."
"I am fine with their license support. What we have right now is permanent, so I don't have a problem with their license."
"Citrix Hypervisor can be fairly expensive."
"While it is free for small networks, the pricing is high if your network grows past a certain size."
"We used it only for some desktop licenses, so the pricing is great. We used the free licenses for server virtualization."
"The solution does not require licencing but a subscription is necessary, which is very affordable."
"Price-wise, RHEV is okay, in my opinion."
"We buy a license for commercial use, and we also use the free editions."
"I would say the price is acceptable."
"The price of RHEV is high. It is an open-source solution, the price should be less. The price should not be on par with a solution, such as VMware. It's not more or equal to VMware, it's less, but the difference should be more substantial."
"RHEV offers pricing based on a per-physical-machine licensing model."
"It's a budget product as far as I'm concerned. It's way cheaper than any of its competitors. The only thing cheaper than Red Hat is that the people who take the Red Hat code clone it and then self-support it."
"We are using the free version of Red Hat."
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Comparison Review

VL
CIO at Robusta Technology & Training
Jan 13, 2015
vSphere vs. RHEV vs. Hyper-V vs. XenServer
We have used the following functions: 1. Hypervisor: to ensure that the virtual server provide web and email services to the company, thus providing a stable operation a with single sign-on integration of an AD server and vCenter. 2. Network and Storage: centralized data server…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Hypervisor?
The core function enables multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server. This maximizes hardware utilization and efficiency.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Hypervisor?
Licensing with Citrix XenServer is very cost-effective. Organizations save substantial money because competing solutions, such as VMware, cost double or triple. If you are using Citrix load only, t...
What needs improvement with Citrix Hypervisor?
There could be improvements in Citrix XenServer, but I cannot think of any at the moment. Overall, we are very happy with it.
What do you like most about RHEV?
The initial setup is fairly straightforward and well-documented. The process is very similar to its competitors. The success of your setup depends on how well you plan.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for RHEV?
It's the open source. There's not much cost. It's very minimal comparably. Compared to what I am paying for VMware, it's negligible.
What needs improvement with RHEV?
RHEV is not improving because it has been discontinued. It has been discontinued for years. I would love to get back into RHEV, but the job market is difficult and no one is hiring. RHEV is designe...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Hypervisor
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

U.S. Army Shared Services Center, SoftLayer, Educational Services of America, Independent Bank, and SK Telecom.
Qualcomm and Bonham's Auction House.
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix XenServer vs. RHEV and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.