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Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs HPE Apollo Systems comparison

Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.1, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.5. Dell Technologies holds a 21.8% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s 5.6% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users who would recommend it.
Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Read 309 Dell PowerEdge R-Series reviews
  • 24,124 Views
  • 20,264 Comparison Views
98% willing to recommend
HPE Apollo Systems
Read 25 HPE Apollo Systems reviews
  • 3,064 Views
  • 2,666 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Dell PowerEdge R-Series and HPE Apollo Systems compete in the enterprise server category. Dell seems to have an edge in pricing and ROI due to its competitive and transparent pricing structure.

Features: Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers scalability, reliability, and intuitive management through iDRAC, with lifecycle management via OpenManage and robust security. HPE Apollo Systems excel in high-density storage and compute capacity for data-heavy applications and AI workloads, providing an adaptable environment with enhanced support for parallel processing.

Room for Improvement: Dell PowerEdge R-Series could benefit from better pricing strategies, cleaner interfaces, and improved compatibility with external products. HPE Apollo Systems encounter high pricing challenges and limited scalability, which could improve with more flexible infrastructure integration and enhanced performance analytics.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell PowerEdge R-Series is versatile in deployment options, spanning private and hybrid clouds, with consistently high-rated technical support. HPE Apollo Systems benefit from strong on-premises deployments but have slightly lower customer support ratings and sometimes require improved communication in technical setups.

Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerEdge R-Series is recognized for its competitive pricing structure and clear licensing, resulting in cost savings and extended ROI. In contrast, HPE Apollo Systems are perceived as more expensive while still delivering solid investment returns in specific configurations like high-density storage.

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To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. HPE Apollo Systems Report (Updated: August 2026).
Buyer's Guide
Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. HPE Apollo Systems
August 2026
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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

Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
309
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (1st), Data Center Networking (4th), Blade Servers (2nd)
HPE Apollo Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.0
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 21.8%, down from 27.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 5.6%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series21.8%
HPE Apollo Systems5.6%
Other72.6%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Tom van Mil - PeerSpot reviewer
Tom van Mil
Systems Administrator at Lico Innovations B.v.
Supports flexible hosting needs through seamless upgradability and strong monitoring capabilities
The most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series for me are the feature richness and the upgradability. I really love the way that it is so dynamically applicable for every situation, and they manage to have an all-in-one solution for every single situation. Dell PowerEdge has supported the growth and operational success of my company through its great compute power and price-to-performance ratio. Every time Dell is at the top of its game for us, and there is just no other brand for us that is able to reach that kind of price-to-performance ratio. Dell PowerEdge R-Series has features that specifically cater to the needs of my small company, such as iDRAC. The iDRAC system is a complete feature set for managing servers and hardware technically and monitoring-wise. It really fits in our system and our ecosystem, and monitoring-wise, it is excellent. They have all these sensors available via different protocols and end points, which I love, and the ability to manage and control everything via the iDRAC interface is just a welcome bonus. In our use case, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is very flexible. It is another computer which helps a lot because of the durability over time. They keep running, making scalability for getting more of those resources in our environment so easy.
Read full review
Gökhan DURMAZ - PeerSpot reviewer
Gökhan DURMAZ
Account Manager at TD SYNNEX
High-quality integration and strong support have optimized our rack server operations
HPE Apollo Systems is a good product because it has better support and best quality with integrity. When I speak about integrity, I speak about GPU integration or other integrations such as GPU integration, backup software integration, and hypervisor integration. Regarding the integration of high-speed interconnectors in HPE Apollo Systems, they impact computational tasks because the high-speed interconnect affects performance. I don't remember the specifics. Regarding the cooling technologies, they help to reduce operational costs. The positive impact I see from HPE Apollo Systems is that support is good and quality is good. In general, HPE Apollo Systems appears to be for rack servers with some optimization capabilities.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the Dell EMC management and we have a great management interface. They are very reliable and we can trust the server. It's very reliable and easy to manage."
"From my point of view, the biggest return on investment when using this product is the reliability and low downtime that I have had with them, the ease of management, and automation."
"The system management capabilities of PowerEdge helped increase stack productivity, the solution's accelerated GPUs helped support demanding workloads for some of our customer's environments, and PowerEdge helped to reduce data processing time in our company which has made us work faster."
"The Xeon CPU makes the system work very well and fast. I like this type of CPU. It has helped to improve the performance of targeted workloads by 70%."
"Overall, I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers in our environment a nine out of ten."
"The Intel processor handles my workloads well; it is just Intel, and it just works."
"The biggest value of PowerEdge servers is that Dell is a brand name. I also appreciate the flexibility of the platform. I know how to configure PowerEdge servers and build a solution from scratch."
"These web servers were easily manageable from as early as 2003. We have a very large building, and it was possible to manage them remotely in a simple way from as early as 2003."
More Dell PowerEdge R-Series pros
"We are running Apollo with SL-series servers and the best thing about them is the density of the storage area available."
"My advice for someone considering HPE Apollo Systems is that if they are looking for consolidation and their workload involves high availability requirements, or if they want to utilize GPUs, then this is a machine that should be considered instead of deploying multiple machines and multiple systems."
"Apollo Systems provide stuff that standard services do not. More HTDs, more compute power, at very reasonable pricing."
"The cost benefit of this solution is most valuable."
"We're going to buy another Apollo 6500. We may configure it with half the number of GPUs because that may be all we need. In a sense, we can see the Apollo 6500 being so powerful that we only need half the GPU capability that we have now."
"For us, the most valuable features are the price and density."
"Not having to manage traditional NAS has made a big difference."
"The cost benefit of this solution is most valuable. It is quite effective for the work for which we are using it. We are mainly running video servers on these, and we are quite happy with the resilience, density storage, and streaming capacity of the system."
More HPE Apollo Systems pros
 

Cons

"My experience with pricing, cost, setup, and licensing reveals that I think costing was somewhat higher than expected, but we did see reliability and partnership as the primary reasons for moving forward."
"There are no items I want to improve on Dell PowerEdge R-Series; maybe just a discount."
"While we are generally satisfied with their service, we'd like more connections between meetings and proactive support. We had a session about two weeks ago, where we talked about areas they need to improve."
"The dispatch services are outsourced to small and medium companies, so we don't get consistent support."
"We cannot expand the current VMs on the current Dell PowerEdge R-Series, so we need to purchase additional solutions aside from it."
"There could still be improvements in that area, as there was that one motherboard replacement that had to happen."
"On the client side, the feedback about Dell PowerEdge is that it is always too expensive."
"All of the marketing terminologies from Dell are very complicated as they have names that sometimes involve the same technology."
More Dell PowerEdge R-Series cons
"If there's anything that hasn't been that stable, then it is the Lustre file system."
"Lustre seems to be just a little bit unstable overall."
"We would like to see improved cooling because that is quite an issue. If you put that much compute power into a single rack, cooling really becomes an issue. And there is room for improvement there."
"There is a shared battery for all cache controllers in the node. When you have to replace that element, you have to take down all three nodes and not just one."
"If there could be some training for our team, we would be better equipped to promote and support HPE Apollo."
"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."
"We would like to see SimpliVity on top of the Apollo."
"HPE Apollo Systems is a bit expensive, and there are some issues with scalability."
More HPE Apollo Systems cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I wouldn't say the solution's pricing is the best, but it's very competitive."
"I'd like them to be cheaper, but that's not the world we live in and that's not where the pound is at."
"The more complex the server requirements, the more expensive it gets."
"The solution is expensive."
"They are affordable. Even during our recent procurement, the cost of Dell servers was lower than that of HPE."
"When you compare public cloud solutions to PowerEdge in terms of cost, initially the cost of Dell servers or Dell technology was really high. However, right now it's on par or, maybe, even cheaper when we use Dell hardware. If we don't swap it out in three years and if we stretch it to four or five years, then we can get even more of an ROI versus cloud cost."
"The pricing could always be better."
"The price is reasonable. You have to pay if you want quality. When we purchase something, we have to do some market analysis, and I haven't seen a significant difference compared to other solutions."
More Dell PowerEdge R-Series pricing and cost advice
"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."
"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."
"The price of the solution is more expensive than Dell which is their main competitor. However, there are times we have managed to receive a comparable price."
"It is an expensive solution but it is worth the money. The standard licensing cost is for the GPU and the features that someone is using. There are additional charges but they depend on the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business112
Midsize Enterprise66
Large Enterprise129
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....
See all answers
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
Regarding how Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved, something personal to me is the number of PCI Express slots in the back; however, that is an engineering choice. Otherwise, I am happy with th...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers serve as IO machines for talking to PCI Express devices. The use cases change over time, and I push data to the network for in-flight compute.
See all answers
What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?
It is too early to say what improvements HPE Apollo Systems could implement because the report still needs to come out and the customer needs to properly evaluate the solution.
See all answers
What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?
My main use case for HPE Apollo Systems is replacing many of the servers and storage boxes at one of the customer's sites to achieve workload optimization and optimized solutions. Additionally, whe...
See all answers
What advice do you have for others considering HPE Apollo?
My advice for someone considering HPE Apollo Systems is that if they are looking for consolidation and their workload involves high availability requirements, or if they want to utilize GPUs, then ...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series Logo
HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Compared 33% of the time
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series Logo
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Compared 8% of the time
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series Logo
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Compared 7% of the time
IBM Power Systems vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series Logo
IBM Power Systems vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Compared 4% of the time
HPE Synergy vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series Logo
HPE Synergy vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Compared 2% of the time
More Dell PowerEdge R-Series Competitors
HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems Logo
HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems
Compared 13% of the time
HPE Moonshot vs HPE Apollo Systems Logo
HPE Moonshot vs HPE Apollo Systems
Compared 8% of the time
Dell PowerEdge XE-Series vs HPE Apollo Systems Logo
Dell PowerEdge XE-Series vs HPE Apollo Systems
Compared 7% of the time
Lenovo High-Density Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems Logo
Lenovo High-Density Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems
Compared 7% of the time
HPE ProLiant Compute vs HPE Apollo Systems Logo
HPE ProLiant Compute vs HPE Apollo Systems
Compared 5% of the time
More HPE Apollo Systems Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Dell PowerEdge R-Series
August 2026
Dell PowerEdge R-Series reportDownload Dell PowerEdge R-Series product report
Buyer's Guide
HPE Apollo Systems
August 2026
HPE Apollo Systems reportDownload HPE Apollo Systems product report
 

Also Known As

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo
 

Overview

PowerEdge R-Series delivers high performance, flexibility, and scalability for data centers. It supports demanding tasks with robust management tools and advanced cooling, providing reliability and efficiency across various workloads.

Engineered for large deployments, PowerEdge R-Series supports extensive configurations optimizing performance in data centers. With features like advanced cooling and energy-efficient architecture, it empowers organizations to manage heavy workloads while facilitating seamless scalability. It offers remote management, robust security, and integration with VMware ensuring operational excellence and high availability for business-critical applications.

What are the key features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series?
  • Scalability: Supports flexible configurations for diverse workloads.
  • Remote Management: iDRAC and OpenManage facilitate easy oversight.
  • Energy Efficiency: Architecture helps reduce energy consumption.
  • Security: Robust features ensure protected performance.
  • VMware Integration: Enhances manageability and productivity.
What benefits and ROI should you look for?
  • Performance: Handles high-performance and demanding tasks.
  • Flexibility: Offers easily upgradable configurations.
  • Reliability: Provides consistent performance with long-term support.
  • Efficiency: Reduces energy use and operational costs.
  • Ease of Use: Simplifies management and maintenance.

PowerEdge R-Series is deployed across industries for virtualization, database hosting, and application servers. It supports environments like VMware and Hyper-V for AI, cloud infrastructure, and computing tasks. Widely used by finance, healthcare, and academia, it enhances reliability and efficiency of IT infrastructure.

Dell Technologies

HPE Apollo Systems deliver high compute and storage density, scalability, and environmental efficiency with exceptional performance for AI initiatives and data capturing across diverse applications.

HPE Apollo Systems are characterized by their dense compute and storage capabilities, offering flexibility in configurations to meet the demands of AI, deep learning, and high-performance computing. Their management software simplifies deployment, ensuring effective performance across tasks that require significant storage. While Apollo Systems are designed for efficiency and scalability, improvements can be made in security, tech support, and integration with hypervisors and backup solutions. Enhancing cooling and licensing processes, connectivity, and faster drive writing capabilities are also areas for growth.

What are the key features of HPE Apollo Systems?
  • High Compute Density: Supports intense processing needs efficiently.
  • Scalability: Easily adaptable to growing data demands.
  • Environmental Efficiency: Minimizes energy consumption, enhancing sustainability.
  • Flexible Configurations: Caters to a range of applications from AI to data storage.
  • Reliable Performance: Consistently delivers under various workloads.
What benefits or ROI should users look for?
  • Cost Effectiveness: Reduces expenditure with its efficient design.
  • Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly fits into diverse IT environments.
  • Performance Enhancement: Boosts operational efficiency and output.
  • Easy Deployment: Streamlines the setup process for quick operation.

HPE Apollo Systems find extensive use in sectors such as telecom, supporting high-performance computing and AI workloads. They optimize Linux servers, replace legacy systems, and serve as storage solutions across industries. Their applications span from big data management in Splunk clusters to backup solutions in medical faculties, enhancing compute power and storage within compact racks.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise
 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Weta Digital
Buyer's Guide
Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. HPE Apollo Systems
August 2026
Free Report: Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. HPE Apollo Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs. HPE Apollo Systems and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
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