HPE Apollo Systems vs HPE Moonshot comparison

HPE Apollo Systems and HPE Moonshot are both solutions in the Density Optimized Servers category. HPE Apollo Systems is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.5, while HPE Moonshot is ranked #4. HPE Apollo Systems holds a 21.4% mindshare in DOS, compared to HPE Moonshot’s 17.6% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of HPE Apollo Systems users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of HPE Moonshot users who would recommend it.

HPE Apollo Systems

Read 25 HPE Apollo Systems reviews

3,064 Views
552 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HPE Moonshot

Read 4 HPE Moonshot reviews

1,041 Views
396 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HPE Apollo Systems

HPE Moonshot

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

HPE Apollo Systems and HPE Moonshot are in direct competition in the high-performance computing market. Data analysis reveals HPE Moonshot is more efficient while HPE Apollo Systems stands out in scalability.

Features: HPE Apollo Systems delivers high-performance computing capabilities, handles large-scale deployments, and offers extensive scalability. HPE Moonshot focuses on energy efficiency, high-density installations, and provides specialized modules tailored for specific applications.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HPE Moonshot enables quick scalability through modular deployments and integrates seamlessly with energy-efficient servers, backed by efficient customer service for configuration support. HPE Apollo Systems, although more complex, comes with comprehensive support suited for managing larger and more intricate setups, favoring larger enterprises.

Pricing and ROI: HPE Apollo Systems has a higher upfront cost due to its robust infrastructure but offers long-term savings with optimized scalability. HPE Moonshot requires a lower initial investment and delivers impressive ROI by reducing energy and operational costs, showing significant value in environments that prioritize efficiency and density, while Apollo is beneficial for those needing extensive computational power and expansion.

To learn more, read our detailed Density Optimized Servers Report (Updated: July 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Density Optimized Servers

July 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

HPE Apollo Systems

Ranking in Rack Servers

9th

Ranking in Density Optimized Servers

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

HPE Moonshot

Ranking in Rack Servers

14th

Ranking in Density Optimized Servers

4th

Average Rating

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 21.4%, up from 20.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Moonshot is 17.6%, up from 12.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Density Optimized Servers Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
HPE Apollo Systems	21.4%
HPE Moonshot	17.6%
Other	61.0%

Density Optimized Servers

Featured Reviews

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.

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it_user6186

Independent Analyst and Advisory Consultant at Server StorageIO - www.storageio.com

HP Moonshot 1500 software defined capable compute servers

Riding the current software defined data center (SDDC) wave being led by the likes of VMware and software defined networking (SDN) also championed by VMware via their acquisition of Nicira last year, Software Defined Marketing (SDM) is in full force, along with Software Defined Data Infrastructures…

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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

"It's very reliable, I haven't had a single failure at all in the year and a half; not the slightest problem with it, and it's been a pretty good product so far."

"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."

"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."

"It's pretty flexible."

"It's very hard for a professor to amass the supercomputing resources, so I've been very fortunate to have that level of supercomputing at our disposal and that has really enabled us to do the world's leading superhuman AI research."

"We had a PoC, as I said, and we were happy with it and decided to implement it, as it satisfies all our needs and is the perfect solution."

"It's allowed us to compete with cloud storage providers like AWS to put together a scalable on-premises solution of more than 20PB at a similar pricepoint."

"Stability has been extremely good."

More HPE Apollo Systems pros

"Everything looks to have a product superstar in hand: less energy consumption, lower cost, less space, scalable and customizable."

"With each user having its own physical CPU/GPU, enough memory etc. (when dealing with HDI) the overall user experience will be top notch, as to be expected."

"Scalability is great, and that was one of the key bits, as it has the scalability option in which you can fit four on each blade and have the capacity to keep on going."

Cons

"We are struggling a little bit with some of the configuration we need to do, particularly with write capability to drives."

"If the workload is not purely sequential, then performance in the IO is less than optimal because it's optimized for streaming processing."

"We are quite happy with it, but its price and storage density can be better."

"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."

"I would want to see the flexibility of being able to run various network protocols including InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, as well as iSCSI, with iSCSI going up to 100 gigabytes per second - that would be outstanding."

"We could, perhaps, use more GPUs in the future, go from eight to 16 GPUs per instance. That could run head-to-head against the DGX-1, the DGX-2 that NVIDIA has developed in their own chassis. That would be interesting to see."

"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."

"One drawback which I had: When I needed to expand storage on the Apollo, I had significant problems getting disks for it. It was a very long wait-time. So, if I were to give any advice in regards to improving this product, I would say make more of the 8TB disks available quicker."

More HPE Apollo Systems cons

"I think there's room for improvement. It doesn't work properly yet."

"Why not spend the same (or a bit more perhaps) amount on virtual?"

"However, with great potential gains, there is a big risk."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."

"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."

"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."

"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."

"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

40%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	15

No data available

Questions from the Community

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.

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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...

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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 ...

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Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 13% of the time

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 12% of the time

Dell PowerEdge XE-Series vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 7% of the time

Lenovo High-Density Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 7% of the time

HPE ProLiant Compute vs HPE Apollo Systems

Compared 5% of the time

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Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs HPE Moonshot

Compared 17% of the time

Lenovo Edge Servers vs HPE Moonshot

Compared 12% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs HPE Moonshot

Compared 10% of the time

Dell PowerEdge C- Series vs HPE Moonshot

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs HPE Moonshot

Compared 8% of the time

More HPE Moonshot Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE Apollo Systems

August 2026

Download HPE Apollo Systems product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Moonshot

August 2026

Download HPE Moonshot product report

Also Known As

HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo

HP Moonshot

Overview

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

HPE Moonshot offers tailored computing to power web, mobile, and cloud applications with efficient energy use. Ideal for high-density environments, it optimizes resources for diverse workloads, improving performance and reducing costs.

Targeted at high-performance needs, HPE Moonshot is a key player in transforming computing efficiency in data centers. Designed for specific workloads, it enables robust performance through a modular architecture that combines processing, storage, and network fabrics. This innovative approach meets demanding requirements while minimizing energy consumption, leading to significant cost savings and enhanced resource optimization.

What are the most important features of HPE Moonshot?

Modular Design: Customizable modules for scalability.
Energy Efficiency: Reduces power and cooling needs significantly.
Integrated Networking: Seamless connectivity with network switches.
High Density: Supports more workloads per rack.
Flexible Configurations: Adaptable to specific workload requirements.

What benefits do customers find in HPE Moonshot?

Cost Savings: Lower power and cooling expenses.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlines workloads with targeted modules.
Compact Footprint: Maximizes space utilization in data centers.
Scalability: Easily adds capacity without major infrastructure changes.

HPE Moonshot finds application in various industries, providing significant benefits in sectors such as financial services, using its capabilities for high-frequency trading and big data analytics, healthcare leveraging its compute power for imaging and patient data management, and media and entertainment optimizing video streaming and transcoding tasks. These industry-tailored implementations highlight the adaptability and efficiency of HPE Moonshot.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Sample Customers

Weta Digital

iSource, Cerise Group, Panasonic

Buyer's Guide

Density Optimized Servers

July 2026

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