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HPE Hyper Converged vs StarWind Virtual SAN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

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 Hyper Converged
Ranking in HCI
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
StarWind Virtual SAN
Ranking in HCI
4th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
213
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the HCI category, the mindshare of HPE Hyper Converged is 2.4%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.4%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
HCI Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
StarWind Virtual SAN2.4%
HPE Hyper Converged2.4%
Other95.2%
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

PD
IT Project Manager at Intesa Sanpaolo
Has enabled me to simplify complex infrastructures and support virtualization projects with efficiency
In HP, I have been on board on a project study until 2018 and we studied the server rack model that supports HPE Hyper Converged board and Windows configuration. HPE Hyper Converged is excellent because it can avoid the usage of storage area network. For example, if you have three servers in parallel in a battery, a cluster, you can share the local storage for each server in a hyper-converged virtual storage without the storage area network. The architecture here has a simple physical structure. The logical configuration is complex, but the physical infrastructure is simpler than the old legacy cluster with the storage area network. The possibility of issues is minor. There is a very high level of redundancy and very high level of performance distribution and parallel usage of resources. It functions as a grid configuration. HPE Hyper Converged can be improved by replacing the old infrastructure based on legacy clusters and old servers. It can replace and dispose of legacy storage that is very expensive to maintain and has great dimensions to manage. You can dispose of big storage to have a battery of local servers with local storage in a hyper-converged architecture. This is not the future, it is the new technology. It is probably the best solution for cloud service and also for companies that require several virtualized environments. The foundation for using the hyper-converged solution is virtualization. First, every company must switch from physical setup to virtual configuration. Second, HPE Hyper Converged is a technology upgraded to avoid local big storage, storage area network, and complex fiber cabling from server to storage. You can eliminate everything and just manage the battery of servers in hyper-converged configuration as they share and are able to share the local storage as main big storage area network.
Jccerong Heron - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Support team has guided us through deploying virtual storage on legacy hardware and reducing operational costs
The reason I chose StarWind Virtual SAN for this particular scenario is really the features, the ease of use, and most importantly, the price. In my opinion, the best features StarWind Virtual SAN offers are easy integration with the system installed in the data center. The integration with my existing systems in the data center works well, especially with VMware, as we already have a big cluster in VMware, and the easy integration with that is helpful to solve some problems with the platform. StarWind Virtual SAN has positively impacted my organization by reducing OPEX costs. My OPEX costs have gone down as we reutilize some old servers, and this reduces the CAPEX of hardware in the data center.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The customer support for HPE is good, I'm happy with it."
"For HPE Hyper Converged 380, the added value is not having to buy multiple elements – servers, hard disks, memories, CPU, cables, and software – because you have to unpack it, install it, and update the firmware."
"HPE Hyper Converged is stable."
"If you were comparing this solution to VMware, it has more features, and it's very fast on the recovery."
"The features of HPE Hyper Converged that are most effective and beneficial are its simplicity as well as its scalability."
"We like the fact that the hyper-converged infrastructure provides a simple to grow, easy to configure platform."
"Hyper Converged is highly stable because it's installed on our VMware platform."
"I've found the data protection features the most valuable."
"The backup is readily available for use, and the restoration process is easy."
"The ability to host high availability storage between existing servers without additional hardware is a great benefit. This not only saves money but also reduces the complexity of the hardware configuration creating fewer points of failure."
"StarWind Virtual SAN has positively impacted my organization by giving us the flexibility and freedom to have more time for other projects."
"StarWind SANs come with outstanding support."
"All we really wanted was a system that once it was set up just worked, and that's exactly what we have found to be the case in StarWind's Virtual SAN."
"The StarWind tech support is extremely helpful, especially during the initial setup."
"We have been able to use more on-prem hardware to reduce cost and also use old disks that we do not trust enough for ordinary RAID or usage."
"Overall, we have saved many thousands of dollars by going this way."
 

Cons

"The product must provide more storage capability."
"The installation was very complex."
"Currently, the HPE HCI is based on the VMware solution, and many clients are skipping VMware due to its changed licensing method."
"I would like to see more flexibility in the offered configurations. For instance a software-only version of the solution, without the hardware, would be nice."
"Scalability is a question that we have."
"I would like to see a more intuitive, user-friendly UI."
"The initial setup of HPE Hyper Converged requires study and a comprehensive understanding of virtualization."
"If the solution could further compress the data, it would use less storage."
"I would love to see more vendor selection to be available for the HCA/vSAN appliances."
"We just need more integration with Veeam."
"I would like to see different levels of support offered."
"To enable the proactive support capability that is part of our support agreement, I would ask that the terms and conditions be revised and made acceptable to corporate security."
"It runs until it does not - and disaster recovery documentation is sparse and mostly unclear."
"The software could benefit from more tooling to help with initial deployment."
"I would like to see more advanced free versions."
"It could have a dashboard so that you can check all servers' SAN health and performance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is too expensive for our customers. The pricing should be lower."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"There are costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"If I'm comparing with Dell, HPE Hyper Converged is definitely cheaper in my experience."
"We have a very good return on investment due to data savings through compression and deduplication methods. It simplifies IT management and enhances security, including the end-to-end security of the IT data engine. The product is complete, simple, and provides visibility."
"With this solution, I buy everything together, pre-packaged, pre-installed, and in just 15 minutes, it's installed."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"It is an expensive solution, however. If they could adjust the pricing, that would be helpful."
"The licensing is straightforward, with free and trial versions available."
"StarWind is a low-cost, full-featured alternative to the traditional SAN environment, and their support will guide you every step of the setup."
"This solution has a great price for the functionality."
"I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it."
"The StarWind VSAN business model is very cost-effective."
"The licensing is a bit weird. If you license the standard version of StarWind, it allows you four terabytes. Then, they have a pro version, but with the pro version, the only difference is it doubles the terabytes to eight."
"This solution has competitive prices and the implementation is very easy."
"This solution is very accessible and the pro-level for support is well worth the cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business170
Midsize Enterprise57
Large Enterprise34
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Hyper Converged?
The product is intermediate in price, neither expensive nor cheap. We are talking about an on-premises solution without licensing for years. Currently, licensing is required for VMs and CPU cores. ...
What needs improvement with HPE Hyper Converged?
The initial setup of HPE Hyper Converged requires study and a comprehensive understanding of virtualization. The second step is to follow instructions step by step, as it can be complex to understa...
What is your primary use case for HPE Hyper Converged?
I have several years of experience in storage area network and IT infrastructure, working with Pure Secure, Pure Secure Storage, EMC Square, HP, and Lenovo storage and other brands, several other b...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual SAN?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for StarWind Virtual SAN is very simple; that is another good thing about it, as the pricing is really straightforward. I got a quote, and it w...
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
StarWind Virtual SAN has latency that is not as good versus VMware vSAN, but I believe it is more of a Hyper-V limitation than it is StarWind Virtual SAN; it is not bad enough to be an issue, but i...
What is your primary use case for StarWind Virtual SAN?
My main use case for StarWind Virtual SAN is that it replaced our VMware vSAN. I transitioned from VMware vSAN to StarWind Virtual SAN due to the dramatic increase in VMware licensing costs followi...
 

Also Known As

HPE Hyper Converged 380, HPE Hyper Converged 250, HPE Hyper Converged 250 for Microsoft CPS
StarWind SAN & NAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

North Lindsey College, FireWhat?, HudsonAlpha
Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Hyper Converged vs. StarWind Virtual SAN and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.