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HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) vs VMware vCenter comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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 Integrated Lights Out (...
Ranking in Server Monitoring
13th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware vCenter
Ranking in Server Monitoring
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Server Monitoring category, the mindshare of HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) is 1.8%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vCenter is 2.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Server Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware vCenter2.0%
HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO)1.8%
Other96.2%
Server Monitoring
 

Featured Reviews

MR
Senior System Engineer at Omgea Exim Ltd
Provides real-time monitoring and exceptional technical support
As a reseller, I think HP iLO can be improved in a few ways. HP has a lot of experience with iLO, but they need to work on synchronization between iLO and the system hardware. Sometimes when the system fails, iLO doesn't get the proper information from the system, so there's a need for improvement so it can provide real-time information for our engineers to give the correct solutions to customers. The only room for improvement I see is synchronization with the current hardware and socket because sometimes hardware fails, but the information is delayed on iLO. There are points of view where iLO logs and some logs are missing from the system, which prevents our engineers from finding the correct solution. We need to inform HP to improve their hardware part for better synchronization to ensure all the necessary information fills up properly in the logs.
VinayKumar7 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Data Centre at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Centralized control has improved data center virtualization and streamlined DC DR replication
The pricing of VMware vCenter is high. What was earlier, before it was acquired by Broadcom, was different. Now, Broadcom has acquired it, and the earlier arrangement was that we used to bundle the license and purchase it according to our choice. Now, they bundle it with vSAN, which many organizations may not use. Although we purchase it along with the bundled license, we pay for something which is of no use to us because we have our own storage. If they had separate pricing for each module, organizations could purchase only the modules they need, and the price would lower. For smaller organizations, this can become a huge cost issue. For larger organizations, there is no issue, but for medium-sized organizations, they have to shell out a lot.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) is user-friendly, offering easy navigation and a nice GUI."
"HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) has the best features for detecting any kind of hardware failure, such as any DIMM, HDD, system board, or PSU failures, providing real-time alarms with all necessary information."
"I am using vMotion for live migration and storage migrations. I can use vCenter for both now."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of migrating services from one host to another during maintenance."
"I integrated with VMware products, which makes integration easy."
"The tool is helpful because it gives us excellent control, maximizing server usage and resources. We can create numerous virtual machines and servers that host many services. Overall, we have had a very good experience. The most valuable feature for us is its elasticity. We can easily ramp up resources and bring in more processes for specific workloads, which was a nightmare earlier. This ability to extend resource availability for virtual users is particularly beneficial."
"The initial setup for VMware vCenter is very simple because we migrated from open-source to VMware long back."
"The initial setup is straightforward even for complex environments with around 100 hosts."
"I can say that the product is stable because we have been using the tool for the last fifteen years in our company, and there has been no issue."
"We typically manage VMs after the OS is installed. vCenter simplifies VM management by allowing for the configuration and operation of VMs once an OS, like Windows, is installed."
 

Cons

"I am currently avoiding HPE in my current build because of the pricing that is almost highway robbery. Service contracts are required to receive firmware updates."
"Sometimes when the system fails, iLO doesn't get the proper information from the system, so there's a need for improvement so it can provide real-time information for our engineers to give the correct solutions to customers."
"The main issue with VMware vCenter is its pricing and licensing model. The licensing model has shifted, leading to higher costs, particularly for smaller organizations."
"One area where VMware vCenter has room for improvement is its transition to Broadcom. The change in licensing structure and pricing, particularly the shift from perpetual licenses to subscription-only models, is a significant drawback."
"It could display the status of the storage space in terabytes, the number of VMs, etc."
"The process of creating VLANs or any similar tasks requires following a specific procedure, which must be executed accurately to ensure successful deployment. That's the main concern."
"The product's technical support services could be better."
"Sometimes, vCenter management can be difficult if you forget the password. You can't change or recover the password easily. We then have to reinstall vCenter, which means reconfiguring everything. That's a challenge we've encountered."
"Enhancing the product's capabilities on the backend could be beneficial."
"Efficiency and redundancy can be increased, minimizing or mitigating downtime."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The licensing model was a bit complex, but thanks to the vCenter product usage program, which VMware introduced, it's kind of easy for us to use a pay-as-you-go model."
"The solution is expensive."
"The product's three-year license package is inexpensive."
"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."
"VMware vCenter is not expensive."
"The product is affordable for now."
"For the healthcare industry, the price is considerably higher than the education industry."
"We utilize the basic licenses of the product."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Server Monitoring solutions are best for your needs.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Insurance Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Outsourcing Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
9%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO)?
Regarding pricing or set-up costs and licensing, HPE's approach is quite intense compared to Dell, Cisco, Microsoft, Lenovo, etc. Avoiding HPE in the current structure due to high costs would be co...
What needs improvement with HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO)?
As a reseller, I think HP iLO can be improved in a few ways. HP has a lot of experience with iLO, but they need to work on synchronization between iLO and the system hardware. Sometimes when the sy...
What is your primary use case for HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO)?
HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) is used for monitoring the system; we have almost 115 or 116, around 150 servers, and we use this product to check the server current status with alarms and all othe...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware vCenter?
The initial package for VMware vCenter is not less than $10,000, which can be prohibitive for smaller organizations. The licensing model now requires purchasing 96-core solutions, even if fewer cor...
What needs improvement with VMware vCenter?
The pricing of VMware vCenter is high. What was earlier, before it was acquired by Broadcom, was different. Now, Broadcom has acquired it, and the earlier arrangement was that we used to bundle the...
What is your primary use case for VMware vCenter?
My main use case for VMware vCenter is mainly for virtualization and what we call DCDR replication. I can say we are not using all the features. Our main aim is only that we are using it for virtua...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
1. Amazon 2. Apple 3. ATT 4. Bank of America 5. Cisco Systems 6. CocaCola 7. Dell 8. ebay 9. Facebook 10. Google 11. HP 12. IBM 13. Intel 14. JPMorgan Chase 15. LinkedIn 16. Microsoft 17. Netflix 18. Oracle 19. PayPal 20. SAP 21. Siemens 22. Tesla 23. Toyota 24. Twitter 25. Visa 26. Walmart 27. WeWork 28. World Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Integrated Lights Out (iLO) vs. VMware vCenter and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.