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HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 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 ProLiant DL Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
160
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 16.7%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers is 7.3%, down from 15.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers16.7%
Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers7.3%
Other76.0%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

ArifSheikh - PeerSpot reviewer
Director / Chief Business Artchitect at SMARIF
High availability servers have boosted hosted payment services but still need better local support
We are not using PowerVM because of certain limitations; it is on a back-end engine. However, we are using other components such as vSphere for some small interfaces, and those are the main components we are utilizing. Since these servers are fully dedicated to various high-end solutions, they have some embedded features that their kernel and applications are using, which are bound to that functionality. We may not provide an exact assessment on its usage, but we are considering those products for some AI solutions; however, we are currently in the review stage and have not concluded our evaluation on how those are utilized yet. We are aware of the pricing of HPE ProLiant DL servers, but not off the cuff. We have obviously acquired those solutions ex-Pakistan, so they are on the rise, and while we do not remember those prices offhand, they are generally better than the IBM series, although they are becoming slightly pricey in Pakistan due to processor shortages and demand. Improvements could be made in database engine hosting services because, as it stands, the pricing of Oracle is too high from both the service and software solution perspectives. If pricing can be reduced, especially for DB servers, that could have a direct positive impact on the overall solution. Regarding reliability, it has been satisfactory so far, but since the distributors are not physically present in Pakistan, that creates a risk for long-term large customers. They provide import-based services, necessitating us to over-invest in backup stock and offline servers. If there was a market presence from those players in Pakistan, it could benefit both clients and distributors by reducing the need for investment in backup inventory.
Mike Bellemans - PeerSpot reviewer
Project manager at Sopraco NV
One of the products in the market that is the easiest to set up and maintain
Performance and scalability-wise, there are certain areas where the product lacks and needs improvement as it does not provide a lot of fancy features presently. In general, it is a normal product that is good enough for our company. For the time being, my company does not need any extra features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"HPE offers the products we need. They come back with solutions. It's uncomplicated to deal with HPE."
"I recommend HP ProLiant. It's a robust and scalable product."
"HP provides the best quality for the price."
"In the long term, the support of the hardware is crucial."
"There is a lot of extra storage. I am only using half of what I need."
"It is a stable solution."
"I would say that half of the strength of the ProLiant servers is the software and the additional tools that HPE provides."
"The initial setup was easy."
"The solution is very simple to install."
"They have taken a lot of technology from IBM, and IBM always delivered very powerful hardware to the IT industry compared to Dell EMC or anyone else."
"We appreciate the stability and easy mountings of all the machines."
"The installation and configuration are a bit difficult but the product's performance is unbeatable."
"The hardware performance is very valuable."
"We have not experienced any issues with the Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers' performance, as it is stable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is the easiest product to set up and maintain."
"It has good integration. You have VMware for connecting many machines, and you can support microservices. You can also easily connect the networks. It is also very easy to use and implement, and it comes with good support."
 

Cons

"The drivers have typically been extremely buggy, but we removed them from our builds."
"Scalability in terms of GPUs and storage is a concern."
"We've had stability issues, but they weren't anything that other vendors don't have."
"Compared to blade servers, it could use more flexibility to expand with new features, and to connect new storage systems and so on."
"ProLiant's a little tough. We realized that the other day, that we were running out of space on our C: drive."
"We don't get any support from HP because of our geographical location. We solve all problems ourselves by doing research on the internet."
"We'd like to see better processors, better Intel processors. That's the most important for us at this moment."
"The pricing of the solution is high compared to other products."
"For the price my company pays for Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers, we can have more from other vendors offering the same functionalities that are present in Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers at a lower price."
"Its price could be better. Its price is sometimes an issue for our clients. XClarity Controller is a very good feature, and Lenovo should include the XClarity Controller license without any additional cost. It should be integrated within the product."
"The RAID Management and the RAID Configuration tools need to be improved."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers availability could improve. We have been waiting two months for one server."
"The power consumption needs to be optimized in Lenovo."
"I definitely suggest potential users skip Lenovo and go for Dell EMC, which has good hardware, and great internal security components."
"I would like the solution to be improved by having more advanced utilities."
"The GUI of the system is really bad. HP has a very good UI for smart memories and everything inside, but in Lenovo, we have a black-and-white UI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have purchased this solution and it is under warranty."
"​If you have to include the warranty, enhance the warranty support.​"
"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are one of the best-selling solutions in this industry. There is not a license required for this solution."
"We have to pay for an annual license which is expensive."
"It's expensive."
"This is an expensive product and there is licensing required for iLO, which is the HPE monitoring system."
"There are less expensive solutions than HPE ProLiant DL Servers. However, there is a lot of value in this solution."
"It is just too expensive."
"The licensing cost is the same as HP. It doesn't have any additional cost. However, the price, for example, for the memory option, does not match other vendors such as HP or Dell. They should work on the pricing of Lenovo. It is a great competitor, and it should compete with the price."
"I don't know the exact amount of money, but when I compared it to Dell or HPE, Lenovo was the best when it comes to price and equipment."
"It costs around $8,000. There is an additional cost for the support for a year."
"It is too expensive. Because we are a university and we have to look for our money, many times we buy some refurbished machines or equipment at reasonable prices from IBM or Lenovo. We are a little bit limited in terms of money, and we buy as much as we can. If they were cheaper, we would buy more."
"Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers can be categorized as a product falling under an affordable price range but more expensive than its competitors."
"It is the cheapest solution we have seen on the market."
"The cost of the solution depends entirely on the client. There are not any additional costs other than the standard licensing fee."
"It is expensive compared to other vendors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business56
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise98
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?
Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
The pricing of HPE ProLiant DL Servers depends purely on the configuration, and it is not affordable. However, if you look at the technical caliber of the server, if a customer invests that additio...
What needs improvement with HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
If I had to choose between HP and Dell, I would choose Dell's iDRAC over iLO. iLO is adequate, but Dell is much better, especially when configuring the internal storage of the server. Mostly when w...
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....
 

Also Known As

HP ProLiant DL series, HP ProLiant DL
SR Series, Lenovo SR Series, ThinkSystem Rack Servers, IBM Rack Servers, ThinkSystem SR Series, Lenovo Rack Servers,
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AmeriPride Services, iSource, Bolagsverket, BlueShore Financial, British Columbia Assessment Authority, National Stock Exchange, Cardlytics
immixGroup, Komsomolskaya Pravda, SRG Global, Seekr, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, jKool, Tennis Australia, VEKA, Netpoints, Gamma Powersports
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs. Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,262 professionals have used our research since 2012.