RHEV vs VMware ESXi comparison

Red Hat and VMware are both solutions in the Server Virtualization Software category. Red Hat is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.7, while VMware is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.5. Red Hat holds a 3.6% mindshare in SVS, compared to VMware’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 79% of Red Hat users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of VMware users who would recommend it.

RHEV

Read 36 RHEV reviews

4,351 Views
3,509 Comparison Views

79% willing to recommend

VMware ESXi

Read 32 VMware ESXi reviews

691 Views
359 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

RHEV

VMware ESXi

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 6, 2024

RHEV and VMware ESXi compete in the virtualization market. VMware ESXi has an edge due to its rich feature set, offsetting its higher costs.

Features: RHEV is known for strong integration with Red Hat products, efficient cloud management, and significant cost savings. VMware ESXi shines with advanced management capabilities, high scalability, and robust security features.

Room for Improvement: RHEV could enhance its scalability, diversify its management tools, and improve integration with non-Red Hat environments. VMware ESXi could benefit from a simpler deployment process, streamlined documentation, and more supportive open-source integrations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: RHEV offers streamlined deployment, especially within Red Hat ecosystems, along with responsive customer service. VMware ESXi presents a more complex deployment process but benefits from extensive documentation and community support, making it suitable for integration at scale.

Pricing and ROI: RHEV is competitively priced with a focus on reducing initial setup costs, appealing to budget-conscious businesses. VMware ESXi, although pricier, offers excellent ROI through superior scalability and comprehensive management tools, making it a valuable long-term investment for organizations prioritizing functionality.

To learn more, read our detailed RHEV vs. VMware ESXi Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

RHEV vs. VMware ESXi

June 2025

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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

RHEV

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

12th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

VMware ESXi

Ranking in Server Virtualization Software

8th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of RHEV is 3.6%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware ESXi is 1.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Server Virtualization Software

Featured Reviews

Sujeet-Kumar

Project Manager Cloud Infrastructure at Path Infotech ltd

The solution is scalable and affordable, but it lacks features, and it is not easy to manage

Management of RHEV is not as easy as VMware. Some features do not work. The product does not provide features similar to VMware’s VMotion. After creating the cluster, the VM is moved to another node if we move down. However, the VM does not move the parent node automatically. It has to be moved manually. VMware moves it automatically. RHEV moves it to the parent node only if we restart. Everything can be handled in VMware through the GUI. However, in RHEV, some things can be managed through UI, and others cannot. We have to troubleshoot and use CLI. A few features of the product do not work as well as those in VMware.

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Syed Ali Waqas

Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions

Efficiently manages development environments with robust network integration

I recommend new users download and evaluate the free version from VMware's website. Once satisfied, they should purchase the professional version for a smooth and secure IT infrastructure. The professional version is cost-effective, allowing one to create multiple servers on a single server. I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.

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

"The solution has a good licensing module."

"It is easy to deal with when comes to application migration and its compatibility with the multiple component applications."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the support portal."

"I advise keeping an open mind. It's an excellent solution."

"Customers are moving to open source and Red Hat is the leader in this particular space. I think customers feel more confident running Red Hat Virtualization than VMware."

"There aren't any bugs on the solution."

"The solution is stable."

"The platform is scalable, allowing for the installation of multiple nodes."

More RHEV pros

"The main function of ESXi is the ability to consolidate multiple machines onto a single server, saving space and energy."

"ESXi stands out for its simplicity in setup, management, and monitoring."

"The initial setup is not complex at all. It is actually very good and straightforward."

"ESXi's integration with VMware vCenter offers centralized management."

"ESXi's server management capabilities are incredibly beneficial, as it supports software integration with Windows servers and other essential systems."

"VMware ESXi is a user-friendly solution that is easy to install and supports third-party applications and software."

"My customers are satisfied with the solution’s performance."

"The solution brings monetary savings for our company because we utilize a single server"

More VMware ESXi pros

Cons

"It lags behind in that you need to go to something like Fedora to get all the extra bells and whistles."

"I would love to see better documentation and ease of use."

"The solution should be made more user-friendly."

"The availability of technical expertise with the solution may be limited in some areas."

"I heard that there are big differences between Red Hat eight and seven, but it's still quite difficult for me to judge it. I found it a bit more difficult to manage than version seven, which was much easier. In term of features, though, it is still not yet clear which is better. I have no clear idea of which features need to be changed at the moment."

"While everything needs improvement in some way, I have no specifics."

"The biggest improvement would be more third-party direct support for things like backups and provisioning through third-party portals."

"In comparison to VMware, this solution isn't as stable. We're testing it right now, and we're not trusting the stability of the product."

More RHEV cons

"VMware is very costly."

"Licensing now needs improvement."

"Pricing could be improved."

"The tool offers an open-source version, which is not really well supported."

"The main disadvantage is that the tool requires a significant, expensive initial investment. VMware ESXi requires a large upfront investment that depreciates over three to four years compared to cloud solutions with pay-as-you-go models. You should only choose it if you plan to use it for at least three years. Its deployment process is complex and requires an experienced team."

"We often face issues with ESXi that require us to change resources by shutting down the VMs."

"The tool's downtime is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The solution’s licensing model could be improved."

More VMware ESXi cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We buy a license for commercial use, and we also use the free editions."

"The price of RHEV is high. It is an open-source solution, the price should be less. The price should not be on par with a solution, such as VMware. It's not more or equal to VMware, it's less, but the difference should be more substantial."

"This is an open-source solution."

"I would say the price is acceptable."

"We are using the free version of Red Hat."

"RHEV offers pricing based on a per-physical-machine licensing model."

"It's a budget product as far as I'm concerned. It's way cheaper than any of its competitors. The only thing cheaper than Red Hat is that the people who take the Red Hat code clone it and then self-support it."

"I believe we pay on a yearly basis."

More RHEV pricing and cost advice

"VMware ESXi is a costly solution in Africa and other developing countries."

"Broadcom recently purchased VMware, and the pricing scheme has changed. If I need any more features in the tool, I can actually purchase them."

"If one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the tool's price as an eight."

"The solution is expensive."

"I rate the product price as one on a scale of one to ten, where one is high price and ten is low price."

"The solution is priced on the higher side."

"The pricing is expensive, with the cost for customers ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 yearly."

"The tool has become expensive."

More VMware ESXi pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

Thang Le Toan (Victory Lee)

CIO at Robusta Technology & Training

Jan 13, 2015

vSphere vs. RHEV vs. Hyper-V vs. XenServer

We have used the following functions: 1. Hypervisor: to ensure that the virtual server provide web and email services to the company, thus providing a stable operation a with single sign-on integration of an AD server and vCenter. 2. Network and Storage: centralized data server…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about RHEV?

The initial setup is fairly straightforward and well-documented. The process is very similar to its competitors. The success of your setup depends on how well you plan.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for RHEV?

It's the open source. There's not much cost. It's very minimal comparably. Compared to what I am paying for VMware, it's negligible.

See all answers

What needs improvement with RHEV?

My teammates and I often complain that VMware is well-documented and has a large community since it is the de facto standard. I would love to see better documentation and ease of use. For newcomers...

See all answers

What do you like most about VMware ESXi?

My customers are satisfied with the solution’s performance.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware ESXi?

VMware is shifting to Broadcom, and their prices are becoming more expensive nowadays. The management is considering whether to continue with VMware or switch to other products. I am not sure exact...

See all answers

What needs improvement with VMware ESXi?

Pricing is a major issue with VMware ESXi as it is becoming more expensive. Many financial companies use VMware, so they should consider working on their pricing model to make it more affordable.

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware vSphere vs RHEV

Compared 43% of the time

Proxmox VE vs RHEV

Compared 25% of the time

Hyper-V vs RHEV

Compared 11% of the time

KVM vs RHEV

Compared 9% of the time

Nutanix AHV Virtualization vs RHEV

Compared 7% of the time

More RHEV Competitors

Red Hat OpenShift vs VMware ESXi

Compared 33% of the time

KVM vs VMware ESXi

Compared 17% of the time

Proxmox VE vs VMware ESXi

Compared 11% of the time

Hyper-V vs VMware ESXi

Compared 9% of the time

Nutanix AHV Virtualization vs VMware ESXi

Compared 6% of the time

More VMware ESXi Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

RHEV

June 2025

Download RHEV product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware ESXi

June 2025

Download VMware ESXi product report

Also Known As

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization

No data available

Overview

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, or RHEV, is a leading open standard enterprise virtualization management solution. This solution supports virtualization of servers and desktops using the same infrastructure and a single easy-to-use interface.

Because RHEV is based on open standards, it is vendor-independent and a lot more cost effective and flexible than proprietary solutions.

Red Hat

VMware ESXi serves as a hypervisor enabling virtualization by transforming physical servers into virtual infrastructures, supporting efficient server management, development, and production environments.

Organizations utilize VMware ESXi for its high availability and ability to host diverse workloads effectively. Known for stability and maturity, it efficiently handles server, networking, and storage demands, with integral features like vMotion and memory compression. ESXi integrates well with data center operations, allowing seamless resource allocation and virtual machine migration. Despite impressive capabilities, users encounter challenges with setup complexity, licensing costs, and technical support delays, leading some to explore different solutions.

What are the main features of VMware ESXi?

High Availability: Ensures continuous operation of virtual machines.
vMotion Capabilities: Facilitates easy virtual machine migration.
Clustering: Enhances resource management and efficiency.
Server Management: Offers efficient management with third-party integration.
Resource Optimization: Utilizes memory compression technologies.

What benefits and ROI do organizations see with VMware ESXi?

Cost Savings: Reduces expenses by consolidating servers.
User-friendliness: Offers a stable and manageable interface.
Multi-OS Support: Enables running Linux and Windows environments.
High Performance: Recognized for speed and efficiency.

Industries deploying VMware ESXi benefit in sectors requiring robust IT infrastructure, including finance, healthcare, and education. Its capability to support high availability and diverse workloads proves essential for critical applications, enhancing productivity and agility in dynamic environments.

VMware

Sample Customers

Qualcomm and Bonham's Auction House.

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

RHEV vs. VMware ESXi

June 2025

Free Report: RHEV vs. VMware ESXi

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