RHEV vs VMware ESXi comparison

Red Hat and VMware are both solutions in the Server Virtualization Software category. Red Hat is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.8, while VMware is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.5. Red Hat holds a 3.4% mindshare in SVS, compared to VMware’s 1.3% 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

4,043 Views
4,043 Comparison Views

79% willing to recommend

VMware ESXi

Read 32 VMware ESXi reviews

808 Views
800 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: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

RHEV vs. VMware ESXi

July 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

13th

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

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Server Virtualization Software category, the mindshare of RHEV is 3.4%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware ESXi is 1.3%, 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 platform is scalable, allowing for the installation of multiple nodes."

"The solution is a great all-round product. The virtualization is especially good."

"The solution is overall very good with all the facilities. It is user friendly, easy to configure, has documentation, and support is available."

"The most valuable features of RHEV are all the tools, such as virtualization, management of cloud platforms, and integration of container environments. The solution has good compatibility between virtualization, content management, and cloud management. Having the full set of these tools is the advantage of it."

"The solution has a good licensing module."

"RHEV’s cost is much less compared to VMware."

"I can control and manage everything. I know everything that's cooking inside. This is the best part for me."

"One of the most valuable features of this solution is the popularity of the OS."

More RHEV pros

"Using VMware ESXi for server management significantly simplifies the process. Traditionally, procuring physical servers was necessary, but now, we can create virtual machines on VMware ESXi based on our requirements. As long as resources are available, we can create as many virtual machines as needed."

"VMware ESXi is very reliable, especially for our production environment."

"The migration and combination of vCenter, where I can manage everything at once, has helped me do my job."

"For enterprises seeking scalable and robust solutions, VMware ESXi is highly recommended."

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

"The product is very reliable."

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

"ESXi is stable, and our business operations depend on it year after year."

More VMware ESXi pros

Cons

"The Administration of the Oracle database and the SAP ERP needs improvement."

"Red Hat by itself is not scalable. But you can have third party add-ons like Ceph to make it massively scalable."

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

"It would be better to have more patches, especially kernel-level updates, live and online so that we can keep the business up and running during this period."

"Customers are not aware of this solution, they can improve by providing more awareness and solution availability."

"The documentation is not as good as it should be."

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

"RHEV can improve by keeping pace with new features and new enhancements. They should not be halted or delayed innovation because over the past quarter the enhancements have not been as fast as they have been previously."

More RHEV cons

"The license model has recently changed, which is a bit worrying for customers."

"For horizontal scalability, VMware ESXi is not the right product, and we have been evaluating alternative options."

"The licensing model currently presents challenges."

"I would rate the technical support as six out of ten. The response time could be better."

"What I feel is that FT (Fault Tolerance) is not used much. So maybe more focus on that feature is needed."

"VMware ESXi has a complex setup phase, making it an area where improvements are required."

"The solution's pricing could be improved. It has become expensive after the Broadcom acquisition."

"Pricing is always the first thing to look at for improvement."

More VMware ESXi cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe we pay on a yearly basis."

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

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

"Price-wise, RHEV is okay, in my opinion."

"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 product has a variety of licensing options available. However, the level of licensing, and therefore the cost of licensing, is dependent on the number of servers being utilized."

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

"This is an open-source solution."

More RHEV pricing and cost advice

"The solution is priced on the higher side."

"Since Broadcom's acquisition, the solution's price has been adjusted, and perpetual licenses are no longer offered."

"The solution is expensive."

"The tool has become expensive."

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

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

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

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

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

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

18%

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?

The RHEV management plane could be improved, particularly the management interface. Something more similar to a Google, Amazon, or Azure interface might attract people to use its management interfa...

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 ESXi is extremely expensive now compared to a few years ago. It's a core-based license now. We have bought VCF for about more than 2,000 cores. It's not a user-based license, and when you co...

See all answers

What needs improvement with VMware ESXi?

It would be better if it had some scaling out features such as Kubernetes, automatic scale-out features, or automatic scheduling scale-out features, without being in a containerized platform such a...

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware vSphere vs RHEV

Compared 39% of the time

Proxmox VE vs RHEV

Compared 27% of the time

Hyper-V vs RHEV

Compared 11% of the time

KVM vs RHEV

Compared 10% of the time

More RHEV Competitors

Red Hat OpenShift vs VMware ESXi

Compared 31% of the time

KVM vs VMware ESXi

Compared 15% of the time

Proxmox VE vs VMware ESXi

Compared 10% of the time

Hyper-V vs VMware ESXi

Compared 10% of the time

More VMware ESXi Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

RHEV

August 2025

Download RHEV product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware ESXi

July 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

July 2025

Free Report: RHEV vs. VMware ESXi

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