Scale Computing Platform vs VMware vSAN comparison

Scale Computing and Broadcom are both solutions in the HCI category. Scale Computing is ranked #15 with an average rating of 9.5, while Broadcom is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.9. Scale Computing holds a 2.6% mindshare in HCI, compared to Broadcom’s 10.0% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of Scale Computing users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Scale Computing Platform

Read 9 Scale Computing Platform reviews

2,206 Views
1,522 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

VMware vSAN

Read 234 VMware vSAN reviews

15,097 Views
9,662 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Scale Computing Platform

VMware vSAN

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

VMware vSAN and Scale Computing Platform are both competitive storage solutions in the market. VMware vSAN seems to have the upper hand due to its strong integration with VMware products and flexibility in deployment, although Scale Computing Platform excels in simplicity and ease of use.

Features: VMware vSAN is known for its scalability with strong integration into VMware ecosystems, providing high performance and cost efficiency. It offers ease of scaling with existing VMware products. Scale Computing Platform is appreciated for its simplicity and efficient management, making it ideal for small to medium-sized environments that do not need complex management.

Room for Improvement: VMware vSAN could improve its management interfaces and broaden hardware support to enhance storage control visibility and disk management. Scale Computing Platform may benefit from enhanced replication features and improvements in system modification visibility and node management.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: VMware vSAN offers various deployment options but can be complex to set up, often requiring support, though its customer service is responsive. Scale Computing Platform is simpler to deploy with consistent support praised by users.

Pricing and ROI: VMware vSAN is a costly solution with a licensing structure that may not fit small businesses but offers significant ROI for larger deployments by lowering infrastructure costs. Scale Computing Platform provides a cost-effective solution with straightforward pricing, appealing to organizations with tight budgets and offering competitive ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Scale Computing Platform vs. VMware vSAN Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Scale Computing Platform vs. VMware vSAN

March 2026

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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

Scale Computing Platform

Ranking in HCI

15th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Edge Computing Platforms (1st)

VMware vSAN

Ranking in HCI

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

234

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the HCI category, the mindshare of Scale Computing Platform is 2.6%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware vSAN is 10.0%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
VMware vSAN	10.0%
Scale Computing Platform	2.6%
Other	87.4%

HCI

Featured Reviews

AbdulSattar

Channel Sales Manager at Softech Microsystems

Extremely easy to learn and use for beginners

Some features go well with other tools like VMware, where making something on the fly or making some changes on the fly in the area of memory or something is possible. On the fly, you cannot do anything on Scale Computing HC3, though it is a very rarely needed area. Being able to make some changes on the fly is very risky, but even then, you see customers saying since it is an area that is not possible with Scale Computing HC3, it is better to go with some other tools. My company convinces our customers that opting for another solution is not required since a tool that allows us to make some changes on the fly can be very risky, and it is also not something that fits in according to certain policies or good practices.

Read full review

ShyamikaThamel

Associate Tech Specialists at Seatrium

Managing mixed RAID workloads has improved data protection and delivers strong performance

VMware vSAN can be improved in certain areas. In cases involving our large data stores with large VMs, we experience some latency, not during normal operation, but during database backup operations. We observed latency due to buffer issues from the top-of-the-rack switches. These issues are mostly network-related because all storage data traffic travels through the network. I have recently used Nutanix, and I observed that Nutanix provides better performance than VMware vSAN due to its data locality features. VMware vSAN is now providing data locality, but we did not use that option. If VMware vSAN provides additional features in the next release, such as the VM balancing feature called DRS on the cluster that VMware previously had, it would be beneficial. With DRS, VMs can move easily from one node to another within the same cluster. Nutanix does not provide that flexibility. When placing a VM on a cluster in Nutanix, the placement uses a balancing component. After that, the VM remains on the same host. If any contention occurs on the CPU or memory side, the VM stays in place until contention happens. If issues occur, the VM migrates to another host while transferring all objects to the same host. This is how their data locality is maintained. When a VM moves to any host, it moves with all VM objects. VMware vSAN does not currently offer this option. If a VM moves to another host, it accesses the disk object through the network, which increases latency. VMware vSAN now offers an option to select data locality, but it does not function like Nutanix. This is why some latency remains. If VMware vSAN can improve this feature, it would be very helpful and VMware would regain its top position.

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

"It gives the ease of management for a small IT department."

"The solution is scalable."

"The product's initial setup phase is too easy."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the nice GUI."

"The most valuable feature of Scale Computing HC3 is if one of the devices fails, you won't even notice, the service maintains operation. The customers don't have to waste two, or three days on delays. Additionally, you do not have to waste time with recovery software, it is a lot easier."

"I like that Scale Computing HCR is slimmed down and gives me the features I need and not features that I don't need."

"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."

"The most valuable features are the appliance-type feel and that you don't need additional licenses as everything is built-in."

More Scale Computing Platform pros

"It is very well known in the industry, and there are a lot of technical resources around it. This is a big thing for me because, at the end of the day, when you implement it, you need to support it."

"vSAN is easy for deploying and maintenance, so some customers can do service themselves."

"Provides good performance as well as integration with deployment tools."

"The valuable features are its scalability and the standardization - one size fits all. It's also intuitive and easy to use because one size fits all. Obviously, it scales out, but it's the same solution at every physical location I manage."

"You get the benefit of local storage, but you have the protection of shared storage."

"Technical support is very helpful and very good at resolving issues."

"The most valuable features are the encryption, deduplication, compression, and the ability to manage all of your storage within your server rack."

"vSAN Health is a feature designed to monitor the health and performance of the vSAN environment. It's crucial for us and our customers to frequently check on this to ensure everything is operating smoothly."

More VMware vSAN pros

Cons

"I would like bigger clusters with more than eight nodes."

"The product could use a better control center."

"I've had so many issues with the sales team when I was looking to make some improvements, and improve the performance. They would create so many excuses to force me to buy new nodes all the time and not let me add more memory to each node."

"The snapshot technology takes up 500 times more space compared to other solutions."

"Scale Computing HC3 said in an announcement they were going to integrate with a backup service which would be good. If they could do this it would be beneficial."

"Scale HC3 improvements would involve literally fixing up the replication."

"There could be an easier way to see which servers are on each node"

"On the fly, you cannot do anything on Scale Computing HC3, though it is a very rarely needed area."

More Scale Computing Platform cons

"I am not satisfied with VMware support, particularly with the reaction times, SLAs, and those kinds of issues."

"They should make the software updates easier. We should be able to upgrade it more easily."

"I would like compression and deduplication to be offered for offloading hardware, instead of doing it with software. That would be nice."

"My experience with the technical support by VMware is acceptable but not great. Sometimes the issue is that you don't get the best experience, whether it's the response time or first-level support quality."

"The platform’s pricing needs improvement. Additionally, there should be an appliance module included in it."

"There's a lot that can be done to segregate. That may be available now in vSAN 7, I suppose, however, the deduplication and compression can be segregated."

"I would like a better Hardware Certification List (HCL). The HCL should a little easier to deal with."

"I'd like to see better integration with the Update Manager, with respect to firmware updates for hardware."

More VMware vSAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is worth the money, but I would not say it's very cheap or very expensive."

"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."

"I pay for Scale Computing HC3 and it includes customer service for one year. We paid for an additional year for customer service but that includes the updates and everything for the software. Additionally, the licensing is for Windows, which is the same for everybody."

"rate HC3's pricing a five out of ten since it is affordable."

"We pay for a license to use the solution through our company CapEx and then we continue to pay annually."

"This solution requires the purchase of a license."

"In comparison with other solutions, such as HP or Cisco, I find the solution to be quite pricey."

"This is a cost-effective product. It's a bit cheaper than the other solutions."

"If they could reduce the cost, it would be better. Licensing costs are something that they could take care of. If you are a smaller and strong IT team, then VMware vSAN is a very good product. If you want to expand in the service provider space, then you will have to go for an open-source solution like OpenStack. We are now looking at OpenStack because we sell licensing costs. We are a service provider, so the IT component data is a substantial component in our overall costing. We feel that OpenStack might help us to cut down the licensing cost. Therefore, we are looking at SAS storage instead of vSAN. SAS is open source, but it is not wise to have open source without having the backend support. We are using RedHat SAS, and it is an open-source solution. You can also have a free version, but we are using it with support from RedHat so that we have somebody to back us up in case we have a problem. If you do normal business, then IT expense is 1% or 2% of the total turnover. The higher licensing costs sometimes don't make difference to the big companies who are not service providers and are using it only for their internal use. For them, the IT cost is 1% or 2%, but for an IT service provider, the IT costs will go up to 15% to 16% of the total cost of the operations. This is where the licensing costs become irrelevant. For example, the licensing cost of using VMware, VC, and vSAN is 8% of my monthly revenue. Every month, I pay about $35,000, and, with the revised plan, it will be something like $50,000 or revenue of 600k per month, which means almost 8% of the revenue is going into VMware licensing. In a very competitive world, 8% as a cost element is huge. So, if I can bring it down to 2%, I save 6% in revenue expenditure. In terms of profit, 6% of 30% is something like another 25% increase in my profit. My profit can be almost 25%. It would be 20% to 25% in case I am able to handle the licensing costs and bring them to a very low level. Because these IT costs are substantial for us, that is why we are going with OpenStack. OpenStack has a limitation that it requires more hardware. There will be some increase in the hardware cost, but overall we will save 5% to 6% of our licensing cost by using OpenStack."

"I would like to see this technology be made available to smaller businesses, who might benefit from high availability but struggle with the entry fee."

"It is slightly expensive. They can be more competitive in terms of pricing."

"ROI from an administrative perspective is clearly much better because I only have to deal with one user interface."

More VMware vSAN pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

14%

Computer Software Company

10%

University

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	100
Midsize Enterprise	58
Large Enterprise	129

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Scale Computing HC3?

The product's initial setup phase is too easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Scale Computing HC3?

It fit our budget, so it was great.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Scale Computing HC3?

There could be an easier way to see which servers are on each node. It shows you a small graphical interface, but you have to see them all, and you have to really struggle to figure out which nodes...

See all answers

What Is The Biggest Difference Between vSAN And VxRail?

While both run on the vSAN technology from VMware, vSAN needs to be deployed on vSAN ready nodes while VxRail is an engineered system. The choice to choose which technology depends on two major fac...

See all answers

How does HPE Simplivity compare with VMware vSAN?

HPE SimpliVity is a hyper-converged infrastructure solution that is primarily geared to mid-sized companies. We researched VMware vSAN but found HPE was a better option for us. HPE SimpliVity has ...

See all answers

How does VMware vSAN compare with Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct?

We found VMware’s vSAN was easy to set up, configure, and manage compared to other solutions we considered. It is best suited for small- to medium-sized organizations. It is easy to create load bal...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Proxmox VE vs Scale Computing Platform

Compared 7% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Scale Computing Platform

Compared 6% of the time

HPE SimpliVity vs Scale Computing Platform

Compared 5% of the time

VMware vSphere vs Scale Computing Platform

Compared 5% of the time

More Scale Computing Platform Competitors

VxRail vs VMware vSAN

Compared 16% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs VMware vSAN

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs VMware vSAN

Compared 7% of the time

HPE SimpliVity vs VMware vSAN

Compared 6% of the time

NetApp AFF vs VMware vSAN

Compared 6% of the time

More VMware vSAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCI

March 2026

Download Scale Computing Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware vSAN

February 2026

Download VMware vSAN product report

Also Known As

Scale Computing HC3

vSAN

Overview

Scale Computing Platform is renowned for swift setup, stability, and performance. It provides a seamless user experience with integrated licenses and efficient management, catering to small IT departments.

Scale Computing Platform offers a user-friendly GUI and delivers superior performance with exceptional read/write speeds, outperforming competitors like Nutanix. It eliminates the need for additional recovery software and simplifies licensing. Users note its simplicity and efficiency over VMware, Nutanix, and HPE SimpliVity. However, there is a need for improved support, better upgrade processes, and more integration with external backup services. The platform faces challenges with larger workloads, with snapshot technology requiring optimization. Enhancements are needed in dashboard usability and node visibility, and users seek flexibility for on-the-fly changes.

What are the key features of Scale Computing Platform?

Ease of Setup: Simplifies installation, making it accessible for small IT teams.
Fast Performance: Provides superior read/write speeds compared to others.
Built-In Licenses: Integrates necessary licenses, reducing complexity.
User-Friendly GUI: Facilitates efficient management for IT departments.
Scalability: Adapts easily to growing business needs without hassle.

What benefits or ROI should users anticipate?

Stability: Ensures reliable system performance for continuous operations.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces need for additional software, offering a cost-effective solution.
Resource Management: Enhances prioritization and management of virtual machines.
User Satisfaction: Provides an appliance-like experience with minimal hassles.

Implementing Scale Computing Platform in industries supports virtualization needs for organizations operating with fewer than thirty VMs. It's commonly used for hosting internal servers, executing POCs, and running applications like SAGE Computer and QuickBooks. The platform aids businesses in creating private clouds, supporting efficient resource management and enhancing server operations, particularly with Acronis Backup.

Scale Computing

VMware vSAN is a software-defined storage product that is used in collaboration with VMware ESXi hypervisor and that provisions and manages storage based on policies, regardless of the underlying hardware. The solution enables you to prime your business for growth through its seamless evolution (it is integrated with vSphere and requires no new tools), its flexibility, and its multi-cloud capabilities. As an industry-leading software, VMware vSAN provides high levels of performance with minimal impact on CPU and memory.

VMware vSAN Features

VMware vSAN has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Storage policy-based management (SPBM): VMware vSAN supports storage policy-based management for automated management of storage profiles.

Software-defined data-at-rest encryption: With this VMware vSAN feature, you can prevent unauthorized access of data at rest.

Multiple nodes: VMware vSAN provides clusters that can include as few as 2 nodes or as many as 64 nodes.

High security and availability: VMware vSAN offers stretched clusters, allowing more than one virtualization host server to be used in the same setup, promoting higher security as well as availability.

Deduplication: VMware vSAN’s deduplication compresses data to ensure efficient storage management and security.

HCI mesh updates: VMware vSAN clusters can share storage capacity with non-HCI Sphere clusters and can adopt HCI without having to scale computing resources and storage or replace existing servers.

Simplified file services: With VMware vSAN’s file services, backup of file shares is simplified. You can use APIs that allow backup and recovery software vendors to integrate with your VMware vSAN file services, which enables backup software to track new data and add scalability enhancements to files.

VMware vSAN Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing VMware vSAN. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Reduced total cost of ownership (TCO): VMware vSAN helps you reduce upfront costs for businesses because it can be easily deployed on inexpensive x86 servers. In addition, its highly scalable infrastructure and quick deployment also save organizations time and money, making it an efficient storage solution.

Good manageability: VMWare vSAN is easy to set up, manage, and provision, without sacrificing performance.

Scalability: VMware vSAN is agile and allows administrators to scale storage on demand, quickly, and efficiently via policies and rules.

Simplicity: VMWare vSAN is simple to configure since it is embedded in the vSphere hypervisor. Installing it using the vSphere Web Client can be done quickly.

Reduced risk: VMWare vSAN reduces the risk associated with digital transformations by utilizing existing tools, skill sets, and solutions.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the VMware vSAN solution.

PeerSpot user Yves S., CEO, Cloud Evangelist at Comdivision Consulting GmbH, says, “vSAN gives us a lot of advantages when we need to expand resources. We have an overall larger host infrastructure, and we split that up for specific customer test and use cases. In that specific scenario, we can easily add more hosts or reduce the number of hosts in the environment.”

A reviewer who works in Infrastructure Security explains, “The ease of use is great. The initial setup and upgrade process was pretty straightforward. And, technical support is great.”

Laurent N., Director at Softlogic, comments, "The feature that I have found most valuable is that it is easy to deploy. It is easy to create and delete virtual servers. It is easy to create the load balancing and the clustering."

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Resorts World Las Vegas, Stena, Telford Offshore, Goodwill, Sandals, Jerry's Enterprises, Mendard's Royal Farms, Delhaize, Benchmark Electronics, Classic Hotels, Genting Casino, Lindt, Sainsbury's, Landmark Cinemas, Golden Queen Mining, Coca Cola. Holiday Inn, Iron County School District, Sevier County Bank, City of St. Cloud Minnesota, Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, KIB Electronics, Brake Masters, Lincoln County Hospital, Ohio Summit County Board of Elections

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Buyer's Guide

Scale Computing Platform vs. VMware vSAN

March 2026

Free Report: Scale Computing Platform vs. VMware vSAN

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