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Compare Proxmox VE and VMware ESXi

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At a Glance
Proxmox VE
Proxmox VE
Star Rating
(33)4.6 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (68.8% of reviews)
Information
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
€ 4,99 month (per CPU)
Browse all 4 pricing plans
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi
Star Rating
(19)4.7 out of 5
Market Segments
Mid-Market (50.0% of reviews)
Information
Pros & Cons
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about VMware ESXi

Proxmox VE vs VMware ESXi

When assessing the two solutions, reviewers found VMware ESXi easier to use, set up, and administer. However, reviewers preferred doing business with Proxmox VE overall.

  • Reviewers felt that VMware ESXi meets the needs of their business better than Proxmox VE.
  • When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that VMware ESXi is the preferred option.
  • For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of Proxmox VE over VMware ESXi.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Proxmox VE
COMMUNITY
€ 4,99
month (per CPU)
Browse all 4 pricing plans
VMware ESXi
No pricing available
Free Trial
Proxmox VE
No trial information available
VMware ESXi
No trial information available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.8
30
9.5
18
Ease of Use
8.6
30
9.0
18
Ease of Setup
8.0
25
9.4
18
Ease of Admin
8.6
25
9.1
15
Quality of Support
6.8
20
9.1
16
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.6
18
8.2
15
Product Direction (% positive)
10.0
30
7.4
18
Features by Category
8.8
11
9.0
17
Performance
9.1
11
9.4
15
8.2
10
8.6
16
8.7
9
8.4
16
Functionality
9.4
11
9.3
15
9.1
11
9.1
15
9.2
11
9.1
15
8.2
10
9.3
14
Agentic AI - Server Virtualization
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Proxmox VE
Proxmox VE
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi
Proxmox VE and VMware ESXi are categorized as Server Virtualization
Unique Categories
Proxmox VE
Proxmox VE has no unique categories
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi has no unique categories
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Proxmox VE
Proxmox VE
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
68.8%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
21.9%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
9.4%
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
33.3%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
50.0%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
16.7%
Reviewers' Industry
Proxmox VE
Proxmox VE
Information Technology and Services
40.6%
Computer & Network Security
12.5%
Computer Software
9.4%
Oil & Energy
6.3%
Internet
6.3%
Other
25.0%
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi
Information Technology and Services
44.4%
Telecommunications
11.1%
Food Production
11.1%
Accounting
11.1%
Manufacturing
5.6%
Other
16.7%
Alternatives
Proxmox VE
Proxmox VE Alternatives
VMware vSphere
VMware vSphere
Add VMware vSphere
Azure Virtual Machines
Azure Virtual Machines
Add Azure Virtual Machines
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)
Add Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)
VirtualBox
VirtualBox
Add VirtualBox
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi Alternatives
Xen Project
Xen Project
Add Xen Project
XenServer
XenServer
Add XenServer
Azure Virtual Machines
Azure Virtual Machines
Add Azure Virtual Machines
VirtualBox
VirtualBox
Add VirtualBox
Discussions
Proxmox VE
Proxmox VE Discussions
Possibility of importing virtual machines from other platforms
2 Comments
David F.
DF
While the answer is yes, unfortunately at the time of writing importing ova files for example isn't a gui based thing. An example is here:...Read more
Is proxmox still free?
1 Comment
SG
Its still free and great!Read more
What operating system is proxmox?
1 Comment
RL
Proxmox VE is a complete operating system based on Debian LinuxRead more
VMware ESXi
VMware ESXi Discussions
Monty the Mongoose crying
VMware ESXi has no discussions with answers