Skip to main content
TrustRadius
VMware ESXi

VMware ESXi

Overview

What is VMware ESXi?

A bare-metal hypervisor that installs directly onto a physical server. With direct access to and control of underlying resources, VMware ESXi partitions hardware to consolidate applications and cut costs.

Read more
Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Powerful Tool for Managing VMs: Users consistently praise VMware ESXi as a powerful tool for managing a large number of virtual machines, …
Continue reading
TrustRadius Insights
TrustRadius Insights

VMware ESXI

8 out of 10
April 07, 2022
VMware Esxi is very good product. Which helps people to virtualize the environment or data center. I am using Exsi for last 5 years. …
Continue reading

A class above the rest

10 out of 10
April 04, 2022
Incentivized
We use ESXi in our organization for our virtualized workloads. ESXi provides a solution for growing organizations that have way too much …
Continue reading
Read all reviews

Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 5 features
  • Live virtual machine migration (115)
    9.3
    93%
  • Management console (127)
    8.8
    88%
  • Virtual machine automated provisioning (115)
    8.5
    85%
  • Hypervisor-level security (116)
    8.3
    83%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

View all pros & cons
Return to navigation

Pricing

View all pricing
VMware ESXi

VMware ESXi

N/A
Unavailable

What is VMware ESXi?

A bare-metal hypervisor that installs directly onto a physical server. With direct access to and control of underlying resources, VMware ESXi partitions hardware to consolidate applications and cut costs.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Would you like us to let the vendor know that you want pricing?

269 people also want pricing

Alternatives Pricing

VMware vSphere

VMware vSphere

$995
per year
What is VMware vSphere?

An enterprise workload platform, vSphere is used to improve the performance for a data center. It is used to boost operational efficiency, supercharge workload performance, and accelerate innovation.

Hyper-V

Hyper-V

$24.95
per month

Sorry, this product's description is unavailable

Return to navigation

Product Demos

VMware ESXi 5.1 Install & Configure In Oracle Virtual Box

YouTube
Return to navigation

Features

Server Virtualization

Server virtualization allows multiple operating systems to be run completely independently on a single server

8.7
Avg 8.3
Return to navigation

Product Details

What is VMware ESXi?

A bare-metal hypervisor that installs directly onto a physical server. With direct access to and control of underlying resources, VMware ESXi partitions hardware to consolidate applications and cut costs.

ESXi is used to:

  • Consolidate hardware for higher capacity utilization.
  • Increase performance for a competitive edge.
  • Streamline IT administration through centralized management.
  • Reduce CapEx and OpEx.
  • Minimize hardware resources needed to run the hypervisor, boosting efficiency.

VMware ESXi Integrations

VMware ESXi Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

A bare-metal hypervisor that installs directly onto a physical server. With direct access to and control of underlying resources, VMware ESXi partitions hardware to consolidate applications and cut costs.

Reviewers rate Live virtual machine migration highest, with a score of 9.3.

The most common users of VMware ESXi are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives
Return to navigation

Reviews and Ratings

(804)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Powerful Tool for Managing VMs: Users consistently praise VMware ESXi as a powerful tool for managing a large number of virtual machines, with easy management of individual VM settings and configurations. Several reviewers have highlighted this aspect, emphasizing how it simplifies their virtualization workflows and enhances overall efficiency.

Cost Reduction Benefits: Many users appreciate the cost reduction benefits offered by VMware ESXi. It minimizes the need for physical servers and reduces storage footprint, resulting in electricity savings. This advantage has been mentioned by a significant number of reviewers, highlighting the financial value that VMware ESXi brings to their organizations.

Support for Various Operating Systems: The support for various operating systems, including Windows and Unix, is considered a significant advantage by users. This feature enables them to host a wide range of applications on VMware ESXi. Multiple reviewers have specifically mentioned this pro, appreciating the flexibility it provides in terms of application deployment and compatibility.

Confusing User Interface: Many users have expressed frustration with the confusing and non-intuitive user interface of VMware ESXi. This has made it challenging for them to perform tasks efficiently, causing unnecessary delays and difficulties in managing their virtual environments.

Stability Issues: Several users have encountered stability issues with VMware ESXi's hypervisor. These issues have resulted in instances of corruption, leading to the need for reinstallations. The instability not only disrupts operations but also poses potential risks to data integrity and system reliability.

High Pricing and Complexity: The pricing of VMware products is often considered a barrier, particularly for smaller businesses. Many users find the deployment process complex and excessive for their needs, requiring significant time and resources to set up properly. This can be overwhelming, especially for organizations with limited IT expertise or budget constraints.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(26-50 of 54)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
January 10, 2020

Good solution for every level.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Mining & Metals Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
8
VMware ESXi, five years ago, was excellent, but lately, it has gone downhill, specifically with intra-company product integration. It would seem that product development teams do not communicate with one another. One example from personal experience was the integrations of NSX with ESXi - we encountered daily purple screens, and it took weeks to diagnose the issue finally and finally for a bug to be discovered, resolved with a new patch. The VMware ESXi product offerings are now so vast that it is difficult for the support teams themselves to keep up.
January 10, 2020

VMware gives you flexibility and stability

Dan Lepinski | TrustRadius Reviewer
Dan Lepinski
System Administrator
Proto Labs (Industrial Automation, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
9
VMware ESXi is a large organization. You can expect to go through the typical support channels starting from the bottom and working your way up the chain. This can be frustrating at times if you have an annoying issue you'd like solved. However, if your environment is complete down, they can be relatively quick to respond and resolve the issue.
January 10, 2020

VMware ESXi server save you time and money, now and down the road

Andrew Shannon | TrustRadius Reviewer
Andrew Shannon
IT Consultant
Socket Managed Services (Warehousing, 11-50 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
9
The user base for VMware ESXi is the biggest of all the virtualization platforms out there. So if you ever have an issue, you can always find someone else with your same problem in the forums on VMware's website and lots of solutions posted by other VMware ESXi users who have dealt with the same problems that you are dealing with. I have always been able to find an appropriate answer to my question on the VMware ESXi forums.
January 10, 2020

Ready to serve your enterprise needs

CM
Christopher Mills
Manager of IT Infrastructure Services
St. Charles Health System, Inc. (Hospital & Health Care, 5001-10,000 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
10
We have had nothing but great experiences with VMware support when it comes to ESXi. They have been quick to respond, knowledgeable about the issues we have been presented with, and also have been able to find solutions to other vendors' issues before the actual vendor. We have used support to help with projects to make sure we are doing the process correctly, and also that it is the right thing to do.
January 10, 2020

ESXi: Great for small and large businesses. Medium businesses, don't rush your decision.

Eric Wyman | TrustRadius Reviewer
Eric Wyman
Systems Administrator
CityServiceValcon (Oil & Energy, 51-200 employees)
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
8
With the exception of language barrier challenges, ESXi support is fantastic. The techs are extremely knowledgeable and courteous, to the point and can address most issues very quickly once you get them on the line. It is a bit of a challenge to get support initially. Waiting to get help when your environment is crippled or non-operational can be fairly stressful.
January 10, 2020

ESXi is still the best virtual host platform among hypervisors

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Aviation & Aerospace Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
9
I rarely ever need support for anything VMWare makes, but when I do, the documentation available just in the free community is generally enough. It's extensive and the community is truly robust and active. And if you have a myvmware account, you can get support for your owned products from VMWare support by the conventional case/ticket method.
January 10, 2020

VMware ESXi is a Solid Product for the Enterprise Infrastructure

Rodney Barnhardt | TrustRadius Reviewer
Rodney Barnhardt
Server Administrator
Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company (Building Materials, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
6
While customer support is good, there can be a longer wait time to get a response from support than I like. This does seem to be improving over the past year or so. I have not had to contact support in the last 6 months, so it may be even better now. However, in the past, it may be a day or more before I would get contacted. Even then, they may email or call after I had left the office. O one ticket I made a note that if I did not answer my desk, call my mobile number. However, they just left a message on my desk VM and never tried my mobile number.
January 10, 2020

VMware ESXi is a rock solid choice for your hypervisor

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
9
I have had to use support within VMware for ESXi twice in my 13 years of VMware administration. I am not counting times where VMware had to step in due to hardware issues or something similar to that. The two times I have engaged VMware support, I was pleasantly surprised in how they handled my issue and how they were sure everything was resolved for me.
January 08, 2020

Industry leading hypervisor - for good reason!

Verified User
C-Level Executive in Engineering
Computer Software Company, 1-10 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
8
I have not used direct support from VMWare for our implementation as we have a competent internal team to manage our servers.

VMWare's documentation provided online is definitely a decent starting point and covers most of the issues that may arise during typical day to day usage of ESXi. Any additional one-off issues that we found, we were able to confidently get answers from third party sources due to VMWare's wide adoption across the IT industry, with almost every major hypervisor buildout using it as its base. We have yet to scratch the surface of what ESXi is able to do so we have plenty of community support all around.
December 17, 2019

VMWare ESXi Brings Stability

Verified User
General Manager in Information Technology
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 11-50 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
10
We only required support once in 6 years and we were able to resolve the query with a reboot of the ESXi host.
We have found VMWare ESXi to be inherently stable. Applying patches to the ESXi is a pain point as the VMs need to be shutdown (if failover cluster is not implemented). I think this is the case with all HyperVisors.
November 26, 2019

Small piece of software with great and strong virtualization skills!

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Entertainment Company, 201-500 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
7
If VMware ESXi support is needed and you have the correct support contract, the support is fast and usually very straightforward. But it is, in most cases, possible to find helpful troubleshooting information or tips with a well-defined Google search.
November 25, 2019

VMware ESXi helps you to to cloud

Verified User
Project Manager in Information Technology
Airlines/Aviation Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
10
Whenever you need to solve an issue, the support is very attentive and gives their best effort to resolve the issue. They are very focused on providing honest service. Their engineers are well prepared and trained to solve all incidents. Whenever you need online assistance, you can set up a date, and they will give you the support you need.
November 20, 2019

The only server virtualization platform that you need

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Insurance Company, 501-1000 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
8
We have had not many cases with support but usually they get solved very quickly. Also the user community is very helpful in this case. The only problem we had was when 2 vendors had to be involved and it was pretty hard to figure out which side the problem was on.
November 18, 2019

Server virtualization done right

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Gambling & Casinos Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
8
ESXi has been around for a long time, it is relatively easy to find decently skilled engineers to support your platform and the support you get from their partners or VMware direct is very good. When you talk to them you feel like you are talking to people that have known the product for years and not someone that just got trained when he took that job.
November 15, 2019

ESXi, hypervisor extraordinaire!

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Education Management Company, 201-500 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
5
VMware support is very spotty. It seems if you have a higher priority case you get better support. If you have a smaller problem, it can take a long time to get a resolution. I have seen medium priority tickets get passed around for days at a time. On the other hand, I have had severity one cases get taken care of immediately for very complex problems.
November 12, 2019

Upgrading to the virtual realm for a mid-sized business

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 201-500 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
8
Very solid support. I haven't needed much since the setup of the system. However, some colleagues at other companies have had to use their customer support and have given it very high praise. Their sales team were very accommodating.
November 06, 2019

Fantastic Virtualization Platform!

IS
Ivan Sytchev
Supervisor, Information Technology
Real Estate Council of Ontario (Non-Profit Organization Management, 51-200 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
8
The support is generally great. However, their engineers are very specialized, so if the issue requires involvement from multiple teams, the case might end up being passed along from team to team without faster resolution. An example of this would be if support is engaged with the ESXi team, but the issue is determined to be network related, they will engage the networking team who will start troubleshooting from scratch. But if the issue resides in a single department, then their knowledgeable engineers usually resolve it rather quickly. Overall, ESXi has one of the better support programs than other IT vendors.
October 22, 2019

After using VMWare for all these years it still feels like magic

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Restaurants Company, 10,001+ employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support Rating
10
Every time we have contacted support they were more than helpful, very knowledgeable, and very friendly. One time we even had a down situation and found due our hardware being end of life we technically were not under support but I explained how bad the situation was and she went ahead and stayed on the call and helped me over the new few hours and we got everything back up, I was very grateful for that.
Return to navigation