VMware Workstation vs. VMware vSphere
As of June 2019, VMware vSphere is ranked 1st in Server Virtualization Software with 91 reviews vs VMware Workstation which is ranked 2nd in Virtual Desktop with 1 review. The top reviewer of VMware vSphere writes "Makes Resources Available & Services More Reliable". The top reviewer of VMware Workstation writes "I have found this product excellent for quick test/dev environments. ". VMware vSphere is most compared with KVM, Proxmox VE and Hyper-V. VMware Workstation is most compared with Hyper-V, VMware vSphere and Oracle VM VirtualBox.
Most Helpful Review | |||
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Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros | |
We are able to create virtual machines and move them from one host to another, controlling the resources. The most valuable feature is its ability to revert to previous snapshots during testing of various guest and application deployments. It helps to automate the data replication and DR (disaster recovery). Using vSphere we have virtualized over one thousand servers and this gave us management, cost and datacenter space advantages. The features in VMware vSphere data recovery are excellent. Sometimes I've deleted an entire server before and was able to recover the deleted VM. I just used some command line tools and I was able to restore the deleted VM. The most valuable features for me are a very easily scalable infrastructure. I can have a couple of hosts to do basic workloads. I can have a lot of hosts to do a lot of workloads. vSAN integrates my storage so I don't need an external storage SAN. I love having everything integrated in the same UI. The new HTML5 interface doesn't require any plugins anymore and it's super-fast. Since we have an internal cloud, suddenly people may require 1000 or 2000 VMS in something. We have options to analyze and make sure we have enough scalability. Production people can quickly reboot the server with ESXi Quick Boot. | I have found this product excellent for test/dev environments. This is 90% of what I use this product for. |
Cons | |
Generally, the user interface needs to be improved for non-technical people. Two improvements that I would like to see are higher resolution console modes for guests and easier switching between consoles. I feel that the scalability of the solution should be improved. Although vSphere is a nearly perfect product, it does need a little improvement. Datacenter and Cluster structure should be mixed so that the management of clusters would be easier. We want to see improvement from VMware with security. We want minimal downtime. We want automation. We want to deploy more efficiently. An improvement could be allowing a "dark mode" for the interface. I think the HTML5 client is a little bit hard to read. It's all white. It's a little bit bright on the eyes. A lot of us IT guys view in the dark. We previously had a hard time using tech support. I would like more Amazon stuff inside of VMware. | I have had issues with the virtual network adapters in the past that has taken some time to troubleshoot. |
Pricing and Cost Advice | |
The licensing fees are on a yearly basis. VMware does provide organizations with discounts. The customer service license fee we got discounts on from the supplier in order for us to get the best out of the license fees. That's our experience. We possibly paid less than our partner company. The partner is only local and not global like our firm. The price is high, but you get back a lot. Our ROI is good. There is an average performance boost, especially if you use VM encryption inside the VMware with another product, like McAfee. You will see great improvement in these cases. VMware is costly versus other competitors but is still one of the market leaders and expanding now with partners like AWS. The pricing is a bit complex. It is expensive. Other solutions on the market are free. We had to plan with VMware how many hosts that we needed in order to determine the price. | The pricing is a bit steep in my opinion for testing and there are other options. |
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Ranking  | |
Views 115,276 Comparisons 47,076 Reviews 91 Average Words per Review 573 Avg. Rating 8.8 | Views 34,596 Comparisons 19,287 Reviews 1 Average Words per Review 386 Avg. Rating 9.0 |
Top Comparisons | |
 Compared 27% of the time.  Compared 18% of the time.  Compared 13% of the time. | Compared 47% of the time.  Compared 14% of the time.  Compared 9% of the time. |
Learn | |
| VMware | VMware |
Overview | |
VMware vSphere is the leading server virtualization platform with consistent management for virtual data centers. Deliver business value from day one with powerful server virtualization, breakthrough availability, safe automated management and intelligent operational insight that adapts to your environment. Automate workload placement and resource optimization based on preset customizable templates. | VMware Workstation transforms the way technical professionals develop, test, demonstrate and deploy software by running multiple x86-based operating systems simultaneously on the same PC. Built on 15 years of virtualization excellence and winner of more than 50 industry awards, VMware Workstation takes desktop virtualization to the next level by giving users an unmatched operating system support, rich user experience and incredible performance. |
Offer | |
Learn more about VMware vSphere | Learn more about VMware Workstation |
Sample Customers | |
| Abu Dhabi Ports Company, ACS, AIA New Zealand, Consona, Corporate Express, CS Energy, and Digiweb. | Akademiska Hus |
Top Industries | |
Financial Services Firm12% Energy/Utilities Company10% Retailer10% Manufacturing Company8% Comms Service Provider13% Financial Services Firm12% Healthcare Company9% Manufacturing Company8% | No Data Available |
Company Size | |
Small Business26% Midsize Enterprise28% Large Enterprise46% Small Business19% Midsize Enterprise34% Large Enterprise47% | Small Business57% Midsize Enterprise14% Large Enterprise29% |
Find out what your peers are saying about VMware, Microsoft, KVM and others in Server Virtualization Software. Updated: June 2019.
345,805 professionals have used our research since 2012.
See also VMware vSphere Reviews, VMware Workstation Reviews, and our list of Best Server Virtualization Software Companies.
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