Proxmox vs VMware: Why Open-Source Wins

After years with VMware vSphere, I’ve successfully migrated many clients to Proxmox VE. The savings? Over €5,000 per year in licensing costs. Here I share my experiences.

The VMware Cost Trap

VMware vSphere is technically excellent – no question. But the costs are often no longer justifiable for small to medium-sized businesses:

  • vSphere Essentials Plus: ~€4,500 (3 hosts)
  • vCenter Server: ~€6,000
  • Annual maintenance (SnS): ~20-25% of license costs

Total costs: Quickly at €10,000+ for the first 3 years.

Proxmox VE: The Free Alternative

Proxmox Virtual Environment is 100% free and open-source. All features are usable – without hidden costs.

What Proxmox offers:

✅ Full virtualization (KVM-based)
✅ Container support (LXC)
✅ Cluster functionality (High Availability)
✅ Web interface (modern UI)
✅ Live migration between hosts
✅ Backup & Restore (PBS compatible)
✅ Strong community and professional support available

My Migration Experience

I’ve already migrated several schools and SMBs from VMware to Proxmox:

Typical Scenario:

  • Before: VMware vSphere 7 with 3 hosts
  • Problem: License costs ~€3,500/year + hardware lock-in
  • After: Proxmox VE cluster with identical functionality
  • Savings: 100% of license costs

Migration Process:

  1. Planning: 2-3 days (inventory, testing)
  2. Test environment: Set up Proxmox in parallel
  3. VM migration: Using qemu-img or virt-v2v
  4. Cutover: Staggered move per VM
  5. Training: 1 day for IT team

Downtime: Minimal (usually < 1 hour per VM for offline migration)

What You Should Consider

VMware is better if:

  • You productively use vSAN (Proxmox Ceph is more complex)
  • Your team only knows VMware (retraining effort)
  • You need NSX for SDN

Proxmox is better if:

  • You want to save costs
  • You have a Linux-savvy IT team
  • You don’t want vendor lock-in
  • You want to combine containers & VMs

My Recommendation

For 99% of SMBs and schools, Proxmox is the better choice:

  • Cost savings: €3,000 - €10,000 per year
  • Same functionality for standard requirements
  • Independence from Broadcom (new VMware owner)
  • No license surprises

Considering switching?

I can help you with the migration:

  • Cost-benefit analysis for your environment
  • Test migration of one VM (free)
  • Complete planning & execution
  • Training for your IT team

📞 Contact now: +49 173 907 44 79
✉️ Email: [email protected]

Conclusion: VMware is luxury – Proxmox is smart. In 90% of cases, Proxmox is perfectly adequate and saves massive costs.