Why Proxmox over VMware?
VMware has long been the default in enterprise virtualization. But with licensing changes, rising costs, and open-source alternatives maturing, many businesses are moving to Proxmox. Here’s why.
For years, VMware has been the safe choice for virtualization. It set the standard for enterprise reliability and features—but at a price. With recent changes in ownership and licensing models, many businesses are rethinking their options. Proxmox, a free and open source alternative, has quickly gained traction as a strong replacement.
In this post we’ll explore where Proxmox shines compared to VMware, what trade offs exist, and why it might be the right choice for your business.
Why businesses are moving away from VMware
VMware has long been the industry standard, but the landscape has changed. Many organizations are finding that what once felt like the safe choice now comes with growing downsides.
For most, the biggest driver is cost. Features that used to be optional add ons are now bundled into expensive licensing tiers, and the per socket or per core pricing model doesn’t scale well as environments grow. Businesses are being forced to pay more just to maintain the same capabilities they’ve always had.
There’s also the issue of flexibility. VMware is a proprietary stack that locks you into its ecosystem, making it harder to adapt infrastructure on your own terms. Proxmox, by contrast, is open source and hardware friendly, letting IT teams build exactly what they need without vendor imposed limits.
Finally, there’s a shift in priorities. Smaller sites, edge deployments, and labs need lean, efficient virtualization—not heavy enterprise licensing. Meanwhile, VMware’s roadmap has grown more opaque under new ownership, while Proxmox continues to evolve in the open with an active community and clear release cycle.
Put simply, businesses want predictable costs, freedom to choose their path, and a platform that scales up or down as needed. Increasingly, they’re finding VMware no longer delivers that—but Proxmox does.
Where Proxmox shines
Proxmox isn’t just “cheaper VMware”—it has unique advantages:
- Built in clustering and HA without the need for extra products or licenses.
- Flexible storage with ZFS and Ceph support baked in, perfect for hyper converged setups.
- Straightforward management via web UI, command line, and APIs.
- Container support (LXC) alongside full VM virtualization, ideal for mixed workloads.
- Predictable costs since you only pay for optional support subscriptions, not per core or per socket licensing.
Where VMware still has the edge
It’s not all one sided. VMware remains strong in areas like:
- Enterprise ecosystem with mature integrations, vendor certifications, and broad enterprise adoption.
- Advanced enterprise features like DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler) or NSX networking.
- Deep vendor support with many third party products designed specifically for VMware environments.
For very large enterprises with existing VMware heavy infrastructure, these strengths can still outweigh Proxmox.
Our guidance
At Bubbas Technology, we recommend Proxmox when:
- You want high availability virtualization without expensive licensing.
- You’re building hyper converged clusters with Ceph or ZFS storage.
- You need flexibility running VMs and containers on the same platform.
- You want predictable costs and open source transparency.
We suggest VMware only when your environment depends on integrations or features unique to its ecosystem. But for most small and mid sized businesses—and increasingly even for enterprises—Proxmox delivers the same reliability and resilience at a fraction of the cost.
The bottom line
Proxmox has matured into a serious alternative to VMware. It’s not just about saving money (though that’s a big part of it)—it’s about freedom, flexibility, and control over your infrastructure. As more organizations face rising VMware costs, Proxmox offers a path forward that’s both powerful and sustainable.