--- title: "vCenter Server Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about vCenter Server Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Virtual Machine products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/33977/VMware-VirtualCenter/" page_type: "product" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-09-29" --- # vCenter Server Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on September 29, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) vCenter Server ## What is vCenter Server? Virtual infrastructure management software, provides a central point of control for virtual computing resources. ## What is vCenter Server used for? [Virtualization](https://www.capterra.com/virtualization-software/)[Server Management](https://www.capterra.com/server-management-software/)[Virtual Machine](https://www.capterra.com/virtual-machine-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 91 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 97% Neutral 2% Negative 1% Starting price $1535 Per User, Per Month Free trial not available Free version not included Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for vCenter Server?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/vsphere-data-protection-vcenter-server/claim_requests/new?auto=true) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### vCenter Server 4.7 (91) VS. [4.6 (349)](https://www.capterra.com/p/251336/ManageEngine-OpManager/reviews/) Starting Price $1535 per user, per month Starting Price $95 Flat Rate, Per Year Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.4 (91) Ease Of Use 4.6 (434) Value For Money 4.2 (82) Value For Money 4.7 (364) Customer Service 4.4 (81) Customer Service 4.6 (346) ## vCenter Server alternatives [4.6 (274)](https://www.capterra.com/p/172323/ManageEngine-Applications-Manager/reviews/) Starting price $395.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 97% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.7 (399)](https://www.capterra.com/p/168192/Site24x7/reviews/) Starting price $10.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 97% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.6 (46)](https://www.capterra.com/p/10008506/ManageEngine-OpManager-Plus/reviews/) Starting price $1233.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars Highest Rated [5.0 (23)](https://www.capterra.com/p/147724/Open-Virtual-Desktop-Enterprise/reviews/) Starting price $8.55 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 100% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/33977/VMware-VirtualCenter/alternatives/) ## FAQs about vCenter Server Overview ### What problems does vCenter Server solve? vCenter Server solves fragmented virtual infrastructure management by centralizing control of ESXi hosts, virtual machines, storage, networks, and performance monitoring. IT administrators, virtualization engineers, and data center teams use it to deploy VMs from templates, migrate workloads, balance resources, apply patches, configure alerts, and maintain availability across server farms. Answer based on 28 reviews Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from vCenter Server? vCenter Server is most used by systems engineers, systems administrators, server managers, and network engineers who manage virtual infrastructure, provision workloads, monitor host health, and maintain access controls. IT managers, consultants, and operations leaders use it to oversee capacity, standardize configurations, troubleshoot incidents, and coordinate infrastructure changes across environments. Answer based on 87 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is vCenter Server built for? vCenter Server serves small businesses (35% of reviewers) and Information Technology and Services organizations (32%), while enterprise and midsize companies account for 34% and 31%. It is also used in Computer Software (11%) and Hospital & Health Care (5%), with Infrastructure as a Service supporting 33% of reported use cases. Answer based on 91 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of vCenter Server? vCenter Server includes core centralized virtual machine and ESXi host management, cluster management, and resource allocation. It supports vMotion for live migration, High Availability, load balancing, performance monitoring, alerts, and patch management. Differentiating capabilities include role-based permissions, virtual network and datastore configuration, backups, and API-based integrations. Answer based on 37 reviews Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does vCenter Server integrate with? vCenter Server integrates with VMware vSphere, including the vSphere Client and vSphere Web Client, for centralized management of virtual machines, hosts, clusters, and virtual storage. Reviewer feedback also identifies compatibility with Horizon View and vCenter Operations Manager within VMware virtual infrastructure environments. Answer based on 15 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does vCenter Server offer, and how do users rate the experience? vCenter Server offers Email/Help Desk, FAQ/Forum, Knowledge Base, and Phone Support. User experiences vary: some report an excellent, knowledgeable support team that resolves issues, while others cite difficulty making contact, complex troubleshooting for advanced errors, and gaps supporting Linux-based environments without suitably skilled personnel. Answer based on 13 reviews Features and Usability ### Is vCenter Server easy to use? vCenter Server makes centralized VMware administration approachable through clear dashboards, wizards, and familiar management workflows. IT administrators find routine host and virtual machine tasks easy after learning the basics, but new users can face a steep learning curve, crowded navigation, and occasional slowdowns or feature differences across web interfaces. Answer based on 37 reviews Features and Usability ### How does vCenter Server manage virtual infrastructure? vCenter Server centralizes virtual infrastructure management, giving administrators one console for hosts, clusters, storage, networking, and virtual machines. Enterprise IT teams value live migration, high availability, workload balancing, monitoring, and automation, which reduce reliance on managing individual ESXi hosts and support consistent operations across data centers. Answer based on 19 reviews Features and Usability ### How well does vCenter Server manage VMware virtual machines? vCenter Server simplifies VMware virtual machine lifecycle management with templates, cloning, snapshots, backups, and live migration between hosts. Administrators working across small and large environments value centralized control and resource visibility, though first-time users may need training, and troubleshooting complex failures or VM performance issues can require deeper VMware expertise. Answer based on 18 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 844 Virtual Machine reviews Capterra data shows that buyers of Server Management software rank the following features as their top priorities: - **Real-Time Monitoring** (**60%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Real-Time Notifications** (**61%**) - **Server Monitoring** (**60%**) vCenter Server supports **Server Monitoring**, which helps teams keep track of server health and performance across their environment. However, it does not include **Real-Time Monitoring** or **Real-Time Notifications**. Instead, it offers other important capabilities that reviewers also value, including **Patch Management** (**59%**) and **Alerts/Notifications** (**52%**). These features help businesses maintain system updates, stay aware of issues as they arise, and keep infrastructure more reliable for day-to-day operations. Server Monitoring 4.5 (6) 83.33% of 6 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Continuously scan servers on a designated network to monitor health and search for any irregularities or failures Patch Management 4.8 (5) 60.00% of 5 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Install software updates and bug fixes remotely Load Balancing 4.6 (11) 81.82% of 11 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Process of distributing a set of tasks over a set of resources, with the aim of making their overall processing more efficient Reporting/Analytics 4.3 (7) 71.43% of 7 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data Performance Monitoring 3.8 (5) 80.00% of 5 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Monitoring and measurement of relevant metrics to assess the performance of IT resources Virtual Machine Monitoring 5.0 (5) 80.00% of 5 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track and manage virtual machines (VMs) running on physical host machines vCenter Server 22 features ### All Features - Access Controls/Permissions: Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems - Alerts/Escalation: System alerts about the need to escalate an issue or request - API: Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases - Automatic Backup: Data is backed up automatically to prevent data loss - Backup and Recovery: Create backups and provide methods to recover deleted/lost data - Compliance Management: Track and manage adherence to policies for any service, product, process, or supplier - Configuration Management: Identify component attributes like servers, hardware, software, and manage relationships across all services - Data Migration: Move from one database to another, or upgrade the version of database software being used - Event Logs: A chronological record of actions or occurrences within a network, software, or process - Load Balancing: Process of distributing a set of tasks over a set of resources, with the aim of making their overall processing more efficient - Monitoring: Observe and track the demand, usage, progress or quality of a system, product, or user - Patch Management: Install software updates and bug fixes remotely - Performance Monitoring: Monitoring and measurement of relevant metrics to assess the performance of IT resources - Reporting/Analytics: View and track pertinent metrics to find patterns and gain insights from data - Role-Based Permissions: Set & manage permission levels based on user roles and restrict access to only authorized individuals - Server Monitoring: Continuously scan servers on a designated network to monitor health and search for any irregularities or failures - Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management: Set and monitor service level agreements to ensure timely response and resolution - Single Sign On: Allow users to access multiple services after entering their login credentials once - Third-Party Integrations: Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes - User Management: Manage user accounts, profiles, roles, permissions, and other details across applications, devices or networks - Virtual Machine Monitoring: Track and manage virtual machines (VMs) running on physical host machines - Workflow Management: Create, design and manage workflows for repetitive tasks --- Features 4.7 (91) 4.7 Based on 91 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.2 (82) Basic $1,535 Value for money 4.2 (82) 4.2 Based on 82 reviews ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.4 (81) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.4 (81) 4.4 Based on 81 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.7 Based on 91 reviews Filter by rating Counts reflect reviews available in this feed. 5(64) 4(24) 3(2) 2(1) 1(0) Mentioned topic Recent reviews first, then most helpful Jose de Jesus R. Gerencia de Área Plataforma Tecnológica Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Use of VCenter, my great experience" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 June 7, 2018 To be able to share with a great audacity the experience of using the software that I use on a daily basis so that I can also get to know the experience of other end users, learn from their experiences, recommendations and experiences within the professional, technical and personal spheres. Widely recommended, the first time I use it I would recommend it 100% to other professionals, who want to share their experience and experience. Pros For more than 10 years I have been a VMWare VCenter user, in which I have been able to experience the great benefits of a software that allows to have centralized administration of all the resources of a virtual environment. The creation of teams is considerably simplified, since the allocation of resources is very fast, the management of the configuration of the networks and the storage elements are now easy to use and assign. With the new virtualization technology used by VMWare VCenter, the computing centers have great scalability, the remote management of data centers for disaster reoccupation is very effective. The creation, administration and configuration of Virtual Networks is also one of the best advantages of VCenter, its implementation is quick and easy. The backup of the virtual environment is also easy to perform, in this way the operation of my services will be guaranteed in case of any application or operating system failure, I no longer have to worry. I have used it with different brands of hardware in different companies and it seems to me that the product behaves equally fast and versatile. I feel more secure and confident in every moment, I recommend it tirelessly. Cons One of the few advantages that VMWare VCenter has is that it adapts to only medium and large companies for its cost, it is worth using, the hardware to be used must be of great potential in order to make the most of the resources and exploit them for the benefit of the company and thus have 100% utilization. Another disadvantage that it has is having a VCenter cluster, that is having two or more VCenter having access to the same database so that in case of failure it can continue the operation as if it had not roasted anything, for this modality it must be have a clone of the VCenter turned off and turn on in case of error and not recovery of the original VCenter, this generates waste of time for lack of this process is automatic. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Consultor Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Experience with vCenter Server" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 January 4, 2022 Platform management in data centers Pros It allows the management of virtual machines to be more effective, to the point that an automation is reached based on the consumption of the services published in it. Cons To get the most out of the tools, many of its features are not as accessible, and the latest features require modern infrastructure. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. VR Verified Reviewer Certified Clinical Research Coordinator Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Great when it works but upgrade issues are abundant" 3.0 Overall Rating 3.0 3.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 6/10 November 22, 2018 Pros This software is a huge timesaver and communication tool when the connection is working correctly. It makes it very easy to view your virtual desktop wherever you are and have read/write access to your files on the go. This is the only reason people in our company are able to work at home, which is a huge pro. Cons There seem to be frequent issues regaining a connection when there is a new version upgrade. The system doesn't seem to always recognize the upgrade and you end up having to delete and re-download the program to establish a connection. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Chris S. Lead System Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "vSphere is nothing without vCenter" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 October 18, 2018 I have administered and managed hundreds (maybe thousands) of VMs with vCenter. Used the last 3 major versions and they are constantly improving and adding features and increasing the hardware limitations (a VM with 1TB of RAM!!). Pros vCenter puts all the awesome technologies and features together in a manageable environment. vCenter is the first step in clustering resources into no longer seeing individual hardware servers as important. Virtualize compute, storage, and network so as to be one seamless datacenter resource. vCenter is compatible and integrated with so many other products and VMware's powershell library for vCenter is exhasutive. Cons Like vSphere, it can get pricey. And as of the most recent release, I don't think that there is a really good high availability solution for the vCenter VM itself so that if it dies, you may be left doing alot of manual work until you can bring it back up. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Manager customer engineering Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Best in class resource management software" 5.0 May 25, 2022 Pros It provides centralized monitoring and resource management for VMware vSphere virtual infrastructure. Important features include: Centralize Administration Multi-hypervisor management Live Migration of VM Live migration of Storage High Availability (HA) Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) Fault Tolerance (FT) Centralize Patch Management Can implement automation and API Content library Host Profile Cons Nothing as of now. All features desired to manage CPU and storage are seemless. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Consultant Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "vCenter Server - Rock Solid" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 May 2, 2022 Great! Pros VMware vCenter Server is a rock solid platform from which vSphere, Horizon View, etc run and is supremely reliable. Up time is 99.99% and performance is top tier. Cons Not a negative, but vCenter Server is a Linux based application, and many are not familiar with Linux which can make support an issue without the right personnel. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Rajitha W. System Support Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Virtualization is the best" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 December 4, 2018 overall this is superb technology and interesting GUI. Using this it is very easy to manage virtual servers and manage network and storage. this is totally easy rather than using more physical servers Pros This is one of the best solution for virtualization. It is easy to implement the technology and easy to Manage physical ESXi hosts and virtual machines as well. There are lot of functionalities in this vcenter sever and we can make every virtual machine highly available with zero downtime. User interface is very easy and descriptive as well. Cons in network slowness sometimes vcenter will go to hang state. It is the one of main problem. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Systems Engineer & Database Support Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "The Way to Manage Multiple Hosts" 5.0 August 30, 2018 This software allows me to have multiple servers on very little hardware and have redundancy so my business stays running 24/7. It is part of my enterprise no matter what company I work for. Pros This makes it very simple to manage multiple ESXi hosts in one pane of glass. It's fairly easy to use once you understand the basics but has the ability to be very powerful. Cons I don't like how the latest management is all web based. Before you can use a stand alone client but now you must access via a web console. It is not as polished as the app. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Joseph L. IT Manager Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Twice the Fun!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 November 26, 2018 vCenter is a must if you are using ESX for your Hypervisor. Pros Great way to manage your entire virtual infrastructure and integration all your favorite IT solutions for a one stop shop. Now you can have redundant vCenters! Cons Sizing vCenter to fit your needs is a bit of trial and error. Also, we have had to apply a handful of tweaks and workaround for issue throughout the years. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Sr. UNIX Systems Admin Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "I use vCenter to manage a worldwide install base of vSphere servers. " 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 March 8, 2018 Pros Fast, stable, consistent, time-proven software. Well known by existing support staff and potential new hires, very little training needed. Easy to understand UI Cons High license costs. I preferred the windows based thick client which is being depreciated in favor of the less capable web client. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/33977/VMware-VirtualCenter/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [Proxmox VE vs vCenter Server](https://www.capterra.com/compare/33977-210797/VMware-VirtualCenter-vs-Proxmox-VE)