Proxmox vs VMware
Proxmox VE vs VMware ESXi for the homelab: cost, licensing, features, containers and which hypervisor to choose.
Since Broadcom's licensing changes, Proxmox has become the default homelab hypervisor. VMware remains an enterprise standard, but its free tier is gone.
Our pick
Proxmox for homelabs, in almost every case
Key differences
| Feature | Proxmox VE | VMware ESXi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (optional support) | Paid, no free tier |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Containers | LXC built in | No native LXC |
| Storage | ZFS, Ceph, more | VMFS, vSAN |
| Homelab community | Huge | Enterprise-focused |
Verdict
For home use, Proxmox VE wins decisively: it's free, open source, and combines VMs, LXC containers, ZFS and backups. Only choose VMware if you specifically need to match an enterprise environment you already work with.