Nutanix vs. VMware: Comparing Enterprise Cloud Platforms for Modern IT

The History: Nutanix vs. VMware

Nutanix and VMware are two of the most recognized names in enterprise IT. 

Nearly 30 years ago, VMware (now part of Broadcom) introduced virtualization to the IT market with its popular vSphere product. By enabling multiple workloads to run on the same physical server, virtualization addressed major challenges of the era: reining in hardware sprawl, reducing wasted compute power, and squeezing as much efficiency out of each server as possible. 

Today, enterprise infrastructure is at a turning point. The rise of cloud-native apps, edge computing, AI workloads, and remote work has exposed the limitations of traditional three-tier architectures. These and other modern workloads are inherently distributed—spanning datacenters, public clouds, and edge environments—which means data and infrastructure must be distributed, too. Managing and running these workloads across such diverse environments demands more than legacy infrastructure can offer. Enterprises now require solutions that are flexible, automated, and cloud-ready by design. Enter Nutanix. 

Nutanix pioneered hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), a simplified but powerful approach that integrates compute, storage, and networking into a single, software-defined system. Rather than bolting on layers of virtualization and management, Nutanix designed a solution from the ground up for simplicity, performance, and scalability. 

With its scale-out architecture, use of off-the-shelf servers, and single operating model across on-premises datacenters, public clouds, and edge locations, the Nutanix Cloud Platform solution simplifies how enterprises deploy and operate their business-critical, cloud native, database, and AI applications.

For years, VMware and Nutanix have competed across several markets, including IT automation, VM storage, container management, modern applications, and network-based microsegmentation, in addition to HCI and virtualization. Both companies have built large global customer bases, but recent developments have dramatically shifted the landscape.

With Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, uncertainty has swept across the VMware ecosystem. Broadcom has overhauled VMware’s product portfolio, consolidating offerings into a small number of subscription bundles—most notably VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). Many customers are facing steep price hikes and are being pushed into an all-or-nothing licensing model that limits flexibility and drives up the total cost of ownership. At the same time, Broadcom has changed its partner ecosystem, creating ripple effects with the potential to negatively impact customer experience. And while most enterprises are moving toward hybrid multicloud strategies, Broadcom’s focus has emphasized private cloud, leaving many customers out of step with VMware’s long-term plans.

As a result, a growing number of VMware customers are now actively evaluating alternatives, and Gartner Magic Quadrant for DHI estimates that 35% of VMware workloads are expected to migrate to alternative platforms by 2028, representing a potential shift of 140,000 customers. They’re not just looking for a new home for their existing enterprise applications—they want a modern platform that supports where they're headed: hybrid multicloud, cloud native development, and AI-driven workloads. For many, that search leads them to Nutanix.

How Nutanix Helps VMware Customers Move Forward

For VMware customers navigating this period of uncertainty, Nutanix offers a clear, flexible path forward. Its modern, software-defined architecture delivers true choice and control, without locking customers into rigid bundles or narrow private cloud strategies. Nutanix makes it easy to run and manage workloads across data centers, public clouds, and edge locations—all through a single, unified platform.

With a strong track record of innovation and customer satisfaction, Nutanix combines operational simplicity with enterprise-grade reliability, security, and performance. Organizations can continue running their existing virtualized applications without disruption, while also laying the groundwork for what’s next, whether that’s building cloud native apps or deploying AI-driven workloads. Nutanix gives customers the freedom to modernize on their terms, with the flexibility to adapt as business needs evolve.

Nutanix architecture: ready for today and tomorrow

Nutanix was built on a core principle: give customers choice and control. While VMware’s architecture was specifically made for virtualization, Nutanix supports a wide range of hardware configurations, hypervisors, and public clouds, so organizations can design and evolve their IT strategy on their terms, not their vendor’s.

Nutanix Cloud Platform runs on a broad ecosystem of certified hardware and, uniquely, supports multiple hypervisors , including VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and the Nutanix AHV hypervisor, the latter at no additional cost.

While some Nutanix customers continue to run ESXi on Nutanix, most are shifting to AHV to address virtualization licensing costs, streamline operations, and support business-critical workloads. Nutanix makes the transition easy, offering free migration tools, hands-on training, and world-class support for organizations making the shift. 

For even greater customer flexibility, Nutanix recently introduced support for third-party storage platforms, giving customers options to integrate with their existing infrastructure. In many cases, organizations can also leverage portions of their current hardware investments, helping them modernize without starting from scratch or incurring unnecessary expense.

This flexibility is more than a convenience—it’s a strategic advantage. In today’s environment, where vendor lock-in and pricing uncertainty are top concerns, Nutanix enables a multi-vendor strategy that lets customers run dual hypervisors side by side under a single management plane. That means more freedom to modernize at your own pace.

Beyond hypervisor choice, Nutanix is designed for the realities of hybrid multicloud IT. The Nutanix Cloud Platform enables seamless workload mobility across on-prem, public cloud, and edge environments—including AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud—using portable software licenses that move with your apps and data. This protects customers’ freedom to choose the best hardware and cloud providers for their particular workloads. And with integrated support for Kubernetes® and AI workloads, the Nutanix platform is ready for what’s next.

Customers also benefit from a consistent, efficient operating model in their own datacenters and across public clouds and the edge. Nutanix simplifies day-to-day management across the full infrastructure stack—from initial deployment through scaling, upgrades, and ongoing operations. With intuitive tools and built-in automation, IT teams can shift their focus from maintaining infrastructure to driving innovation and delivering value to the business.

In short, Nutanix provides VMware customers with a proven, cost-effective path forward: one that delivers the freedom to choose, the power to scale, and the flexibility to adapt as technology and business needs evolve.

Choosing the Right Hyperconverged Infrastructure Solution

When it comes to hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), the differences between Nutanix and VMware are more than technical—they affect cost, flexibility, and your ability to adapt to change. Here’s a side-by-side comparison to help you evaluate which HCI architecture from Nutanix and VMware aligns better with your long-term IT strategy:

NOTE: Chart data is as of October 2025
*Source: https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2024/09/03/clarifying-partner-provided-technical-support

A Practical Path Forward for VMware Customers

For organizations ready to regain control of their IT strategy, Nutanix offers a clear and flexible path—one that helps you minimize risk, protect existing investments, and move at a pace that works for your business. Whether you're looking to diversify, modernize, or fully migrate, Nutanix makes it easy to move forward without disruption.

Step 1: Constrain Vendor Risk by Diversifying with Nutanix

Start by running new workloads—or new instances of existing ones—on the Nutanix platform. With support for multiple hypervisors (including VMware ESXi and Nutanix AHV), built-in software-defined storage, database services, and integrated networking, Nutanix makes it easy to adopt a dual-vendor strategy that addresses VMware dependency without adding operational complexity. 

You can centralize visibility, streamline management, and gradually minimize reliance on VMware, while continuing to use your current hardware investments, including select VMware-certified hardware. This approach protects you from shifting vendor dynamics like acquisitions, forced bundles, or pricing changes, and gives you leverage to retain control of your IT roadmap. With license portability across datacenter and public clouds, Nutanix also helps you align IT consumption with your financial strategy, whether CAPEX or OPEX-focused.

Step 2: Build for the Future with a Modern, Unified Platform

Once your environment is diversified, you can confidently build for what’s next. Nutanix provides a single platform to run traditional virtualized workloads and modern, cloud native, and AI-driven applications. With full Kubernetes support, automation, advanced data services, and a built-in zero-trust security model, Nutanix delivers the performance, scalability, and operational consistency today’s production environments demand.

Built on the same web-scale architectural principles that power the public cloud, Nutanix was designed from the ground up to support evolving workloads—virtualized, containerized, data-intensive, or AI-powered—across data center, cloud and edge.

Step 3: Migrate on Your Terms—Without Lock-In or Disruption

When you're ready, Nutanix makes it easy to migrate existing VMware workloads—or continue running them side by side. With integrated tools like Nutanix Move, customers can shift workloads without refactoring or rearchitecting. Whether you migrate gradually or all at once, Nutanix gives you the flexibility to simplify operations, streamline licensing, and unify security and access controls across all environments.

Nutanix also offers the fastest, most future-ready path to the public cloud—without the cost or complexity of refactoring. With seamless app mobility, license portability, and unified management, you can move applications and data to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud or OVHcloud safely and quickly. Unlike VMware’s private cloud–centric strategy, Nutanix delivers a true hybrid multicloud platform, enabling you to run workloads in your own public cloud account on NC2. This lets you right-size resources, reduce costs, and scale on demand—supporting use cases like BCDR, datacenter extension, VDI bursting, and M&A integration.

By moving to Nutanix, you unlock modern capabilities—including AHV, our enterprise-grade hypervisor with built-in high availability, disaster recovery, and security at no extra cost. This helps reduce licensing costs, lower TCO, and position your business for long-term agility across datacenter, edge, and cloud. And with a ten-year average Net Promoter Score (NPS) above 90, Nutanix stands out as one of the industry’s most trusted platforms, backed by deep customer loyalty and satisfaction at every step of the journey.

Comparing Hybrid Cloud Solutions From Nutanix and VMware

Nutanix Cloud Platform (NCP) is a true hybrid multicloud solution, designed to provide seamless management across multiple environments—whether on-premises, in public clouds, at the edge, or in a hybrid setup—all from a single platform. In contrast, VMware’s focus has shifted toward a private cloud model for enterprises, limiting flexibility for customers who want a unified approach across diverse environments. With NCP, customers gain the freedom to manage their entire IT landscape as one, ensuring they’re ready for today’s hybrid multicloud demands and prepared to adapt as needs evolve.

Below is a comparison of a few hybrid-cloud features from Nutanix vs. VMware:

NOTE: Chart data is as of October 2025

Nutanix empowers you to build a true hybrid multicloud architecture on your terms—giving you the freedom to manage workloads across on-premises, public clouds, and edge locations, and avoid vendor lock-in through application and data portability and automation.

A Smarter Way Forward With Nutanix

The IT landscape is changing fast and for VMware customers, the path forward has become increasingly uncertain. But uncertainty doesn’t have to mean disruption. Nutanix offers a clear, flexible, and proven alternative that puts you back in control of your infrastructure strategy.

Whether you're looking to reduce your dependency on a single vendor, extend the life of your existing investments, or accelerate innovation with cloud native apps and AI workloads, Nutanix delivers the tools, support, and freedom to move at your own pace. With a consistent platform across on-prem, public cloud, and edge environments, Nutanix enables true hybrid multicloud—without the complexity or lock-in.

For more than a decade, global enterprises have trusted Nutanix to power their most critical applications. Now, we're here to help you do the same with cloud native apps and AI workloads, too—putting you in control of your organization’s future in these changing times.