The VMware bill went up.
Your options did too.
Since Broadcom's acquisition, VMware moved subscription-only, bundled its catalogue, and tightened terms. If your renewal quote landed with a shock, you have more credible alternatives than at any point in a decade. This is an independent look at where they lead — and what each move really costs. Palantir Group plans and runs the migration itself — the advisor below is where you start.
Independent guidance — Palantir Group is not a reseller, partner or affiliate of any platform here, and earns no vendor commission. This page is advisory only and is not a quotation. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by Broadcom, VMware, Microsoft, Nutanix, Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH or Vates.
// What actually changed
A two-year re-pricing, in five moves.
Facts below are attributed to their sources. Reported figures are named as such; vendor and third-party claims are labelled and not presented as settled fact.
Perpetual licensing ends
Broadcom stops selling new VMware perpetual licences and Support & Subscription renewals. Portfolio moves subscription-only from January 2024. Existing perpetual keeps running but loses support once SnS lapses.
Everything becomes a bundle
The catalogue collapses into two subscription bundles — VCF (enterprise) and VVF (mid-market) — plus add-ons. Standalone editions (vSphere, vSAN, NSX, HCX, SRM, Aria) are discontinued. Broadcom states it halved the VCF subscription list price at launch (vendor claim, versus prior subscription list).
Terms harden
Monthly pay-as-you-go removed; 3-year minimum commitments become the default and a 20% late-renewal penalty is reported — per distributor briefings covered by The Register, not confirmed Broadcom policy. A short-lived 72-core order minimum was announced in April 2025 and walked back within days; the standing floor is 16 cores per CPU.
The cloud is not an exit
From the new fiscal year, VMware on the hyperscalers (Azure VMware Solution, VMware Cloud on AWS, Google Cloud VMware Engine) requires customers to bring their own portable VCF subscription purchased directly from Broadcom. Relocating to a VMware cloud no longer escapes Broadcom licensing.
The channel narrows
The rebooted VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) programme becomes invitation-only; the Advantage Partner Program for VCSP and the White Label model sunset on 31 October 2025 (outside the EEA). Smaller MSPs and CSPs lose direct licensing access — the price and availability shock reaches SMBs through the channel.
CloudBolt survey, reported Feb 2026
Civo research, reported Sep 2024
Standing rule, 2025–2026
// Interactive · runs entirely in your browser
Migration advisor & cost comparator
Describe your estate. The tool ranks target platforms with transparent reasoning, flags feature blockers that would break a migration, and gives an illustrative annual licence comparison. Nothing is sent anywhere — every calculation happens locally.
Independent and vendor-neutral. Palantir Group is not a reseller, partner or affiliate of any platform on this page — no commissions, no kickbacks, no house pick. That is why the comparator shows the "stay and re-negotiate VCF" option honestly and surfaces the gotchas of every path. It is advisory only — not a quotation, and not financial, technical or legal advice.
// The landscape · 13 destinations
Where VMware estates are going.
Tooling, pricing model and the gotchas that actually bite. Prices verified 5 July 2026; currencies shown as published (USD/EUR), excluding local VAT/sales tax.
Proxmox VE
Open-source KVM- Migration tooling
- Built-in GUI/API ESXi importer (PVE 8.2+), incl. live-import. Tested ESXi 6.5–8.0.
- Pricing model
- Per CPU socket / year: Community €120 · Basic €370 · Standard €550 · Premium €1,100. Software is free (AGPL); €0 without a subscription is valid.
- Best fit
- Cost-driven SMB & mid-market. Linux/KVM teams. Transparent pricing, no core minimums.
- Key gotchas
- No direct vSAN import (storage-vMotion first) · no encrypted disks · vTPM not migrated · Windows needs VirtIO SCSI boot switch.
Microsoft Hyper-V
Classic hypervisor- Migration tooling
- SCVMM 2025 in-box V2V (wizard + New-SCV2V) — cold only. Free Windows Admin Center 'VM Conversion' extension (online, preview).
- Pricing model
- Windows Server 2025 MSRP: Standard $1,176 / Datacenter $6,771 (per 16-core pack). Often already owned by Windows-heavy shops → near-zero incremental cost.
- Best fit
- Windows-heavy estates; organisations already on a Microsoft agreement / Datacenter + SA.
- Key gotchas
- SCVMM conversion is cold-only (VM stopped, no snapshots) · uninstall VMware Tools first · no IDE-bus disks · vSAN-stored VMs can't convert.
Azure Local
Hybrid HCI- Migration tooling
- Azure Migrate — free, agentless via one appliance VM. Automates discovery → CBT replication → non-disruptive test → cutover + guest hydration.
- Pricing model
- Host service fee per physical core: L1 ≈ $10/core/mo (≈$120/yr) · L2 ≈ $20/core/mo. 60-day free trial. Azure Hybrid Benefit can waive the L1 host fee (Windows Datacenter + SA).
- Best fit
- Microsoft shops wanting an HCI/hybrid path with cloud management, without Nutanix-style quoting.
- Key gotchas
- Agentless replication needs vSphere snapshots + CBT + vCenter API access · Hybrid Benefit is L1-only · billed monthly, annualise for comparison.
XCP-ng + Vates
Open-source Xen- Migration tooling
- Xen Orchestra 5.110 warm migration (nbdkit + VMware VDDK) from all ESXi versions; vendor estimate <5 min downtime/VM.
- Pricing model
- Vates support per HOST/year: Essential $2,000 (≤3 hosts) · Pro $1,000/host (min 3) · Enterprise $1,800/host (min 4, 24/7). XCP-ng itself is free.
- Best fit
- Teams wanting commercial support without an HCI tax; a clean per-host model for VMware refugees.
- Key gotchas
- V2V rejects RDM / independent disks / encrypted disks · remove active snapshots · vSAN+VDDK 'not fully tested' · you download VDDK from Broadcom's portal.
Nutanix AHV
HCI- Migration tooling
- Nutanix Move 6.1 (ESXi→AHV / NC2) full-mode automation. Veeam Instant Recovery to AHV from existing vSphere backups.
- Pricing model
- NCI licensed per physical CPU core (Starter / Pro / Ultimate). No published list price — quote-based.
- Best fit
- Estates already invested in Nutanix or Veeam; HCI-first strategy at scale. Rarely the cheapest below ~£400k.
- Key gotchas
- Move drops vTPM · Windows UAC breaks full automation (use built-in admin) · Exchange / Domain Controllers unsupported by automation · IP-retention via WMIC broken on newest Win11.
KVM / virt-v2v (DIY)
Do-it-yourself- Migration tooling
- virt-v2v converts single guests cold-only; installs virtio, fixes boot. Five VMware input methods (VMX, SSH, VDDK, OVA, vCenter HTTPS).
- Pricing model
- €0 licence. The real cost is engineering time and operational tooling you build yourself.
- Best fit
- Strong Linux/KVM teams comfortable owning the whole stack; labs and cost-absolute scenarios.
- Key gotchas
- Cold-only — mandatory downtime per VM · no built-in management plane · VDDK licence terms restrict redistribution (seek legal counsel before packaging a service around it).
Apache CloudStack
Cloud orchestration- Migration tooling
- Native VMware→KVM import (4.19+/4.20) from vCenter, using virt-v2v under the hood.
- Pricing model
- Open source (Apache-2.0). Commercial support quote-based (ShapeBlue).
- Best fit
- IaaS / multi-tenant cloud builders. Commercial support via ShapeBlue.
- Key gotchas
- Best fit is operators building a cloud, not a like-for-like vSphere replacement.
OpenNebula
Cloud orchestration- Migration tooling
- OneSwap CLI (wraps virt-v2v) converts vCenter → OpenNebula; vendor claims 96% fully-automatic success.
- Pricing model
- Open source. Enterprise Subscription is quote-based (no public list price).
- Best fit
- Private-cloud builders. Not a like-for-like vSphere swap for a typical SMB.
- Key gotchas
- Orchestration platform mindset; plan for a cloud operating model.
OpenStack
Cloud (operator-grade)- Migration tooling
- os-migrate vmware-migration-kit (Ansible + virt-v2v + nbdkit, CBT). Red Hat's toolkit targets RHOSO.
- Pricing model
- Red Hat OpenStack (RHOSO) per compute node, socket-pair. Canonical managed historically per-server (re-verify).
- Best fit
- For organisations that already run OpenStack. Not recommended for SMB / mid-market.
- Key gotchas
- High operational bar. Only sensible if OpenStack skills already exist in-house.
Scale Computing
Edge / SMB HCI- Migration tooling
- SC//Migrate — agentless VMware / Hyper-V / physical → SC//HyperCore. Switcher offer covers remaining VMware term (to 12 months).
- Pricing model
- No public per-node list price — quote-based.
- Best fit
- Edge, distributed and SMB estates valuing simplicity.
- Key gotchas
- Pricing needs a vendor quote; validate against Proxmox/XCP-ng for cost-driven SMB.
VergeIO VergeOS
Ultraconverged- Migration tooling
- ioMigrate (integrated). Vendor benchmark (Aug 2024): 100+ VMware VMs in <5 s.
- Pricing model
- Licensed per physical server (no CPU/core/RAM/storage metering). '50–80% less than VMware' is a vendor cost/benefit claim.
- Best fit
- Sites wanting per-server licensing with no core/RAM metering.
- Key gotchas
- Headline speed and savings are vendor claims — verify against your estate.
SUSE Virtualization
Kubernetes-native HCI- Migration tooling
- VM Import Controller (v1.7) imports from VMware (vCenter), OpenStack and OVA.
- Pricing model
- Via SUSE Rancher Prime / SUSE Virtualization subscription (per-node, quote).
- Best fit
- Teams standardising on SUSE / Rancher and cloud-native tooling.
- Key gotchas
- Formerly Harvester. Check virtio driver signing vs Secure Boot for Windows guests.
oVirt (community)
Community KVM- Migration tooling
- virt-v2v output target. Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM) is the supported downstream.
- Pricing model
- Community: free but unsupported. OLVM: Oracle Linux support subscription (quote).
- Best fit
- Not recommended for production SMB. Red Hat withdrew; no post-Red-Hat release shipped as of Sep 2025.
- Key gotchas
- Uncertain project future — treat community oVirt as a risk. Prefer OLVM if you need this lineage.
// Before you migrate a single VM
The universal KVM migration checklist.
- Remove VMware Tools from the guest before conversion
- Install virtio drivers; switch Windows boot disk to VirtIO SCSI (or hit "Inaccessible Boot Device")
- Delete active snapshots — they slow or block imports
- Confirm the UEFI boot path (many guests don't boot post-import without a fix)
- vTPM state does not migrate — plan re-provisioning
- Encrypted and vSAN-stored disks can't be read directly — storage-vMotion / decrypt first
- RDM and independent disks are rejected by most converters
- VDDK licence terms restrict redistribution — take legal advice before wrapping a service around it
Turn the estimate into a plan.
The advisor gets you to a shortlist. We take it the rest of the way — a fixed-scope assessment of your real estate, a proof-of-concept pilot migration, and a runbook your team can execute against. Vendor-neutral: we get paid to move you well, not to sell you a logo.
Disclaimers & sources
- Illustrative only. This tool provides guidance, not financial, technical, legal or migration advice, and does not constitute a quotation. Obtain formal vendor quotes before budgeting.
- No data collection. All inputs and calculations stay in your browser. Nothing about your estate is transmitted to Palantir Group or any third party.
- Pricing. List prices verified 5 July 2026, shown as published (USD/EUR) and excluding local VAT/sales tax. Any GBP figure uses a labelled indicative FX rate as of that date and will drift. Vendor pricing changes frequently.
- The VMware "stay" figure is a range, derived from reported negotiated street pricing and analyst commentary — not a Broadcom quote. The often-cited ~$350/core/yr is a VCF subscription list reference; VVF (mid-market) and your actual entitlement will differ.
- Attributions. Increase figures (Ray Wang / Constellation Research; AT&T; CISPE) are third-party or litigant claims — the AT&T matter settled in November 2024 without admission. The 3-year commitment and 20% late-renewal penalty are reported from distributor communications by The Register and are not confirmed Broadcom policy.
- Independence. Palantir Group is not a reseller, partner or affiliate of any platform named here and receives no vendor commission or referral fee — recommendations are not skewed by a commercial relationship. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by Broadcom, VMware, Microsoft, Nutanix, Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH or Vates.
- Trademarks. VMware and vSphere are trademarks of Broadcom Inc. All other product names are trademarks of their respective owners, acknowledged here and used for identification only.