While the free version of VMware ESXi is a great way to get started with virtualization, it does have some limitations:

The free version of VMware ESXi offers many of the same features as the paid version, including:

Enter —formerly known as VMware ESXi Single Server or Free ESXi .

After downloading, you must register for a free license key:

| Hypervisor | Pros | Cons | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Full backup, clustering, LXC containers, completely free | Steeper learning curve, not "enterprise standard" | | XCP-ng | Open source, full backup via Xen Orchestra | Smaller community than VMware | | Microsoft Hyper-V Server | Native Windows support | No GUI (Windows Admin Center required), discontinued in 2022 |