For years, VMware has been the default name in virtualization. But as licensing costs rise and IT teams explore modern, flexible alternatives, Proxmox VE is gaining massive momentum. Still, many organizations hesitate because of myths lingering from the early days of open-source platforms.
It’s time to set the record straight.
Below, we break down the most common misconceptions about Proxmox—what’s true, what’s outdated, and what you should know before choosing a virtualization strategy.
Myth #1:
Proxmox is open source, so it’s not enterprise ready.
This is the biggest misconception in the market.
Proxmox has been trusted in production environments for well over a decade, including enterprise and government deployments around the world.
Why it’s enterprise-grade:
- High Availability (HA) clustering
- Live migration and workload mobility
- Integrated storage replication and disaster recovery
- Centralized, web-based management
- Long-term stability with rapid security patching
Enterprise-readiness isn’t defined by price tags or proprietary models. It’s defined by reliability, scalability, and performance. Proxmox delivers all three.
Myth #2:
There’s no support.
Another misconception that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are multiple support options available for organizations running Proxmox.
Proxmox Enterprise Subscription
- Licensed per CPU
- Access to the Enterprise Repository
- Updates tested and certified before release
- Stable for production workloads
- Commercial support options are available
Global Open-Source Community
- Thousands of active users and contributors
- Rapid troubleshooting, bug reporting, and knowledge sharing
- Problems rarely require starting from scratch—someone has already solved it
Third Party Managed Services & Hosting Providers
- Migration services
- 24/7 managed support
- Hosted or hybrid Proxmox clouds
- Consulting and architecture design
So no, Proxmox users aren’t “on their own.” They often have more available support channels than with a single proprietary vendor.
Myth #3:
Proxmox doesn’t have the same features as VMware.
This is where most IT pros are shocked.
Proxmox includes nearly every major enterprise-class virtualization function out of the box and many without extra licensing costs.
| Specific Feature | Proxmox VE | VMware vSphere | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtualization Support | |||
| KVM/QEMU for VMs | N/A (uses ESXi) | ||
| LXC Containers | |||
| ESXi Hypervisor for VMs | |||
| Multi-OS Support | |||
| Management Interface | |||
| Web-based GUI | |||
| CLI Support | |||
| Clustering & High Availability | |||
| Clustering | |||
| High Availability (HA) | |||
| Live Migration | |||
| Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) |
Open Source 3rd party solution available |
||
| Fault Tolerance | |||
| Storage Management | |||
| Software-Defined Storage (SDS) | vSan add-on | ||
| Shared Storage Support (NFS, iSCSI) | |||
| Snapshots | |||
| Thin/Thick Provisioning | |||
| RAIDZ Expansion (ZFS) | N/A | ||
| Backup & Replication | |||
| Built-in Backup Tool |
vSphere Replication add-on |
||
| Replication for DR | vSphere Replication | ||
| Security & Compliance | |||
| Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) | |||
| Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) | |||
| Encryption (VM/Storage) | |||
| Auditing/Logging | |||
| Monitoring & Automation | |||
| Resource Monitoring | |||
| API/REST Support | |||
| Orchestration | Via API/scripts | ||
| Scalability & Performance | |||
| Max Hosts/VMs | |||
| Hardware Compatibility | Hardware Compatibility List | ||
| Licensing & Cost | |||
| Open-Source/Free |
Full-featured free option available; Enterprise repository and support require paid licenses. |
Full features require paid licenses |
|
The Bottom Line
Proxmox is a stable, powerful, mature virtualization platform trusted by enterprises, governments, hosting providers, and MSPs worldwide.
What Proxmox brings to the table:
- Open-source transparency
- Enterprise features without enterprise pricing
- Virtual machines + containers on one platform
- HA clustering, SDN, Ceph, snapshots, monitoring, RBAC
- On-prem or fully managed cloud options
- Freedom from proprietary lock-in
