Cost comparison
Proxmox VE vs every major virtualisation platform — priced honestly
One sizing input, every major vendor compared on the same axis. Most "Proxmox vs X" pages compare features in the abstract — this one plugs your numbers into the actual licensing mechanics each vendor uses (per socket, per node, per core, per 2-core pair, per kilocore-hour) and shows you what each would cost. Indicative, sourced, and dated.
Pricing dataset as of 2026-05-25.
| Vendor / product | Category | Licensing unit | Year 1 cost | 3-yr total | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Proxmox VEOur pick Proxmox Server Solutions | Open-source hypervisor | per CPU socket per year | $7,366 | $22,097 | high |
Virtuozzo Hybrid Server (VHS) Virtuozzo | KVM + containers virtualization | per host, tiered by socket count and VM/CT density | $16,740 | $45,198 | high |
Red Hat | Standalone KubeVirt-based hypervisor | per bare-metal node (1-2 sockets, up to 128 cores) | $21,576 | $55,019 | high |
SUSE | KubeVirt-based HCI — add-on to Rancher Prime | per node per year (add-on; requires Rancher Prime base) | $64,480 | $170,227 | |
Broadcom (VMware) | Bundled enterprise hypervisor + SDN + storage + K8s | per CPU core per year | $158,720 | $214,272 | high |
Platform9 | OpenStack-based VMware replacement | per physical core per year | $99,200 range $79,360 – $138,880/yr | $297,600 | low Per-core list price not publicly published; range reflects analyst-reported customer deals. |
Nutanix | Commercial KubeVirt distribution | per CPU core per year (worker nodes only) | $281,728 | $845,184 | high |
OpenShift Container Platform (with Virtualization) Red Hat | Full Kubernetes + KubeVirt platform | per 2-core pair (4 vCPUs) on virtualized hosts; per bare-metal node on physical | $793,600 | $2,023,680 | medium |
OpenShift Platform Plus (OPP) Red Hat | OCP + ACM + ACS + Quay + data services bundle | per 2-core pair OR per bare-metal node | — | — | low |
SUSE Rancher Prime SUSE | Kubernetes management platform | per bare-metal host (1-2 sockets, ≤64 cores) OR per VM (per 4 vCPUs / 16 cores) | — | — | medium-high |
Palette / Palette VerteX (with VMO KubeVirt) Spectro Cloud | Commercial KubeVirt distribution | kilocore-hours (worker-cores × time) | — | — | low |
Kubermatic Kubernetes Platform (KKP) Kubermatic | Commercial KubeVirt distribution | per managed worker node per year | — | — | low |
Mirantis k0rdent Virtualization (MKVirt) Mirantis | Commercial KubeVirt distribution | per core per year OR per node per year | — | — | low |
Virtuozzo Hybrid Infrastructure (VHI) Virtuozzo | Hyperconverged platform (KVM + storage) | per node per year | — | — | low |
Platform9 Managed Kubernetes (PMK) Platform9 | SaaS-managed Kubernetes (now bundled into PCD for new deals) | per node per year or flat plan | — | — | medium |
All figures in AUD, converted from each vendor's native currency at the FX rate noted in our pricing dataset. Indicative only — most enterprise vendors are quote-gated. Sources cited on each deep page.
How to read this
Licensing units differ wildly
Proxmox is per-socket. VCF is per-core with order minimums. OpenShift OVE is per-node. NKP is per-core. Rancher is per-host. We resolve each vendor's actual unit math when you change the sizing — the headline number isn't a rough estimate, it's the vendor's own pricing model applied to your sizing.
Confidence badges matter
High = published reseller list price. Medium = SKU exists with consistent analyst reports. Low = quote-only; we display a range, not a single number, and you should verify with the vendor.
Capability matters too
A pure hypervisor (Proxmox VE, OVE, VHS) is doing a different job from a Kubernetes platform (OCP, NKP, Rancher). Cheap isn't right if it doesn't do what you need — the deep pages compare capabilities honestly.
Deep dives
Per-vendor narratives covering capability, total cost mechanics, and the genuine trade-offs.
VMware Cloud Foundation
Proxmox vs VCF →
Broadcom partner-tier discounts, 16/72-core minimums, vSAN entitlement math — and a full calculator.
Red Hat OpenShift
Proxmox vs OpenShift →
OVE (per-node) and OCP (per 2-core pair) compared. K8s overhead vs lightweight hypervisor.
SUSE Rancher + Harvester
Proxmox vs Rancher + Harvester →
The K8s management plus KubeVirt HCI stack. Where the SUSE per-host pricing ladder hurts.
Nutanix NKP
Proxmox vs Nutanix NKP →
Per-core KubeVirt distribution. Free Starter tier, $710/core/yr Ultimate.
Platform9 PCD
Proxmox vs Platform9 →
OpenStack-based VMware replacement. Single-SKU bundle. Free Community Edition unlimited.
Nutanix AHV
Proxmox vs Nutanix AHV →
The HCI comparison (separate from NKP). Feature-depth and operational model.