Look for a specific box or banner that says .
You’ll need to script backups (e.g., ghettoVCB to NFS) or shut down VMs and copy flat VMDK files – impractical for 24/7 services.
| Feature | Free ESXi | Paid vSphere (Essentials / Standard) | |--------|-----------|--------------------------------------| | Max physical CPUs per host | Up to 2 sockets | Unlimited | | Max vRAM per VM | VMFS5: 4 TB, VMFS6: 4 TB (same as paid) | Same | | vCenter Server management | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | | vMotion (live migration) | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | | High Availability (HA) | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | | Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | | Backups with vSphere Data Protection | ❌ No | Requires vCenter | | API access (PowerCLI, REST) | ✅ Read‑only, limited write | ✅ Full | | Storage vMotion | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | | Hot‑add virtual hardware (vCPUs, RAM, disks) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | | Max RAM per host | 64 TB (ESXi 8.0) – hardware limited | Same | | Snapshots | ✅ Yes (manual) | ✅ Yes (with change tracking) | esxi free download
VMware no longer offers the free ESXi download directly on its main download page as of 2024–2025 changes. Here’s the current correct path:
| Hypervisor | Pros vs. Free ESXi | Cons | |-----------|-------------------|------| | | Built‑in backup, clustering, ZFS, no per‑host licensing | No vSphere API, less enterprise support, KVM (different ecosystem) | | XCP-ng + Xen Orchestra | Full backup, live migration, central management in free tier | Smaller user base, learning curve | | Microsoft Hyper‑V Server (discontinued) | Used to be free – now integrated into Windows Server with licensing | Not recommended for new deployments | | KVM (oVirt, cockpit‑machines) | True open source, no restrictions | Requires Linux sysadmin skills, no UI out of the box | Look for a specific box or banner that says
Visit the Broadcom Support Portal and create a free account or log in with your existing credentials.
While "free," this edition has hard limits compared to the paid vSphere editions: ESXi Is Free ... Again Here’s the current correct path: | Hypervisor | Pros vs
Go to the "Software" section, then select "VCF VMware Cloud Foundation" .
Following the acquisition of VMware by Broadcom, the download and licensing process has changed.