# VMware vSphere alternatives: what AI models name instead, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. 192 of the 252 answers in the 1 category where VMware vSphere holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/vmware-vsphere/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Proxmox VE: 69
- Nutanix AHV: 29
- Microsoft Hyper-V: 28
- Scale Computing: 4
- Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure: 3
- VMware vSphere / VMware Cloud Foundation: 3

## Server virtualization platforms

**Small business**: 72 of 84 answers did not name VMware vSphere (VMware vSphere is #3 of 9 at 7%).

- Proxmox VE: first choice in 49 of those 72
- Microsoft Hyper-V: first choice in 12 of those 72
- Nutanix AHV: first choice in 3 of those 72
- Scale Computing: first choice in 3 of those 72
- KVM: first choice in 1 of those 72
- Scale Computing HC3: first choice in 1 of those 72
- XCP-ng: first choice in 1 of those 72

**Mid-market**: 65 of 84 answers did not name VMware vSphere (VMware vSphere is #4 of 10 at 10%).

- Proxmox VE: first choice in 20 of those 65
- Microsoft Hyper-V: first choice in 9 of those 65
- Nutanix AHV: first choice in 8 of those 65
- Microsoft Hyper-V / Azure Local: first choice in 1 of those 65
- Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure: first choice in 1 of those 65
- Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure with AHV: first choice in 1 of those 65
- Scale Computing: first choice in 1 of those 65
- VMware vSphere / VMware Cloud Foundation: first choice in 1 of those 65

**Enterprise**: 55 of 84 answers did not name VMware vSphere (VMware vSphere is #2 of 10 at 24%).

- Nutanix AHV: first choice in 18 of those 55
- Microsoft Hyper-V: first choice in 7 of those 55
- Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure: first choice in 2 of those 55
- VMware vSphere / VMware Cloud Foundation: first choice in 2 of those 55
- VMware vSphere Foundation: first choice in 2 of those 55
- Hyper-V with Windows Server Datacenter: first choice in 1 of those 55
- Microsoft Azure Local: first choice in 1 of those 55
- Microsoft Hyper-V on Windows Server Datacenter: first choice in 1 of those 55

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.