VMware, from Broadcom, is hired to run many virtual machines on a smaller number of physical servers. Replacing it is rarely about the license. It is about every machine and process standing on it. Below: what to count first, the replacements we verified, and a procedure for moving without stranding anything.
Virtual machines pile up. A server that was set up for one project becomes the home of an application nobody wants to touch, and the platform under it becomes the thing that must not go down.
If the bill arrives through a partner, it may never land in front of the person who could question it. That makes it worth a look: an old, large and unreviewed line.
Only alternatives we have checked. An open-source project is listed with the license its repository reports, on the date shown; one whose license could not be read as a single standard id is not offered as open source. Read the license guide before running any of them.
| Alternative | Kind | License | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| KubeVirt | Open source | Apache-2.0 | KubeVirt repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| libvirt | Open source | LGPL-2.1 | libvirt repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Proxmox VE | Commercial | — | Proxmox VE pricingChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
Each feature below is what the product's own page or README says, linked to where we read it on the date shown. Pros and cons are limited to what those pages state and to what the path itself changes. We do not rank products on quality.
Virtualization is infrastructure other things stand on. The first honest question is how many of the machines are still needed. Retiring idle ones can cut the license count before any product changes.
We rate moving this job hard. Replacing the platform means moving every machine, re-testing the backup and recovery routine, and training whoever runs it. KubeVirt and libvirt are open-source and Proxmox VE is a commercial product with published support prices, but none is a drop-in swap. Each needs checking against the machines and operating systems you actually run, and a pilot on non-critical machines first. Running one yourself makes you the operator of the layer under your applications, the same kind of responsibility as in Citrix.
Samples are made up and are not VMware's prices. Type in the figures from your own invoice or order form.
The honest yearly cost of running open-source software yourself, set against the bill it replaces, with the seat count where it stops paying.
Paid seats against seats in use: what the idle ones cost a year, and what you save by right-sizing at renewal.
Arithmetic only, not tax, accounting or legal advice. Check the figures against your own order form.
Start from the machines, not the product. The move is finished when nothing runs on the old platform and the contract has ended.
List every virtual machine with its owner, purpose, operating system and last login. Mark the ones nobody has used in 90 days.
For each machine, write down what depends on it and whether it holds personal data. Retire the ones with no remaining reason to exist.
Decide the destination for the rest: open-source tooling you run, a commercial platform, or a hosted service. Name who administers it and who is the backup.
Move one non-critical machine first. Run it for a week, including backups and a restore test, before moving anything that matters.
Move the rest in order of risk. After each, confirm the applications that use it work and that its backup job runs.
Keep exports and configuration, then end the contract inside its notice window after a month with nothing running on the old platform, and confirm in writing.
Run the vendor report for QuickBooks Online or Xero, then open the free audit.
General information, not legal advice. See cancelling without penalties. Last reviewed Oct 25, 2026. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify them.
Send us the export and see which lines are worth a second look. A connected version is planned. VMware is one of the lines worth a look.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
| Self-hosting, per year | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hosting, backups, tooling | 720.00 |
| Admin and restore-test time | 2,640.00 |
| Total | 3,360.00 |
| One-off set-up (not in the yearly total) | 1,200.00 |
The saving holds only if the time is real. Price the admin hours at what that person's time costs the company, not at zero.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
“In use” is your call: last sign-in in the past 30 or 90 days from the vendor's admin report. A seat for someone on leave is not idle.