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Hyper-V vs VMware ESXi Free: catalog facts
Hyper-V	VMware ESXi Free
Free Included at no extra cost in Windows Pro, Enterprise and Windows Server editions.	Freemium Free hypervisor edition for small deployments, with paid vSphere licensing for advanced…
Windows	Self-hosted
Built into Windows with nothing extra to buy Type-1 hypervisor with near-native performance	Mature, widely deployed hypervisor used extensively in enterprise environments Free edition available for smaller homelab or small-business use
Not available on Windows Home editions Windows only	Free edition lacks the centralized management features found in licensed vSphere Requires dedicated hardware to install, as it runs directly on bare metal
Operating system	Downloadable app
Closed source	Closed source
License not stated	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.