VMware ESXi free edition is back. In a hushed release last week, Broadcom dropped ESXi 8.0 Update 3e, an entry-level hypervisor for non-production use.
“Broadcom makes available the VMware vSphere Hypervisor version 8, an entry-level hypervisor. No Broadcom support is available for this offering and it is for non-production use,” the release note on Broadcom’s support portal read.
The free version is currently available to download on the same portal for all registered users.
This was unexpected considering that the company culled the free version of the bare-metal hypervisor back in February 2024. The former free version which was available to users for many years had been a favorite of home users, students and professionals alike. The offer allowed small business owners and home lab operators to tinker with the hypervisor and run small production workloads at no cost.
But following its high-profile and much-publicized acquisition of VMware, Broadcom wasted no time to revamp VMware’s licensing terms making it a subscription-only model, leaving many old customers frantic for cheaper alternatives. The discontinuation of the ESXi free edition was part of the changes Broadcom made to VMware’s portfolio.
But to many industry experts, Broadcom’s relaunch of a free version of the beloved VMware hypervisor isn’t completely unforeseen. Broadcom’s direct competitors, Microsoft, Nutanix, Platform9, all offer free community editions of their virtualization solutions. And open source vendors already offer their code for free.
“The return of the free version of VMware’s flagship product is important for future Broadcom customers,” said Tom Hollingsworth, event lead, Tech Field Day, part of The Futurum Group, echoing the speculation.
“Offering what is essentially a trial version of a hypervisor gives companies a chance to ensure their workloads are compatible with the solution before they commit resources. This means that the real product that Broadcom is selling, which is the management suite for VMware ESXi, is guaranteed to work before first deployment.”
In the aftermath of the shakeup, the revival of the free version of ESXi may help get Broadcom back in the race, if not woo back lost customers right away.
“Given that the alternatives to VMware ESXi, such as Kubernetes, are already free, this should ensure Broadcom can continue to acquire new users for VMware instead of relying on the current install base,” Hollingsworth added.
