How Much Can You Save by Switching from VMware to Proxmox?
Real cost models for Latin American organizations of all sizes — small clinics, mid-size cooperativas and large enterprise groups — showing actual 3-year savings from VMware to Proxmox migration
The question Latin American IT leaders are asking GLADiiUM most frequently in 2025 is: how much will I actually save by moving from VMware to Proxmox? The answer depends on your environment size, current VMware licensing tier and whether you currently pay for vSAN. This guide models the savings for three representative Latin American organizations.
All VMware pricing below reflects Broadcom’s post-acquisition subscription model. We use conservative mid-range estimates — actual Broadcom renewal quotes in Latin America are often higher, especially for organizations that previously held end-of-life perpetual licenses that Broadcom is converting to subscriptions.
Scenario 1: Small Organization — 2-Node VMware Cluster (Clinic or Small Cooperativa)
Profile: Healthcare clinic or small cooperativa in Honduras. 2 VMware hosts, 24 cores total, 20 VMs, no vSAN (external NAS storage). No current support contract.
VMware by Broadcom Annual Cost
- VMware vSphere Essentials Plus (up to 3 hosts, 192 total cores): $7,000-$12,000/year (Broadcom now requires full bundle with Essentials, previously $500/year)
- 3-year VMware total: $21,000-$36,000
Proxmox VE Annual Cost
- Proxmox VE Community: $0
- Optional Basic Support (2 nodes × €250): €500/year (~$550/year)
- Migration services (GLADiiUM): $5,000-$8,000 one-time
- 3-year Proxmox total: $6,650-$9,650
3-Year Savings: $11,000-$26,000
For a small Honduran clinic or cooperativa with limited IT budget, $11,000-$26,000 in savings over 3 years is significant. Migration complexity for 20 standard VMs is low — GLADiiUM has completed migrations of this size in 2-3 weekends.
Scenario 2: Mid-Size Organization — 4-Node Cluster with vSAN (Bank or Mid-Size Enterprise)
Profile: Honduran cooperative bank or mid-size enterprise. 4 VMware hosts, dual 16-core CPUs (128 total cores), running 60 VMs with vSAN for storage.
VMware by Broadcom Annual Cost
- VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) — the bundle Broadcom pushes for vSphere + vSAN: ~$200-$280/core/year
- 128 cores × $240 = $30,720/year
- Production support: included in VCF subscription
- 3-year VMware total: $92,160
Proxmox VE Annual Cost
- Proxmox VE Community: $0
- Ceph distributed storage: $0 (included in Proxmox)
- Proxmox Standard Support (4 nodes × €500): €2,000/year (~$2,200/year)
- Migration services (GLADiiUM): $15,000-$25,000 one-time
- 3-year Proxmox all-in: $21,600-$31,600
3-Year Savings: $60,000-$71,000
For a Honduran cooperative bank or mid-size enterprise, $60,000-$71,000 in 3-year savings is transformative. That budget can fund IT staff, new security tools or additional infrastructure instead of VMware licensing.
Scenario 3: Large Organization — 12-Node Cluster (Regional Enterprise or Financial Group)
Profile: Regional financial group or large enterprise with operations across Central America. 12 VMware hosts (3 per site, 4 sites), dual 20-core CPUs (480 total cores), 200+ VMs, vSAN at each site.
VMware by Broadcom Annual Cost
- 480 cores × $250 = $120,000/year
- 3-year VMware total: $360,000
Proxmox VE Annual Cost
- Proxmox Premium Support (12 nodes × €750): €9,000/year (~$9,900/year)
- Migration services regional (GLADiiUM): $40,000-$80,000 one-time
- 3-year Proxmox all-in: $69,700-$109,700
3-Year Savings: $250,000-$290,000
For a regional financial group or large enterprise, Proxmox migration generates quarter-million dollar savings over 3 years. At this scale, even accounting for staff training, process changes and migration risk management, the ROI is decisive.
Hidden Savings Beyond Licensing
The licensing numbers above are the most visible savings, but Proxmox migration also eliminates several secondary VMware costs that many organizations overlook:
- vSAN or SAN licensing: Ceph replaces vSAN and eliminates the need for dedicated SAN arrays for VM storage. Savings: $10,000-$50,000+ in storage hardware and licensing per site.
- Backup software licensing: Proxmox Backup Server replaces paid VM backup software for many deployments. Organizations with Veeam can continue using it; organizations using VMware-bundled backup solutions that no longer exist under Broadcom can replace them with PBS at $0.
- VMware-certified hardware premiums: VMware’s Hardware Compatibility List often required premium-priced hardware. Proxmox runs on standard Lenovo ThinkSystem hardware without HCL premiums.
How Much Will You Save? Get Your Specific Cost Model.
GLADiiUM will build a precise VMware vs Proxmox cost model for your specific environment using your actual VMware licensing agreement and hardware configuration.
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