What is the vSphere Express license?
Introduction
This week, Broadcom announced the vSphere Express license. vSphere Express is a new entry-level package for smaller environments. It is built on vSphere 9 and is available now in all regions. VMware vSphere 8.0 (including ESXi 8.x, vCenter Server 8.x, and vSAN 8.x) reaches End of General Support on October 11, 2027. After this date, VMware/Broadcom stops providing standard patches, security fixes and hardware enablement. This makes vSphere Express the only low-end route to vSphere 9. If you are a small shop and don’t need VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) or VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), this may be the package to look at.
In this blog post, I give an overview of what is included, what is not, and what the limits are.
What is included?
Broadcom lists the following features for vSphere Express:
- vMotion. Live migration of running Virtual Machines (VMs).
- High Availability (HA). Automatic restart of failed VMs.
- Distributed Switch. Centralized network management and advanced monitoring.
- vCenter Quick Patch. Low-impact and rapid patching of vCenter.
- TPM 2.0 and vTPM 2.0. Support for physical and virtual Trusted Platform Modules.
The following components are part of vSphere Express:
- ESX
- vCenter Server
- VCF Operations (VCF Operations is used for licensing only)
- License server
What is not included?
The following components are not included:
- Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)
- Proactive HA
- ESX Live Patching
- Memory Tiering
- SR-IOV
- GPU and vGPU
- VCF Automation
- Private AI
How does it compare?
Here is an overview of vSphere Express compared to the other editions:
| Capability | Standard | Enterprise Plus | Express | VVF | VCF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vSphere 9 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| vCenter, ESX, vMotion, HA, TPM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Distributed Switch, vCenter Quick Patch | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DRS, Proactive HA, Live Patching | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Memory Tiering | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| SR-IOV | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| GPU/vGPU | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| vSAN | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| VCF Operations | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| VCF Automation | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| VCF Private AI | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Licensing and limits
The licensing rules are the most important part of vSphere Express. The Broadcom documentation states the following:
- 128 cores is the maximum per customer.
- Only the default license is used. You cannot split this license into smaller licenses or share it across sites.
- No add-ons are available.
- vSphere Express is only available for version 9 or later.
- It uses the same licensing infrastructure as VVF and VCF.
Broadcom licenses a minimum of 16 cores per CPU socket. With 128 cores, you can license up to 8 single-socket hosts or up to 4 dual-socket hosts, when each CPU has 16 cores or fewer!
Pricing
vSphere Express is a fixed 128-core pack with a 12-month term. It costs $9,600 USD or €9,631.77 excluding VAT. Only one pack is possible per customer and Broadcom must approve an order before it becomes binding. Check the price and your eligibility with your reseller.
Who is it for?
vSphere Express looks like a good fit when you:
- Run a small, single environment that stays within 128 cores in total.
- Need vMotion, HA, and the Distributed Switch, but not DRS.
- Want to move from vSphere 8 to vSphere 9 without adopting VVF or VCF.
Look at VVF, VCF, or an alternative when you:
- Depend on DRS, vGPU, or SR-IOV.
- Need central management across multiple sites.
- If you have less than 128 cores, this will make the pricing per core higher
- Have more than 128 cores across your organization, or expect to in the near future.
Conclusion
vSphere Express brings a low-end vSphere 9 option back, but three big questions remain:
- Pricing. You have to buy the full 128-core pack, even if you use fewer cores.
- Licensing. The pack is fixed at 128 cores per customer per 12 months, with no add-ons and no option to split the license. Does this fit how smaller customers actually grow?
- Customer trust. Many vSphere Standard users and former partners were burned by Broadcom’s earlier changes. Can VMware win them back?
Resources
- Broadcom Updates VMware Portfolio to Protect and Accelerate Private AI Cloud Deployments Read the article
- Broadcom TechDocs: vSphere Express. Read the article