Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Software-Defined Storage Software

SUSE Enterprise Storage vs VMware vSAN

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score SUSE Enterprise Storage #7 in Software-Defined Storage Software 8.4/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 4 features Visit SUSE
VMware vSAN #8 in Software-Defined Storage Software 8.3/10 Paid ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit VMware vSAN

SUSE Enterprise Storage leads on 0 checks, VMware vSAN on 0, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 4 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreSUSE Enterprise Storage · 8.4/10
  • Most featuresVMware vSAN · 4 of 4

SUSE Enterprise Storage scores higher on our rubric for software-defined storage software: 8.4 against 8.3 out of 10; our editors rank them #7 and #8.

SUSE Enterprise Storage is the better fit for existing Ceph-based enterprise storage operations. VMware vSAN is the better fit for VMware-centered virtual machine storage.

  • SUSE Enterprise Storage fits best

    Existing Ceph-based enterprise storage operations

  • VMware vSAN fits best

    VMware-centered virtual machine storage

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature SUSE Enterprise Storage 8.4/10 Visit ↗ VMware vSAN 8.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.4 8.3
Ranking #7 in Software-Defined Storage Software #8 in Software-Defined Storage Software
Best for Existing Ceph-based enterprise storage operations VMware-centered virtual machine storage
Pricing model Paid Paid
Starting price Pricing on request Not checked yet
Free plan Not checked yet Not checked yet
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Support Live chat, Phone, Community, Docs · 24/7 Docs
Integrations 5 integrations 6 integrations
Built for Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features SUSE Enterprise Storage 0/4 · VMware vSAN 4/4
Replication Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Erasure coding Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Kubernetes support Not checked yet ✓ (best)
S3-compatible access Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Deployment model Not checked yet Hybrid
Storage protocols Object Gateway, RADOS Block Device, CephFS, librados Block; NFSv3; NFSv4.1; SMB; S3-compatible object storage
Maximum nodes Not checked yet 64
Our review
Pros
  • Combines object, block, and POSIX-compliant file storage
  • Automatically redistributes data when nodes change or fail
  • Includes Prometheus, Grafana, Alertmanager, and cephadm orchestration
  • Pools local storage into shared datastores for virtual machines
  • Combines block, file, replication, erasure coding, and Kubernetes CSI
  • Supports clusters of up to 64 hosts
Cons
  • SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 is discontinued
  • Continuing maintenance is intended for pre-existing customers
  • Pricing requires contact with sales
  • Native S3-compatible object storage is a technology preview
  • Its strongest fit is the VMware virtualization ecosystem
  • Designed primarily for mid-market and enterprise deployments
Our verdict

SUSE Enterprise Storage was an on-premises, distributed software-defined storage platform built on Ceph for enterprise storage clusters running on commodity hardware. It combines object, block, and file storage through Object Gateway HTTP…

Read the review →

VMware vSAN is a software-defined storage platform integrated into VMware’s hypervisor and virtualization stack. It pools local and direct-attached storage from ESXi hosts into shared vSAN datastores for virtual-machine and container…

Read the review →
  1. SUSE Enterprise StorageSoftware-Defined Storage Software 8.4Pricing on request
  2. VMware vSANSoftware-Defined Storage Software 8.3Paid

Strengths and trade-offs

  • SUSE Enterprise Storage — where it wins

    • Combines object, block, and POSIX-compliant file storage
    • Automatically redistributes data when nodes change or fail
    • Includes Prometheus, Grafana, Alertmanager, and cephadm orchestration

    Where it doesn't

    • SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 is discontinued
    • Continuing maintenance is intended for pre-existing customers
    • Pricing requires contact with sales

  • VMware vSAN — where it wins

    • Pools local storage into shared datastores for virtual machines
    • Combines block, file, replication, erasure coding, and Kubernetes CSI
    • Supports clusters of up to 64 hosts

    Where it doesn't

    • Native S3-compatible object storage is a technology preview
    • Its strongest fit is the VMware virtualization ecosystem
    • Designed primarily for mid-market and enterprise deployments
  • SUSE Enterprise Storage8.4/10 · Pricing on request

    Broad Ceph storage interfaces for existing enterprise deployments, but not new adoption.

    Visit SUSEFull verdict →
  • VMware vSAN8.3/10 · Paid

    A VMware-centered storage platform with broad protocols and strong virtualization integration.

    Visit VMware vSANFull verdict →

More comparisons

All Software-Defined storage software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update