Great news for virtualization enthusiasts and IT professionals: Broadcom has reintroduced the free version of the VMware ESXi hypervisor, after discontinuing it in February 2024.
The Register first spotted the news, highlighting the announcement tucked into the release notes of ESXi version 8.0 Update 3. According to VMware’s documentation, Broadcom now offers the VMware vSphere Hypervisor version 8 as an entry-level hypervisor, available for free download via the Broadcom Support portal.
In 2024, Broadcom, VMware’s parent company, discontinued the free ESXi hypervisor. The coicensing Policy Adjustments
Additionally, Broadcom might have reversed its earlier policy of significantly increasing the minimum licensing requirements. Initially raised from 16 to 72 cores, recent reports suggest that the minimum has reverted to the original 16-core requirement. If confirmed, this policy adjustment further benefits users by lowering entry barriers.
While Broadcom hasn’t publicly explained the reason for this policy reversal, it likely reflects growing pressure from its competitors. Alternatives like Nutanix and Platform9 continue to provide free community versions, while open-source virtualization solutions remain widely accessible, pushing VMware to reassert its presence.
Broadcom’s decision to reintroduce the free ESXi hypervisor marks a welcome move to empower educational, testing, and development use cases across the VMware community. It reignites enthusiasm among IT enthusiasts and professionals alike, while helping to nurture the next generation of VMware users.
Those interested in using the newly reintroduced free hypervisor must register on Broadcom’s customer portal to access the ISO files required for installation. However, it's important to note that initial testing shows this version does not efficiently run within desktop virtualization environments, potentially making home lab experiments more challenging.