Users can remotely manage individual vSphere Hypervisor hosts using the vSphere Client. vSphere Hypervisor cannot connect to vCenter Server and therefore cannot be centrally managed. vSphere Hypervisor provides only basic virtualization capabilities, allowing customers to virtualize servers and run applications in virtual machines in a matter of minutes. “ VMware vSphere Hypervisor VMware vSphere Hypervisor is a free product that provides a simple and easy way to get started with virtualization at no cost. Now, as hard as I tried, I struggled to find anything solid on the subject save for this paragraph reproduced from this whitepaper. Free ESXi license comes with a few restrictions which you should definitely know about. But, really, there’s no such thing as a free lunch and ESXi is no exception.

So yes, technically and on paper, VMware ESXi is free to use.

ESXi can be used indefinitely, without cost by applying for a free license. Great news, if your short-term plan is to learn about VMware’s hypervisor and its entire feature set without spending a dime. As you probably know, ESXi can be evaluated, fully unlocked, for up to 60 days.

Vmware non commercial use download