Harvester
6.4/10Open-source hyperconverged infrastructure from SUSE that runs virtual machines and Kubernetes workloads on bare-metal servers in data centers and edge sites.
Data last updated November 2026 · Our methodology
Overview
Harvester is an open-source hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) platform. It installs directly on bare-metal servers and combines compute, storage and virtualization into one cluster. It is built on Linux, KVM, Kubernetes (RKE2), KubeVirt for virtual machines and Longhorn for distributed block storage. Teams use it to run traditional VMs next to cloud-native workloads. It covers VM lifecycle management, cloud-init, live migration, VLAN networking, snapshots, and backups to NFS or S3 targets. Installation uses an ISO or iPXE, which suits remote and edge sites. It works natively with Rancher, so VMs and Kubernetes clusters can be managed from one console, and everything can be automated through the Kubernetes API or the Harvester Terraform provider. It is released under Apache 2.0 and is free to download and run. SUSE sells the enterprise edition as SUSE Virtualization. Commercial support is priced by quote and has no public list price. Harvester suits IT and platform teams that already work with Kubernetes, and organizations looking for a VMware alternative without hypervisor license fees. The main limitation is that it expects Kubernetes skills. Reviewers also point to demanding production hardware minimums (about 16 cores, 64 GB RAM and 10GbE per node), storage that is tied to Longhorn, careful upgrade planning with no in-place rollback, and little presence on review sites.
Our Rating
Who Harvester is best for
Best software for IT TeamsGood fit
Reviewers position it for infrastructure teams that want to consolidate VMs and Kubernetes on their own hardware.
It is Kubernetes-native, and VMs are managed as Kubernetes resources through the API and Terraform.
Less suited
SUSE offers an enterprise edition with support, but reviewers note that its IAM and compliance tooling is less mature than VMware's.
High hardware minimums and the need for Kubernetes skills make it a poor fit for small IT shops.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free under Apache 2.0 with no hypervisor or HCI license fees, which matters to teams leaving VMware.
- Runs VMs and Kubernetes workloads on one cluster and integrates natively with Rancher for a single management console.
- ISO and iPXE installation suits deployments at edge and remote sites.
- Automation through the Kubernetes API and a Terraform provider.
- Built-in VM backups to NFS or S3 targets, plus live migration and snapshots.
Cons
- Requires Kubernetes knowledge, so teams coming from traditional VMware face a learning curve.
- High production minimums of about 16 cores, 64 GB RAM, 500 GB storage and 10GbE per node.
- Storage is tied to Longhorn, and native backup covers only Longhorn volumes.
- Upgrades need careful preparation, there is no in-place rollback, and passthrough devices can block live migration.
- Few reviews on G2, Capterra and similar sites make it hard to check against other users' experience.
Key Features
Harvester Pricing
Community (open source)
- Full HCI platform
- Apache 2.0 licensed
- Community Slack and docs support
SUSE Virtualization (enterprise support)
- Quote-based pricing
- Commercial SUSE support
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Harvester is open source under the Apache 2.0 license and free to download and run. SUSE sells commercial support as SUSE Virtualization, priced by quote.
It installs on bare-metal servers. Reviewers cite production minimums of about 16 CPU cores, 64 GB RAM, 500 GB or more of storage, and 10GbE networking per node.
Reviewers see it as a credible VMware alternative, especially for Kubernetes-centric teams, and it includes migration tooling. Proxmox VE is often described as the closer like-for-like replacement for traditional VM shops.
Harvester uses the Kubernetes API for both VM and container workloads, and there is an official Harvester Terraform provider.
VMs can be backed up to NFS, S3 or NAS targets and restored on the same cluster or a different one. Native backup covers Longhorn volumes only.
Similar Tools
See all alternativesAmazon EC2 is AWS's on-demand virtual server service, offering resizable compute instances billed per second for businesses of any size.
Amazon Elastic Container Service is AWS's fully managed container orchestrator. Teams use it to run Docker workloads on EC2, serverless Fargate, or their own on-premises hardware.
Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration system that automates deployment, scaling and management of containerized applications for engineering and platform teams.
Ranked near Harvester in Hosting & Infrastructure
See Harvester in the listHarvester is #175 in Hosting & Infrastructure by our score.
