Proxmox
Proxmox is a Vienna-based open-source enterprise software company that provides KVM-based virtualization, backup, email security, and centralized datacenter management products built on Debian, sold via per-host subscriptions and a 3,000+ partner channel to tens of thousands of organizations worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersVienna, Austria
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Proxmox does
Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH is a Vienna-based, privately held software company founded in 2005 that develops open-source enterprise server management products built on Debian Linux. Its portfolio comprises four core products — Proxmox Virtual Environment (a KVM/LXC-based virtualization platform with integrated ZFS and Ceph storage, software-defined networking, high-availability clustering, and a built-in web management interface), Proxmox Backup Server (incremental, deduplicated, encrypted backup for VMs, containers, and physical hosts, with S3-compatible object storage support added in version 4.2), Proxmox Mail Gateway (a Debian-based spam, virus, and phishing filter using SpamAssassin, ClamAV, and PostgreSQL), and Proxmox Datacenter Manager (a Rust-based centralized management layer released in late 2025 for distributed Proxmox estates). All products are distributed under GNU AGPLv3 with a free community edition and tiered annual enterprise subscriptions priced per host (for example, EUR 190 per host per year for Mail Gateway enterprise support), augmented by certified training services. The company sells through direct ISO downloads, an online shop, a global channel of 3,000+ integration partners including Dell, Lenovo, Cisco, and T-Systems, and a community-led funnel anchored by forum.proxmox.com and Bugzilla.
The company is led by founder and CEO Martin Maurer, with founder Dietmar Maurer serving as CTO, and operates from a single headquarters in Vienna. Its customer base spans tens of thousands of corporate organizations across healthcare, government, manufacturing, IT services, education, and cloud infrastructure — including named references such as Capgemini, Big River Steel, University Hospital Essen, the University of Dhaka, and EdgeUno. Its go-to-market is anchored on three motions: community-led open-source engagement, channel-partner-led enterprise sales, and direct field sales for large accounts, with a notable strategic emphasis on capturing organizations migrating away from VMware following Broadcom's post-acquisition pricing changes. Proxmox operates without external funding and has remained profitable through reinvestment, growing organically into a horizontally positioned enterprise infrastructure vendor with global reach.
Proxmox firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Proxmox
- Legal name
- Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH
- Website
- https://proxmox.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Proxmox is a Vienna-based open-source enterprise software company that provides KVM-based virtualization, backup, email security, and centralized datacenter management products built on Debian, sold via per-host subscriptions and a 3,000+ partner channel to tens of thousands of organizations worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Proxmox industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Enterprise Virtualization Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Employee Experience (DEX) & IT Experience Management (ITXM) Platforms (HDAEALAL)
Keywords
Where Proxmox is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vienna
- HQ country
- Austria
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Proxmox business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Enterprise Support Subscriptions: Annual subscription plans for enterprise support providing stable updates, security patches, and direct access to expert support services. Pricing tiers based on number of hosts with unlimited users and domains included.
- Software Licenses: Open-source software available for download with free community edition. Enterprise features and premium support require paid subscriptions.
- Training and Certification: Certified training services offered through course catalog, videos, and instructor-led training for Proxmox solutions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Support for Proxmox Mail Gateway |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Community Subscription (Free) |
| Subscription | Annual | Starter Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Subscription |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Proxmox product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Proxmox develops and sells an open-source, enterprise-grade data center platform consisting of four integrated software products: Proxmox Virtual Environment (server virtualization), Proxmox Backup Server (incremental/deduplicated backup), Proxmox Mail Gateway (anti-spam and anti-virus email security), and Proxmox Datacenter Manager (multi-cluster orchestration). The software is offered freely under an open-source license and the company monetizes through paid commercial subscriptions that include technical support, access to the stable enterprise repository, and firmware updates.
Product overview
Proxmox offers a portfolio of four complementary open-source enterprise software products. Proxmox Virtual Environment is the core server virtualization platform supporting both KVM virtual machines and LXC containers with integrated storage (ZFS, Ceph), networking, and high-availability clustering. Proxmox Backup Server is the enterprise backup solution providing incremental backups, deduplication, and compression for VMs, containers, and physical hosts. Proxmox Mail Gateway serves as the email security gateway with spam filtering and antivirus protection. Proxmox Datacenter Manager acts as a centralized management layer unifying multiple Proxmox VE clusters and Backup Server instances across distributed sites. All products are open-source (GNU AGPLv3) with optional enterprise subscription support, built on Debian Linux, and available for download as ISO installers or via APT package management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Proxmox Virtual Environment: Complete open-source platform for enterprise virtualization combining VMs, containers, storage, clustering, and backup workflows
- Proxmox Backup Server
- Proxmox Mail Gateway
- Proxmox Datacenter Manager
Products and services
- Proxmox Virtual Environment
Quantifiable outcome
- Artec achieved 40% performance boost after migrating from VMware to Proxmox VE
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Proxmox
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Proxmox technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature8 records
Proxmox partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- NAKIVOcoreNAKIVO released Backup & Replication v11.2 adding native support for VMware vSphere 9 and Proxmox VE 9.0/9.1. The integration enables organizations with mixed virtualization estates to maintain backup processes during hypervisor upgrades.
- StoneFly Inc.coreStoneFly announced strategic partnership with Proxmox VE as Silver Partner. StoneFly provides enterprise storage, cybersecurity, backup, and disaster recovery solutions. The partnership expands StoneFly's ecosystem for customers seeking integrated Proxmox virtualization solutions.
- Kasm TechnologiescorePartnership to deliver secure, open-source VDI and web-native workspaces through integration of Kasm Workspaces with Proxmox VE platform.
- StorPool Distributed StoragecoreNative integration of StorPool distributed storage with Proxmox VE, expanding storage options for enterprises requiring high-performance storage solutions.
- LenovominorLenovo listed as a partner, offering Proxmox solutions on their hardware platforms.
- DellminorDell listed as a partner, offering Proxmox solutions on their enterprise hardware platforms.
- T-SystemsminorT-Systems listed as implementation and consulting partner for Proxmox deployments.
- CiscominorCisco listed as a technology and channel partner for Proxmox solutions.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Proxmox competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- VMware (Broadcom): The incumbent enterprise server virtualization platform that Proxmox is actively displacing following Broadcom's acquisition. Most directly comparable in core functionality (hypervisor, vMotion, clustering) and is the reference point for Proxmox's TCO and migration narrative.
- Microsoft (Hyper-V / Azure Local): Hyper-V and Azure Local (formerly Azure Stack HCI) provide integrated virtualization, storage, and management. A major VMware alternative and a direct competitor for enterprises seeking integrated, supported hypervisor platforms.
- SUSE (Rancher / Harvester): SUSE's Harvester product is a KVM-based hyper-converged infrastructure built on Kubernetes. Competes with Proxmox VE in the open-source enterprise virtualization space, particularly for cloud-native adjacent deployments.
Direct peers
- Nutanix: Provider of hyper-converged infrastructure combining virtualization, storage, and backup. Competes head-on with Proxmox VE + Ceph in enterprise accounts seeking an integrated alternative to VMware, with a subscription-based pricing model.
- Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization: Red Hat's KVM-based virtualization offering, built on the same KVM technology as Proxmox VE. Targets enterprise customers seeking open-source virtualization with strong commercial support, particularly those standardizing on Red Hat infrastructure.
- Scale Computing: Provider of hyper-converged infrastructure and edge computing virtualization platforms. Competes with Proxmox in the SMB and edge segments with a simpler appliance-based delivery model.
- Veeam: Enterprise backup and data protection vendor that integrates with Proxmox VE. A comparable backup platform with broader enterprise penetration, often deployed alongside or in place of Proxmox Backup Server.
Emerging players
- XCP-ng: Open-source fork of Citrix XenServer providing a free Xen-based hypervisor. Competes in the open-source virtualization niche alongside Proxmox VE for cost-sensitive and homelab/edge deployments.
- oVirt: Open-source virtualization management platform built on KVM, originally from Red Hat. Targets the same open-source enterprise virtualization niche as Proxmox VE, with a more distributed, Red Hat-aligned community.
- NAKIVO: Backup and disaster recovery vendor that added native Proxmox VE 9.0/9.1 support in v11.2 (March 2026). Competes with Proxmox Backup Server in the VM/container backup niche, particularly for mixed-hypervisor environments.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Proxmox social profiles
Digital presenceProxmox financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Proxmox leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Proxmox funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Proxmox M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Proxmox
What does Proxmox do?
Proxmox develops and sells an open-source, enterprise-grade data center platform consisting of four integrated software products: Proxmox Virtual Environment (server virtualization), Proxmox Backup Server (incremental/deduplicated backup), Proxmox Mail Gateway (anti-spam and anti-virus email security), and Proxmox Datacenter Manager (multi-cluster orchestration). The software is offered freely under an open-source license and the company monetizes through paid commercial subscriptions that include technical support, access to the stable enterprise repository, and firmware updates.
Is Proxmox a public or private company?
Proxmox is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Proxmox founded?
Proxmox was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Proxmox based?
Proxmox is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, in the Europe region.
How does Proxmox make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Enterprise Support Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are software Licenses and training and Certification.
Who are Proxmox's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are VMware (Broadcom), Microsoft (Hyper-V / Azure Local) and SUSE (Rancher / Harvester). Direct peers are Nutanix, Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, Scale Computing and Veeam. Emerging players are XCP-ng, oVirt and NAKIVO.
Does Proxmox have an API?
Yes. Proxmox provides a REST API for managing all products. The API allows developers to build or automate infrastructure management including virtual machines, containers, storage, networking, and clustering. The API is publicly documented with an API viewer available. Authentication supports tokens with fine-grained privilege control. Proxmox Datacenter Manager API supports OpenID Connect realms and includes endpoints for remote management, metrics collection, and guest operations. Developer documentation is at pdm.proxmox.com/docs.
What industry is Proxmox in?
Proxmox's product category is Enterprise Virtualization Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEALAL, Digital Employee Experience (DEX) & IT Experience Management (ITXM) Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.