StarWind is a Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) Vendor with a Focus on Enterprise ROBO, SMB & Edge
Due to our focus, we specialize in purpose-built deployments, where each of our systems includes only the necessary components and has the smallest possible hardware footprint. This ascetic approach, combined with our proprietary software which helps in “squeezing out” all possible performance, allows us to drive costs down. However, this means we can't list standard prices because, frankly, there aren't any. We encourage you to contact our sales engineering team, share the details of your project, and receive a customized pricing quote.
We don’t twist your arm, we offer flexibility! You can choose between perpetual and subscription licensing, available for both software and hardware, based on what suits your needs. For vendors, we offer OEM licensing to seamlessly integrate our products into your solutions.
Perpetual
With this model, you gain ownership for hardware and a lifetime license for software. The price includes StarWind support and maintenance services for the specified period. Perpetual license is best for customers aiming to reduce OpEx at the expense of higher CapEx.
Subscription
Subscription allows you to start using the selected StarWind product immediately. You sign a contract with our financial partner and pay the associated costs according to its terms and conditions. This approach reduces CapEx in favor of increased OpEx.
OEM
OEM licensing allows vendors to integrate StarWind technology into their solutions, delivering powerful HCI functionality under their brand. Customize and deploy StarWind software with our expert support and maintenance to ensure your success.
How StarWind prices its products, what's included in every license, and what to expect from quote to running cluster. Ten questions that come up most often before a purchase decision.
What actually determines the price of a StarWind quote?
StarWind licenses storage by usable capacity. TB of usable storage is the only variable
that moves the price - VM counts, CPU sockets, and cores don’t factor in.
Secondary factors:
Product choice. StarWind Virtual SAN is software-only, and you supply the
hardware. StarWind Virtual HCI Appliance is a pre-packaged software stack you
install on your own hardware. StarWind HCI Appliance ships turnkey with
certified hardware included.
Hardware configuration, if you’re buying the HCI Appliance: drive mix,
networking, node spec.
Support tier. Standard professional support is included with every license. An
optional ProActive Premium tier adds continuous monitoring.
How does this differ from how most SAN vendors price?
Most SAN and HCI vendors justify their licensing price by loading up on features, then tiering them across separate SKUs. The catch: a typical SMB doesn't need most of what's in that matrix. You end up paying for capabilities built for industries you're not in or architectures you'll never run, while the features you actually use still sit behind a higher tier.
StarWind takes the opposite approach: a carefully handpicked set of features, the ones customers actually use, with no bloat. Whatever ships in the product ships in every license, from day one. Such an approach isn't only a pricing choice - it's what makes our products really easy to deploy and manage. No maze of settings for capabilities you'll never touch, no half-finished integrations cluttering the UI - just the tools you need, working the way you expect.
What’s included in the quoted price?
Every StarWind Virtual SAN license covers:
The full StarWind Virtual SAN software with every feature unlocked.
Professional technical support.
Assisted deployment, where a StarWind engineer stands the cluster up with
your team at no extra cost.
The StarWind Virtual HCI Appliance quote covers the pre-packaged software stack
(StarWind Virtual SAN plus the hypervisor and management layer, ready to install on
your hardware), professional technical support, and the same assisted deployment.
The StarWind HCI Appliance quote adds certified hardware and your hypervisor of
choice (Hyper-V, VMware, Proxmox, or KVM). Deployment assistance is included.
ProActive Premium is an optional upgrade across all three products. It adds continuous
monitoring and proactive issue detection, and is commonly chosen for production
environments with strict uptime requirements.
Can I evaluate StarWind before buying?
Yes, with a 30-day free trial of StarWind Virtual SAN. Every feature is unlocked, so you
can run a full PoC in your environment with real workloads.
What are my purchasing options?
Term license is the default option: a recurring fee covering the software, professional
support, and updates. It keeps budgeting predictable and avoids large renewal-year
surprises.
You can purchase through authorized channel partners, you preferred reseller or
system integrator.
Am I locked into a specific hypervisor or hardware vendor?
No. StarWind Virtual SAN runs on standard x86 servers (any mainstream server brand
works) and supports Hyper-V, VMware, Proxmox, and KVM. There’s no strict HCL, and
no tier that gates which hypervisor you can use.
If you’d rather not make hardware decisions yourself, the StarWind Virtual HCI
Appliance and StarWind HCI Appliance ship as pre-validated stacks.
Can I buy through my existing reseller or systems integrator?
Yes. StarWind sells globally through channel partners, resellers, and system
integrators, and works with your existing purchasing relationships. If you have a
preferred partner, mention them during the quote conversation and we’ll route
through them.
How long does it take from PO to a running cluster?
For StarWind Virtual SAN (software-only), license keys are issued shortly after PO
processing, and deployment assistance is scheduled once your environment is ready.
Most software-only clusters reach production within a few days.
For the StarWind Virtual HCI Appliance, timing is similar. You install the pre-packaged
software stack on your existing hardware, and a StarWind engineer walks your team
through configuration and cluster bring-up.
For the StarWind HCI Appliance, hardware shipping is usually the longest step. The
appliance arrives pre-configured; rack it, cable it, and the StarWind team brings it
online with minimal on-site time.
Exact timelines depend on your environment. Sales engineering will give you a realistic
window during scoping.
Can I get help sizing this properly?
Yes, and it’s worth doing. Because licensing scales with usable capacity, oversizing or
undersizing has a direct cost impact. Every StarWind engagement starts with a pre-sales engineering
call. A StarWind engineer reviews your workload profile (IOPS,
latency, capacity growth, replication needs, network) and sizes the architecture against
your actual requirements.
That conversation also settles which of the three products fits best: StarWind Virtual
SAN, StarWind Virtual HCI Appliance, or StarWind HCI Appliance.
What happens at renewal?
Renewals are predictable. You keep the same capacity and features at pricing
consistent with your original agreement. Nothing moves behind a paywall at renewal,
and nothing in your existing setup needs re-architecting to stay supported.
If your capacity has grown, expand the subscription to match. Otherwise the renewal
runs through as-is.
