Do not pay for ESXi 6.5. Use the free version of the current release (8.0) or pay for VMUG if you need advanced features. If this is for a business, budget for an upgrade to vSphere 8.
Since you cannot buy 6.5 new, here is the for how it used to work and what you should do instead. 1. Historical Pricing Structure (For Reference) If you are looking at an old quote or a used license, these were the list prices for vSphere 6.5 (per CPU socket):
| Edition | Approx List Price (USD) | Key Features | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | $560 | 3 hosts (up to 2 CPUs each), vCenter Essentials (no HA/DRS) | | Essentials Plus | $4,500 | Includes Backup API, High Availability (HA), vMotion | | Standard | $1,200 | Basic HA, vMotion, single host management | | Enterprise Plus | $4,100 | Distributed Switch, DRS, Storage vMotion, NIOC |
