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VMware Fusion Pro vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Customer Service

No sentiment score available
VMware Fusion Pro's support is praised for quick, effective responses, especially for licensed users, with high satisfaction ratings.
No sentiment score available
VMware's support varies, praised for issue resolution but criticized for slow responses; smaller businesses prefer pay-as-you-go options.
The solution's technical support team should understand the criticality of the issue and respond faster accordingly.
Customer support is good, especially when you pay for the license.
Technical support is quick to respond.
 

Room For Improvement

Sentiment score
4.7
VMware Fusion Pro requires improvements in resource use, compatibility, VM management, stability, and communication to enhance user experience.
Sentiment score
4.7
VMware Workstation needs enhanced performance, easier configuration, better compatibility, and improved pricing, usability, and support for greater user satisfaction.
They should make it compatible with Windows and Linux.
It would be beneficial to have a more developed command line interface to deploy solutions.
The backups for the VMs themselves can also be improved. I pretty much have to rely on Windows backups and not something on VMware.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
9.0
VMware Fusion Pro is praised for its scalability, adaptability, and efficient multi-user support across diverse roles and hardware specifications.
Sentiment score
7.1
VMware Workstation is praised for scalability, handling many users, but efficiency and resource constraints highlight areas needing improvement.
It will scale according to the hardware of the laptop or desktop.
It is highly scalable.
VMware Fusion scales well.
 

Setup Cost

No sentiment score available
VMware Fusion Pro is perceived as expensive at around $1,000 monthly, offering good value despite free alternatives.
No sentiment score available
VMware Workstation pricing is seen as both affordable and expensive, varying by licensing, user needs, and region.
I would guess that it's approximately $1,000 per month.
Starting with version 12, it is now free on a Mac for personal use.
The pricing for VMware Fusion was reasonable and not very expensive.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.8
VMware Fusion Pro is highly praised for its stability and reliability, consistently receiving high user satisfaction ratings.
Sentiment score
8.4
VMware Workstation is praised for stability and performance, despite high RAM usage and minor issues in virtual networks.
 

Valuable Features

Sentiment score
8.5
VMware Fusion Pro excels in running Windows VMs on Mac, offering integration, versatility, ease of use, and reliable performance.
Sentiment score
8.3
VMware Workstation offers easy installation, supports multiple OS, powerful snapshots, hardware compatibility, and an intuitive interface for efficient VM management.
The solution's snapshot feature best captures the machine's current state.
The most important feature of VMware Fusion is that it helps me rapidly launch a new OS.
The whole point of it is to run Windows VMs on a Mac.
 

Categories and Ranking

VMware Fusion Pro
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Workstation
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of VMware Fusion Pro is 23.9%, up from 14.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Workstation is 16.9%, up from 14.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Christian Kyony - PeerSpot reviewer
Rapid OS launches with enhancement potential for command line and API features
VMware Fusion is good, especially for the graphical user interface. However, it would be beneficial to have a more developed command line interface to deploy solutions. This would allow scripting for launching specific Virtual Machines. Additionally, enhancing the API interactions could improve the ability to manage VS and deploy various kinds of guests.
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
VMware Workstation makes it easy to manage all the resources that we are handling. VMware Workstation has reduced our infrastructure cost. If someone wants machines, I can create them easily using the solution. VMware Workstation is easier to manage than other workstations like Oracle Workstation. VMware Workstation is an easy-to-manage solution, and its support is really good compared to other market players. Overall, I rate VMware Workstation an eight out of ten.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions are best for your needs.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
University
13%
Educational Organization
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about VMware Fusion?
The product is easy to use and has a simple user interface.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Fusion?
The pricing for VMware Fusion was reasonable and not very expensive. The licensing costs were for a year or two, and although there are free alternatives, VMware Fusion offers value for the money.
What needs improvement with VMware Fusion?
VMware Fusion is good, especially for the graphical user interface. However, it would be beneficial to have a more developed command line interface to deploy solutions. This would allow scripting f...
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
 

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

NetApp
Akademiska Hus
Find out what your peers are saying about VMware Fusion Pro vs. VMware Workstation and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.