VMware Workstation Pro and VMware Fusion Pro are now free for personal use! Great news for those who want to run labs on their personal machine! Let’s take a look at this announcement!
Not all the news from VMware is bad. Even though this won’t revolutionize the business world, it’s still significant, as VMware Workstation Pro has always been a paid product, as well as VMware Fusion. These powerful and highly popular applications are especially utilized by students.
But that’s in the past now, as VMware Workstation Pro and VMware Fusion Pro are now entirely free for personal use. If you use these applications for work, you still need to pay, and VMware is talking about a paid commercial subscription in that case.
In a new blog post, VMware, which is now owned by the giant Broadcom, specifies: “This means that everyday users who want a virtual lab on their Mac, Windows, or Linux computer can do so for free by registering and downloading the bits from the new download portal located at support.broadcom.com.”
During installation, you’ll just need to make the right choice based on your situation. If you have a license key, you’ll just need to input it.
Nouveau système d’abonnement
Like other VMware products, those in the ‘Desktop Hypervisor’ category will abandon perpetual licenses in favor of a subscription-based system.
“Starting May 6, 2024, our DH products will be available exclusively through a subscription-based licensing model. This transition enables us to provide ongoing updates, improvements, and support to our users,” it states on a support page. The pricing is not specified.
VMware will be discontinuing the ‘Player’ versions.
“This change has implications for two other VMware applications: VMware Workstation Player and VMware Fusion Player. They will be discontinued, but support will be provided until the end of life of the current versions.
This decision seems logical, as VMware Workstation Pro is much more comprehensive than the ‘Player’ version, and the free offering from VMware is not intended to limit the application.”