Cloud computing and virtualization software company VMware has made its leading desktop software, VMware Fusion Pro for Mac and VMware Workstation Pro for PC, available for free for personal use. Commercial customers still have to pay for a license, but VMware has simplified pricing with one SKU costing $120 per year. The free version displays a message stating it is for personal use only, which disappears when a license is purchased.
VMware Workstation Pro 17.5.2 with Manjaro 24 can run as a guest operating system on a Windows 11 host system, allowing users to set up a virtual machine, install an operating system, and run software within a host operating system on any computer. Users can run alternate operating systems without rebooting or create a sandbox environment for security or development purposes.
As part of the announcement, VMware has eliminated its free, stripped-down virtualization products VMware Workstation Player and Fusion Player, allowing users to upgrade to the full Pro version for free. While making the Pro products free for personal use is a positive move, business customers may find the new subscription-based model less appealing, as perpetual licenses are no longer available.
Users must sign up for an account and provide personal information to download and use the free versions of VMware‘s Pro apps. VMware, now a subsidiary of Broadcom, requires users to set up a Broadcom account to access the software.
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