VMware Workstation Pro is now free for personal use! This means you can download and use the full-featured Workstation Pro on your Windows, Linux, or Mac machine for non-commercial purposes without a paid license. This is a great opportunity for students, hobbyists, and individual developers to leverage VMware’s advanced virtualization capabilities for free.
Here’s what this free personal use license offers:
Full Functionality: You get access to all the features of Workstation Pro, including the ability to run multiple virtual machines simultaneously, create bridged networks, take snapshots of running VMs, and much more.
Support for Multiple Operating Systems: Workstation Pro supports a wide range of guest operating systems, allowing you to experiment with different versions of Windows, Linux, macOS, and more.
Learning and Development: Free access to Workstation Pro empowers students and developers to build and test software in isolated virtual environments, fostering a valuable learning experience.
However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:
Commercial Use Requires a License: If you plan to use Workstation Pro for any work-related tasks, you’ll need to purchase a commercial license.
Workstation Player Discontinued: With the Pro version being free for personal use, VMware discontinued the free version of Workstation Player (a less feature-rich option). Existing Workstation Player users can upgrade to Workstation Pro for free.
To get started with VMware Workstation Pro for free personal use, you can download it directly from the official VMware website. This change makes VMware a much more accessible option for personal exploration in the world of virtualization.