VMware has made its pro virtual machine software free to use on Windows, macOS, and Linux — albeit only for personal use.
The change means anyone can download VMware Workstation Pro 17, install it, and use it without any license key or ongoing subscription required. Those on a macOS system can download, install, and use the equivalent VMware Fusion Pro 13 for free too.
Virtualisation software like VMware lets you run “guest” operating systems on the “host” operating system, with cross-system integration like shared clipboard, the ability to drag and drop files, access to USB devices, and hardware features like GPU acceleration.
Using VMware means it’s easy to run Windows inside of Ubuntu rather than alongside it in a dual-boot. Plus, it works just as well with Linux distributions, BSDs (not the Windows error screen kind), Android, and more.
Convenient, efficient, and thanks to isolation features, secure.
Broadcom, who bought VMware in 2023, say in a blog post that it is making these previously pricey tools free for personal use in an effort “to provide ongoing, lasting value to our customers and to the VMware community at large”.
Everyday users who want a virtual lab on their Mac, Windows or Linux computer can do so for free simply by registering and downloading the bits from the new download portal located at support.broadcom.com
VMware
The ‘catch’ is that a paid subscription is needed to use Fusion Pro or Workstation Pro for ‘commercial’ purposes. Yet there’s no hard requirement, no in-app monitoring, no and other feature limitation to actually know what that it is — it’s left to the honesty of the user.
VMware Workstation is proprietary (not open-source) software, even though it’s now free to use.
Plenty of other virtual machine software for Linux is open-source, including Oracle VirtualBox and GNOME Boxes, the latter offering a user-friendly frontend to the competent capabilities of KVM and QEMU technologies.
VMware Workstation Pro has a few “pros” of its own, though. Configurable networking options, including VLAN support, multiple virtual NICs, and network simulation tools; snapshots, easy cloning, and machine templates; remote connectivity features, and more.
And one would expect to find such advanced, specialist features in an app made by a company that has spent 25 years making money from developing cutting-edge virtualisation tech.
Of course, whether you want to use VMWare Workstation Pro vs VirtualBox, Boxes, Proxmox, or another option is entirely up to you. I’m not here to advocate for any one tools, just pass on word that this software is finally “freeware” on Linux, Windows, and macOS.
Getting VMware Workstation Pro
To download VMware Workstation Pro 17 for Linux you have to sign up for a Broadcom account, then sign-in to a specific support page, accept the T&Cs, click a download link, then enter “trade compliance” info before the download starts.
On Linux, the VMware Workstation installer comes as a .bundle file. This is effectively a shell script linking to the binaries inside. Download it fully, then give the bundle permission to run. Run it as root from a terminal to actually install it.
After that, walk though the steps as you see them on screen. Check the “I want to license VMware Workstation Pro 17 for personal use” option during the setup, and opt-out of the other junk (telemetry, monitoring, marketing).
Once done, you’re all set to start experimenting with OSes and distros.
Are you familiar with VMware software? Do you find it better than open-source options for running Windows or other OSes on Linux? Let me know in the comments — I’m eager to hear firsthand experiences!