VMware Fusion Pro (and Workstation Pro) are now free for personal use!

[ChrisD.]

Great news!

https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2024/05/14/vmware-desktop-hypervisor-pro-apps-now-available-for-personal-use/

 

[picnic]

Nice

 

[KompuKare]

Broadcom giving away stuff? What's the catch?!

While I generally use VirtualBox, having the option of the full VMware Workstation (not Player) is nice.

 

[Bluecube]

Very nice indeed. I currently use VMWare Player for my current needs. What’s the difference between it and Fusion Pro? I can’t find any direct comparison

 

[ChrisD.]

Very nice indeed. I currently use VMWare Player for my current needs. What’s the difference between it and Fusion Pro? I can’t find any direct comparison

It's not my forte, but I believe it's VM specs, plus advanced networking options.

 

[ChrisD.]

Broadcom giving away stuff? What's the catch?!

No catch, we're not all doom and gloom!

It's also significantly easier for commercial customers to purchase a license.

 

[andshrew]

That's a nice surprise. I do prefer the user experience when working with VMs in Workstation compared with Hyper-V.

I wonder if a free for personal use ESXi will make a comeback...

 

[SupraWez]

Trying to tempt people back.

 

[ChrisD.]

If anyone here previously had a trial or a key for an older version, and you're unable to delete the key from the UI of the new version, close Fusion, open Terminal and type this:

sudo rm /Library/Preferences/VMware\ Fusion/license-fusion-*

Followed by your Mac password.

Open it up again and it should revert to free with no license or countdown.

 

[Bluecube]

May be related (or not) but when I install the free version, I'm told I'm still using Fusion Player. Haven't looked into it any further at the moment

 

[Cromulent]

I'm thinking of using Fusion Pro to install the developer betas of macOS 15 when they come out after WWDC 24. Should mean I can use it for development.