https:\/\/liliputing.com\/vmware-pro-apps-are-now-free-for-personal-use-virtualization-for-windows-mac-and-linux\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n By Brad Linder<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cloud computing and virtualization software company VMware has announced that its flagship desktop software is now free for personal use<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Individual users can now download and use VMWare Fusion Pro<\/strong> for Mac or VMWare Workstation Pro<\/strong> for PC for free. VMWare still requires commercial customers to pay for a license, but the company has vastly simplified pricing (there\u2019s now just one SKU that costs $120 per year rather than 40 different SKUs). But VMware is basically using the honor system here: you get to decide whether you need a commercial subscription, and there\u2019s effectively no difference between the free and paid versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is<\/em> one small difference: if you\u2019re using the free version you\u2019ll see a notice that \u201cThis product is licensed for personal use only.\u201d That message goes away if you pay for a license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VMware\u2019s Workstation and Fusion Pro software allows you to set up a virtual machine on just about any computer, letting you install an operating system and run software inside of a host operating system. Among other things, this makes it possible to run an alternate operating system without rebooting, or run a separate instance of your primary operating system in a sandboxed environment for security, testing, or development purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of the announcement that its Pro products are now free for personal users, VMware has also revealed that it\u2019s killing off its VMware Workstation Player<\/strong> and Fusion Player<\/strong> products, which had been its free, stripped down virtualization products. If you were using either of those, VMware notes that you can now upgrade to the Pro version for free and just delete your license key to unlock full functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s hard to argue that taking a paid app and making it free for personal use is a bad thing, Ars Technica notes<\/a> that things are a bit less cut and dry for business customers. While the $120\/year license is reasonably competitive, it\u2019s also the only<\/em> option that VMware is offering for business customers moving forward. In other words, you can\u2019t buy a perpetual license and continue using the software indefinitely \u2013 you need to pay for a subscription if you want a commercial license to use VMware Fusion or Workstation software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing to keep in mind is that unlike VirtualBox<\/a> and some other virtualization apps, you do still need to register for an account and hand over some personal information before you can download and use even the free versions of VMware\u2019s Pro apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/liliputing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/vmware-free_04-780x480.jpg\")
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