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VMware Fusion Pro vs VMware Workstation vs Workspace ONE UEM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of VMware Fusion Pro is 17.4%, down from 20.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Workstation is 14.5%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workspace ONE UEM is 2.6%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware Workstation14.5%
VMware Fusion Pro17.4%
Workspace ONE UEM2.6%
Other65.5%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Bruce Lundberg - PeerSpot reviewer
Create custom virtual environments quickly with minor macOS integration issues
The primary advantage of VMware Fusion Pro is its simplicity in creating custom virtual machines. It allows quick construction and provides connectivity to full VMware server systems, enabling remote management. It facilitates downloading images from main VMware servers for local testing. The ability to construct a virtual environment on my laptop meets my needs, even ones I wasn't aware of.
Shambhu Narayan  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-manage solution that has really good customer support compared to other market players
VMware Workstation makes it easy to manage all the resources that we are handling. VMware Workstation has reduced our infrastructure cost. If someone wants machines, I can create them easily using the solution. VMware Workstation is easier to manage than other workstations like Oracle Workstation. VMware Workstation is an easy-to-manage solution, and its support is really good compared to other market players. Overall, I rate VMware Workstation an eight out of ten.
Vishal Bhatia - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective product tracking and monitoring enhances daily operations despite needing documentation improvement
The documentation part of Workspace ONE UEM can be confusing. The documentation is not comprehensive compared to other VMware solutions or Microsoft documentation. Most people struggle to connect the dots when looking at the documentation. Even the training material and PowerPoint slide decks that trainers use are sometimes too confusing or overwhelming, with too much content but not enough clarity. The support side has recently become weaker compared to what it used to be with VMware. This is another area that needs improvement. Since working with Workspace ONE UEM from when it was AirWatch, it has improved significantly over the last five years. However, there are still some gray areas and scope for improvement, especially in documentation and workflow between different aspects of the solution.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most important feature of VMware Fusion is that it helps me rapidly launch a new OS."
"The product is easy to use and has a simple user interface."
"For me, VMware Fusion Pro has been invaluable, allowing me to meet all my needs with a single system."
"VMware Fusion Pro offers simplicity of use and stability."
"The most value that it provides is that it is versatile."
"VMware Fusion Pro offers simplicity of use and stability."
"It is a highly stable solution."
"The primary advantage of VMware Fusion Pro is its simplicity in creating custom virtual machines."
"The tool’s GUI is very user-friendly."
"I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."
"Technical support is very good."
"The product is really easy to use."
"The Snapshot feature has helped with workflows by allowing us to more easily reconstruct something if we lose it or need it."
"The initial setup is simple and takes only five minutes to complete."
"I have found this product excellent for test/dev environments. This is 90% of what I use this product for."
"I haven't faced any inconveniences working with this solution. It is very easy to use."
"People who want to adopt this solution may be thinking about it from the end-user's perspective, but this solution is also very friendly for the people who manage it. It's administration-friendly."
"The most valuable features of VMware Workspace ONE are security and having support for all the latest features that are coming out from Apple. They're pretty fast at adopting new features. This is one of the most vital aspects of mobile device management systems."
"The most valuable feature of VMware Workspace ONE is that it can support most end users' enterprise applications."
"The solution's single plane of glass approach is beneficial. The endpoint management is very good and specific. One of their competitors is Intune, and you have leaks from other services within the Microsoft ecosystem."
"We've found the solution to be easy to use."
"The solution's Self-Service feature is valuable because it gives a single managed application that users can download and use based on their preferences and productivity."
"The location and remote management services are the most valuable."
"The product enables us to access our internal applications from anywhere in the world."
 

Cons

"The only issue I've experienced with VMware Fusion Pro is that it doesn't register correctly with the main macOS system, causing repeated notifications about background installations. This is a minor inconvenience."
"Fusion is not meant to be scalable. It runs on desktops and laptops, indicating limitations in scalability."
"Its installation process could be simpler."
"VMware Fusion's licensing cost needs improvement."
"Fusion is not meant to be scalable as it runs on desktops and laptops."
"The only issue I've experienced with VMware Fusion Pro is that it doesn't register correctly with the main macOS system, causing repeated notifications about background installations."
"The way they handle snapshotting can be improved. One time, I moved a machine from one to another, and I tried to pull it up on the second machine, but it didn't work. This was because I had not cleaned up the snapshot before I deleted it and moved it across. So, when I tried to pull it up, it wouldn't let me bring it up. The backups for the VMs themselves can also be improved. I pretty much have to rely on Windows backups and not something on VMware. That's where it needs improvement. I am able to upload from my Fusion into the ESXi easily. I'm able to spin something up on Fusion and push it into the big arena, but the reverse is not as easy, that is, trying to pull something down from that. I would love to have a functionality where I could pull something from the VMware infrastructure into Fusion, but I'm not sure if I can take something from ESXi and pull it into Fusion."
"Additionally, enhancing the API interactions could improve the ability to manage VS and deploy various kinds of guests."
"When you go to work on a server, it opens up the whole window, and that causes an error inside VMware Player."
"Eventually, we had to get some licenses with Broadcom, and all the costs went up dramatically to the point where if I had it to do over again, I might have made a different decision."
"The tool can improve network storage technology."
"They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."
"VMware Workstation’s scalability could be improved."
"The price of VMware Workstation is an area of concern where improvements are needed."
"Installing VMware Workstation isn't so easy. It's highly complex compared to Windows. I rate it four out of 10 for ease of installation. Setting up a remote desktop only takes a minute or so, but the Workstation itself takes some time."
"The dashboard can be improved."
"The bigger vendors like VMware, Insight, and MobileIron can assign engineers to customers. You can work with them to develop the right competency to use the product."
"I would like to see technology expense management integrated into the next release. This feature would allow us to manage expenses across various workloads and services, including cloud environments and computing resources."
"We'd like to see a better connection to Microsoft Azure and a better connection with Check Point."
"The technical support could be improved."
"We have experienced some connectivity issues."
"The security features could always use improvement, although there has already been a huge improvement from years ago."
"I'd like to see expanded device support, particularly for IoT things like SCADA devices."
"When we had some issues, the support did not respond quickly, and they did not provide a solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost varies depending on the season and whether it is scaled up or scaled down, but I would guess that it's approximately $1,000 per month."
"Starting with version 12, it is now free on a Mac for personal use. Fusion Pro has a cost."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven or eight. It is highly-priced."
"The cost differs depending on the customer's requirement."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
"The solution is moderately priced. I rate the pricing a six out of ten."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"You need to pay for a license, but I don't think it costs that much. I think it's a one-time payment."
"Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis."
"The product is expensive."
"VMware is expensive. Licensing can be tricky. For example, I recently had a client running VMware vSphere Essentials and wanted to migrate to a more scalable solution. However, they had no choice but to purchase a completely new license and deploy a completely new instance of VMware."
"It's definitely a bit on the expensive side. It is more for smaller organizations and not large, massive enterprises. I am not sure about any additional costs. As far as we could tell, the billing was what the billing was."
"We are paying about $145,000 a year on a three-year subscription with no ability to scale up or scale down within that class model."
"I have no opinion about the pricing of the product."
"We pay approximately thirty to thirty-five euros per device per month for the complete suite, and this is a fixed cost with one, three, or five-year licensing in advance. I would rate the pricing a four out of ten, making it affordable."
"There is a separate cost for technical support and extra premium features. The pricing should be simplified."
"In terms of pricing, this solution is definitely much more expensive compared to other solutions, like MobileIron or MaaS360 or any other product in the market. This solution is more expensive by 30 or 40 percent."
"The solution is more expensive than Intune."
"VMware Workspace ONE licensing price is good with their supportability. The price of VMware Workspace ONE is reasonable. We are using an enterprise license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
14%
University
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise57
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about VMware Fusion?
The product is easy to use and has a simple user interface.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Fusion?
The pricing of VMware Fusion Pro is reasonable. The licensing covers all minor version updates, while major updates r...
What needs improvement with VMware Fusion?
In future updates of VMware Fusion Pro, I think there should be another community to input features. It is an infrast...
Which VMware solution would you go with - Workstation or vSphere?
VM Workstation’s setup is so easy, you can use it almost instantly, it works well with Windows and Linux. We like VM ...
What do you like most about VMware Workstation?
The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.
What needs improvement with VMware Workstation?
The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
How does Microsoft Intune compare with VMware Workspace One?
Microsoft Intune is a great tool for managing a mobile device fleet while keeping access control. The solution makes ...
How does VMware Workspace One compare with VMware Horizon 7?
VMware Workspace One has a powerful set of helpful features. The solution offers very good documentation, the initial...
What do you like most about VMware Workspace ONE?
The platform provides a stable environment for operations and quickly creates new environments. Additionally, it offe...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
VMware Workspace ONE, VMware AirWatch, Workspace ONE Assist, VMware Identity Manager, Workspace ONE Access, VMware Horizon Air
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NetApp
Akademiska Hus
Australian Sports Commission, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Lomond School, Merck, United Bank, Medical College of Wisconsin, Latymer Upper School, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, Dowling Aaron Inc., Trillium Lakelands District School Board, Harrogate Grammar School, Duke University Football, Delta Air Lines, Adventist Health System, Giochi Preziosi, Cramlington Learning Village, Intermountain Healthcare, Safexpress, TAG Aviation
Find out what your peers are saying about Broadcom, Citrix, Omnissa and others in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Updated: September 2025.
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