VMware Fusion

4.9 (23)
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Desktop hypervisors for Mac

About VMware Fusion

VMware Fusion transforms the user's Mac into a full virtualization workstation, allowing them to run multiple operating systems at the same time on the same Mac. Users can run Windows, Linux or other operating systems without rebooting, or even install them alongside their existing apps. Users can run their favorite Windows applications on their Mac with software like Office 2013 and Internet Explorer.


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VMware Fusion Software - VMware Fusion for Mac
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VMware Fusion Software - VMware Fusion for Mac

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VMware Fusion

4.9 (23)
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Features

4
14

Integrations

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Ease of Use

4.5 (23)
4.3 (882)

Value for Money

4.5 (23)
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Customer Service

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Reviews

Overall rating

4.9 /5
(23)
Value for Money
4.5/5
Features
4.6/5
Ease of Use
4.5/5
Customer Support
4.2/5

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Showing 5 reviews of 23
Vasilis
Vasilis
Overall rating
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Monthly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

A reliable software for running virtual machines

Reviewed on 2025/01/30

My overall experience with VMware Fusion is really good. I use it for running Windows on my macOS...

My overall experience with VMware Fusion is really good. I use it for running Windows on my macOS system and haven't faced any important issues so far.

Pros

Easy setup even if you're a beginner and also generous free version.

Cons

A few months ago I tried to install Windows 11 on my M2 macbook using VMWare Fusion but failed. I hope this issue has been resolved by now.

Manuel Ángel
Manuel Ángel
Overall rating
  • Industry: Education Management
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

Incredibly powerful and useful tool

Reviewed on 2022/11/08

Overall, I have found VMware Fusion to be an excellent tool for managing virtual machines. It is...

Overall, I have found VMware Fusion to be an excellent tool for managing virtual machines. It is easy to use and has a wide variety of features that make it an ideal tool for sysadmins. It is also very stable and has good performance.This tool to create and manage virtual machines, as well as providing a platform on which to test and develop new software. Additionally, it help us to save time and money by consolidating your hardware resources and allow us you to run multiple operating systems on a single computer.

Pros

As a sysadmin, I find VMware Fusion to be an incredibly powerful and useful tool. It allows me to easily test and deploy new software and services in a safe and isolated environment, without affecting my production systems. Additionally, the ability to run multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine is extremely cost-effective and convenient. Overall, I highly recommend VMware Fusion to any sysadmin looking for a reliable and easy-to-use virtualization solution.

Cons

There were a few times when the software crashed or froze, but not is common

Sugam
Sugam
Overall rating
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1-5 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

A Reliable Virtualization Software

Reviewed on 2023/10/20

VMware Fusion is a dependable virtualization tool that strikes a balance between performance and...

VMware Fusion is a dependable virtualization tool that strikes a balance between performance and user-friendliness. It's a great choice for exploring different operating systems and software development, despite a few performance quirks and a bit of a learning curve during setup.

Pros

VMware Fusion is a really solid virtualization software that offers a lot of great features. It's fantastic for creating a versatile virtual environment where you can run various operating systems concurrently. Whether you're working with Windows, Ubuntu, CentOS, or others, VMware Fusion handles them with ease. It's known for being resource-efficient, ensuring that your host system and virtual machines run smoothly without hogging your computer's power. What really sets it apart is the seamless data sharing between the host and guest operating systems, which is a huge help for testing and software development. Plus, it has a user-friendly interface and excellent support, making it accessible to both beginners and experts. And the fact that it's readily available with minimal licensing concerns is definitely a big plus.

Cons

To get the most out of VMware Fusion, you'll need a fairly powerful computer, which might not be ideal for everyone. Some users have reported occasional performance hiccups, especially when running more advanced Linux versions. While it's user-friendly for the most part, setting it up can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you're new to virtualization. Complex configurations might require some technical know-how.

Verified Reviewer
Overall rating
  • Industry: Computer Software
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Fusion 12 - another solid product from VMware

Reviewed on 2021/07/20

I have been utilising Fusion for labs and it's been a great experience. VMware have always produced...

I have been utilising Fusion for labs and it's been a great experience. VMware have always produced some solid software and Fusion 12 is no exception.

Pros

The quality is the big sell for me. My guest machine is running really well under Fusion on Big Sur whereas I'd had problems with it using another type 2 hypervisor on macOS. The limits are really generous in version 12 and you can utilise up to 32 CPUs and 128GB of RAM. By anyone's standards that is plenty for some reasonably complex lab setups.

Cons

I have hit a small issue with a linux guest that had the VMware tools removed. Every boot up it throws an error and the fix doesn't work (a vmx edit for a setting that's not present).
I was a fan of the older VM Tools that they shipped with their products, the para-virtualisation drivers always worked well for me.

Aaron
Overall rating
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

Stable and Fast Virtualization for Macs

Reviewed on 2021/07/29

VMWare Fusion has been a rock-solid virtualization solution. While lacking some features of its...

VMWare Fusion has been a rock-solid virtualization solution. While lacking some features of its competitors, it makes up for it in stability, great licensing terms, and the support of a world-class virtualization team in VMWare.

Pros

VMWare Fusion has the backing of VMWare, which is world renowned for its virtualization software across all platforms. Fusion supports a wide range of OS' to virtualize - from Windows to Linux - and handles all of them extremely well. In addition, with its latest update, VMWare has released VMWare Fusion Play, which is a free version of VMWare Fusion for personal use,

Cons

The main downsides to VMWare come when comparing it to competitors, specifically Parallels Desktop. Parallels supports a number of additional features when compared to VMWare - specifically support for running a virtual machine as a background service, that can start automatically on boot up with no interaction. In addition, Parallels supports DirectX 11 whereas Fusion is limited to DirectX 10.

Alternatives Considered

VirtualBox

Reasons for Switching to VMware Fusion

While free, VirtualBox is significantly slower at virtualization than VMware Fusion and QEMU is significantly more complicated and difficult to setup and use. VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop have very similar feature sets, but their licensing terms are very different - VMWare's licensing terms are much better than Parallels. With that being said, Parallels has some features that VMWare does not - such as being able to run as a service in the background and support for DirectX 11. Thus its more strict licensing terms may be worth it for some of its additional features.
Showing 5 reviews of 23 Read all reviews

VMware Fusion FAQs

Below are some frequently asked questions for VMware Fusion.

VMware Fusion offers the following pricing plans:

  • Free Trial: Not Available

VMware Fusion has the following typical customers:

2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000

VMware Fusion supports the following languages:

English

VMware Fusion supports the following devices:

We do not have any information about what integrations VMware Fusion has

VMware Fusion offers the following support options:

FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base

Related categories

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