# VMware Workstation

10 Hacker News commenters recommended VMware Workstation and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for solid USB passthrough, multi-monitor support and snapshots, and it is now free on Linux and Windows.

## Why people recommend it

- Free on Linux and Windows (3 comments): "VMWare Workstation is now free on Linux and Windows, and allows you to create and rollback snapshots" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46691847)) "For Windows a quick win is to install VMware Workstation Pro (which is free)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46698449)) "I've been able to download free Fusion and Workstation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47728503))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [QEMU](https://hackerapproved.com/p/qemu.md): 114 recommend
- [UTM](https://hackerapproved.com/p/utm.md): 49 recommend
- [VirtualBox](https://hackerapproved.com/p/virtualbox.md): 34 recommend
- [Lima](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lima.md): 31 recommend
- [Vagrant](https://hackerapproved.com/p/vagrant.md): 25 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.vmware.com/products/desktop-hypervisor/workstation-and-fusion)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "VMware Workstation", https://hackerapproved.com/p/vmware-workstation/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).