VMware Workstation Player Is Gone: What to Use Instead

VMware Workstation Player was the free, simple desktop hypervisor that many admins kept on their laptops for a test VM or two. It is gone: Broadcom’s own FAQ says Workstation Player and Fusion Player reached End of Sale on 30 April 2024 and are no longer available for purchase or download. The short answer for most people is to install VMware Workstation Pro, which has been free for commercial, educational and personal use since 11 November 2024, needs no licence key and opens your existing Player VMs as they are. If you want to leave VMware entirely, VirtualBox, Hyper-V, QEMU and Proxmox VE are the realistic options, and Vagrant can automate whichever one you pick.

What happened to VMware Workstation Player

Player was a cut-down edition of Workstation without snapshots, clones or the Virtual Network Editor. Once the full Pro edition became free, a separate lite product no longer made sense. The timeline, from Broadcom’s FAQ and announcements:

• 30 April 2024 — Workstation Player and Fusion Player reach End of Sale; no new purchases or downloads.
• Workstation Pro 17.5.2 and later — the installer includes the free version built in, with no licence key.
• 11 November 2024 — Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro become free for everyone, including commercial use. Paid editions are no longer sold.
• October 2025 — Broadcom switches to calendar version names (25H2). The current release is 26H1u1 from 3 September 2026.

Broadcom says existing Player installs keep working, with updates only until the next major version, so treat Player 17 as end of life.

Your options at a glance

Option 1: move to VMware Workstation Pro (least effort)

Workstation Pro is the same engine Player used, with the full feature set. Your .vmx and .vmdk files do not need conversion.

1. Uninstall Player from Settings > Apps. Your VM folders are not touched.
2. Sign in to the Broadcom Support Portal (a free Broadcom account is required), open the Workstation Pro downloads, complete the profile and trade compliance form, and accept the terms.
3. Run the installer as administrator. When it asks for a licence key, choose the option for the free version; no key is needed.
4. Open each VM with File > Open and select its .vmx file, or use File > Scan for Virtual Machines to add a whole folder to the library at once.
5. Power the VM on, update VMware Tools inside the guest, then take a first snapshot with VM > Snapshot > Take Snapshot — the feature Player never had.

You also gain linked clones, the Virtual Network Editor for isolated lab segments and the vmrun command-line tool for scripting starts, stops and snapshots.

If Hyper-V, WSL2 or Virtualization-Based Security is on, Workstation Pro runs through the Windows Hypervisor Platform. That works, but with some performance and feature limits.

Trade-offs: no macOS host version (Mac users need Fusion, also free) and no support tickets for free users.

Option 2: switch to VirtualBox

VirtualBox is the obvious choice if you want an open-source desktop hypervisor or need one tool across Windows, Linux and Macs. The base package is GPL-3.0; the optional Extension Pack is under Oracle’s Personal Use and Educational License, so read those terms before installing it on company machines.

VirtualBox reads VMDK disks directly, so the simplest migration is:

1. Shut down the VM cleanly in Player (not suspended) and uninstall VMware Tools in the guest if you can.
2. In VirtualBox, create a new VM with the same guest OS type, firmware (BIOS or EFI), CPU count and memory.
3. On the hard disk step, choose to use an existing virtual hard disk file and point it at the VM’s .vmdk.
4. Boot, install Guest Additions, and fix the network adapter settings.

Option 3: use Hyper-V on Windows Pro or Enterprise

Hyper-V is already part of Windows 10 and 11 Pro and Enterprise; Microsoft states it cannot be installed on Home editions. It needs a 64-bit CPU with SLAT and at least 4 GB of RAM. Enable it from an elevated PowerShell prompt and reboot:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All

Hyper-V does not use VMDK. Convert the disk to VHDX first with qemu-img (see below), then create a new VM in Hyper-V Manager and attach the converted disk. Keep the generation consistent: an EFI-based VMware guest needs a Generation 2 VM, a BIOS-based one Generation 1.

Its desktop tooling is plainer than Workstation Pro or VirtualBox, and Microsoft warns that other virtualization apps may fail to start VMs or run unreliably while the Hyper-V hypervisor is on.

Option 4: QEMU or Proxmox VE for Linux hosts and servers

On a Linux workstation, QEMU with KVM gives near-native speed with no vendor account involved. qemu-img converts VMware disks to its native qcow2 format, or to VHDX for Hyper-V:

qemu-img convert -p -f vmdk -O qcow2 lab-dc01.vmdk lab-dc01.qcow2
qemu-img convert -p -f vmdk -O vhdx lab-dc01.vmdk lab-dc01.vhdx
qemu-img info lab-dc01.qcow2

If your “lab on a laptop” has outgrown the laptop, put Proxmox VE on a spare server or mini PC. It is QEMU/KVM underneath with a web interface, LXC containers, ZFS and scheduled backups. Copy the VM files over and import them on the Proxmox host:

qm importovf 120 lab-dc01.ovf local-zfs
qm disk import 121 lab-web01.vmdk local-zfs

Windows guests need the VirtIO drivers installed before you switch their disks and NICs to VirtIO, and the Proxmox migration guide warns that a VMware vTPM cannot be carried across. Broader comparisons of hypervisors and container tools are in our virtualization and containers guide.

Option 5: stop hand-building lab VMs with Vagrant

If you only ever needed a throwaway test box, Vagrant builds it from a Vagrantfile on VirtualBox, Hyper-V or Docker, or on Workstation Pro with the Vagrant VMware Utility and the vagrant-vmware-desktop plugin. HashiCorp is closing the public HCP Vagrant box registry at the end of 2026, so plan to host your own boxes.

How to choose

• You just want Player back, on Windows or Linux: Workstation Pro. Zero conversion work.
• You need a Mac host or prefer open source: VirtualBox.
• Company policy blocks extra hypervisors, and you have Windows Pro or Enterprise: Hyper-V.
• Linux desktop, scripting, or other CPU architectures: QEMU/KVM.
• The lab runs 24/7 or several people use it: Proxmox VE on dedicated hardware.

Limitations to keep in mind

• Moving a Windows guest between hypervisors can trigger Windows reactivation and new network adapters; note static IP settings before you migrate.
• Snapshots do not survive a disk conversion. Consolidate or delete them first and convert the base disk.
• Encrypted VMware VMs and vTPM-protected Windows 11 guests must be decrypted in VMware before their disks can be used elsewhere.
• Mixing hypervisors on one Windows PC is fragile. Workstation Pro runs on top of Hyper-V through the Windows Hypervisor Platform with some limits; for other tools, test before you depend on it.

FAQ

Is VMware Workstation Player discontinued?

Yes. Broadcom lists 30 April 2024 as End of Sale, and Player is no longer available for download. Workstation Pro replaces it.

Is VMware Workstation Player still free?

Existing installs keep running, but there is no new version to download. The free product now is Workstation Pro, which costs nothing for any use and needs no licence key.

Is VMware Workstation Pro free for commercial use?

Yes. Since 11 November 2024 Broadcom offers it free for commercial, educational and personal use. Free users get community and knowledge base support rather than support tickets.

VMware Workstation Player vs Pro: what do I lose by switching?

Nothing. Pro does everything Player did and adds snapshots, clones, the Virtual Network Editor and vmrun. Player VMs open in Pro without conversion.

Where can I download VMware Workstation Player for Windows 11?

Broadcom no longer offers Player. Download Workstation Pro from the Broadcom Support Portal instead; it supports Windows 11 hosts and Windows 11 guests with a virtual TPM.

What is the best free alternative to VMware Player?

For the same experience, Workstation Pro itself. Outside VMware, VirtualBox is the closest free desktop alternative; Hyper-V is built into Windows Pro and Enterprise, and QEMU/KVM is the open-source choice on Linux.

Last updated: 7 October 2026 · ITForgePro editorial team. Licence, version and platform details are checked against each developer's official documentation.