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VMware Fusion

VMware Fusion

Overview

What is VMware Fusion?

Vmware Fusion is a virtual user session software built to run Windows applications on Macintosh to run any Windows applications.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

VMware Fusion has become a valuable tool for users across various industries and professions. Users have found it particularly useful in …
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TrustRadius Insights
TrustRadius Insights

VMware Analysis

9 out of 10
May 16, 2017
Incentivized
It is being used by the entire organization. Generally we use Macs, so we use it for a Windows environment for programs that require that.
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Pricing

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VMware Fusion

VMware Fusion

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What is VMware Fusion?

Vmware Fusion is a virtual user session software built to run Windows applications on Macintosh to run any Windows applications.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Product Details

What is VMware Fusion?

VMware Fusion: Desktop Hypervisors for Mac

Software designed to give users the freedom to be more productive, agile and secure in a preferred environment. IT professionals, developers and businesses can use VMware Fusion desktop hypervisors for OS support, rock-solid stability and advanced features. With Fusion Player and Fusion Pro, run nearly any OS as VMs on Mac for development, testing, gaming or even simulating production clouds on local desktops.

VMware Fusion Video

What is VMware Fusion?

VMware Fusion Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Vmware Fusion is a virtual user session software built to run Windows applications on Macintosh to run any Windows applications.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 10.

The most common users of VMware Fusion are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(74)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

VMware Fusion has become a valuable tool for users across various industries and professions. Users have found it particularly useful in virtualizing firewalls, test systems, and OS-specific applications that are unavailable on Macs. It offers developers the ability to spin up Linux servers for early-stage development before pushing the code to an internet-facing dev server for client review. Additionally, users appreciate how VMware Fusion allows for easy maintenance of different VM images to safely and efficiently test various application environments. Furthermore, it has been used as a lab rat to test code against bleeding edge versions of PHP and popular web apps.

For businesses relying on Intel Macs, VMware Fusion proves essential by enabling them to run Windows-only business-related applications without the need for multiple physical hardware or rebooting. The software is also utilized by IT departments to test changes, such as group policy adjustments, before pushing them out. End-users in finance benefit from using VMware Fusion to seamlessly run different financial software on their Macs. Charter school management organizations have leveraged this software to virtualize MS Windows on iMacs for compatibility with Windows-only programs.

Overall, VMware Fusion fills the gap between Mac and Windows environments by allowing users to seamlessly run Windows-based software on their Macs, eliminating the need for separate computers. It provides a versatile solution for developers and quality analysts to test web development on Windows browsers like Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. Users appreciate its simplicity in dealing with disk partitioning, assigning RAM to new operating systems, and its feature-rich offerings like capturing snapshots and changing networks. By providing access to critical Windows applications while still enjoying the benefits of a Mac system, VMware Fusion has been enthusiastically adopted by organizations using predominantly Macs.

Intuitive User Interface: Reviewers have consistently praised the intuitive and easy-to-navigate user interface of VMware Fusion. Many users have found it straightforward to locate and customize settings, such as adjusting the hard disk size. This user-friendly interface has made it convenient for users to manage their virtual machines without any hassle.

Snapshot Functionality: The option to create and restore snapshots in VMware Fusion has received high praise from a significant number of reviewers. Users have found this feature to be both useful and easy to use. It allows them to quickly revert back to a previous state if any issues arise during their work, providing them with peace of mind.

Seamless Integration with macOS: The seamless integration of VMware Fusion with macOS has been highly regarded by many users. They appreciate features like the ability to copy and paste between environments, run applications in full screen mode for an immersive experience, and launch apps directly from the Mac desktop. This tight integration enhances productivity and convenience for users working across different operating systems on their Mac computers.

Outdated User Interface: Some users have expressed that the user interface of VMware Fusion is in need of improvement, stating that it has taken a step back and lacks modern design elements.

Unreliable Remote Host Connections: Several users have reported experiencing spotty remote host connections with VMware Fusion, making it difficult for them to establish stable connections and causing frustration during remote work or collaboration.

Difficulty Configuring Boot Camp Install: Some users have found configuring a boot camp install to run inside macOS via VMware Fusion to be tricky. This process can lead to license activation issues for certain applications, adding complexity to the setup process.

Users commonly recommend VMware Fusion for several reasons. Firstly, they suggest using VMware Fusion as the best option for running Windows on a MacBook and as an alternative to having a second laptop. Users also believe that VMware Fusion is worth the license price due to the time-saving benefits it provides. Additionally, users recommend VMware Fusion for its simplicity and ease of use in setting up and running virtual machines. They praise its stability, hardware sharing capabilities, and ability to make Windows software compatible with a Mac. Ultimately, users suggest considering VMware Fusion if you need to run programs not available on MacOSX or if your company pays for a MacBook.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-19 of 19)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
April 04, 2022

An excellent fusion of great virtualization features, high performance, and pricing that fits the bill for almost everyone.

SS
Shion Song
Art Director & Web Developer
shion.ca (Marketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Due to its perpetual licensing model, VMware Fusion is a great option for users whose needs do not change as much over time. It is also great for occasional-use scenarios such as testing and preparing code to run on newer platforms. Fusion is not really recommended for running graphics-intense applications as graphics acceleration in Fusion is fairly limited in both performance and API support. It has, however, come a very long way and offers near-native performance for many tasks.
July 22, 2021

If you need to run Windows apps on a Mac, VMware Fusion is great!

Jim Chandler | TrustRadius Reviewer
Jim Chandler
Founder
360intentionality, LLC (Non-Profit Organization Management, 1-10 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
VMware Fusion is great for a user of Mac computers who still needs access to Windows-only applications. It is very easy to have both MacOS and Windows running simultaneously and switch back and forth between the two seamlessly. If you are a Mac user and never need to access Windows-only applications, there is no need for VMware Fusion at all.
February 25, 2020

Switch Between Software Development Environments With Ease

Jonah Dempcy | TrustRadius Reviewer
Jonah Dempcy
Web & Mobile Developer
Bluefire Productions (Computer Software, 1-10 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
  • VMWare Fusion is well-suited when you need to share development environments between developers, or when you need to run a Windows environment on a Mac (or vice versa). It is also well-suited for backing up development environments so you can be guaranteed that you've saved the necessary configuration to build a software project, even if the hard drive fails.
  • VMWare Fusion is less well-suited for software projects that are not complex to set up, as there is no need to add the extra step (and use the extra disk space) of saving an image of the environment when you can just put the code on GitHub.
February 18, 2020

I have two computers on one screen....kinda!

Verified User
Partner in Corporate
Telecommunications Company, 1-10 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
We could NOT use our preferred bookkeeping software without this fantastic tool. Well implemented. I'm sure if there was another software application that required the Microsoft Operating System, I would not hesitate to install it on VMware.
August 29, 2019

An excellent high performing product that makes desktop virtualization simple and cost effective

Stefan Semo | TrustRadius Reviewer
Stefan Semo
Director of IT Infrastructure, Security & Compliance and Customer Service
Success Academy Charter Schools (Education Management, 201-500 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
  • Wherever there is a need to run Windows applications on Macs and one needs a quick and simple way to deploy this support as well as an easy way to update the application.
  • Environments where batch deployment is valued (enterprise) will be best suited by VMware Fusion with its ease of deployment.
  • Cost-conscious buyers would appreciate the lower costs of purchase, update, and upgrades that come with VMware Fusion.
February 21, 2019

VMware Fusion: run all of your Windows and Linux software on Mac without a problem

Verified User
Professional in Engineering
Internet Company, 201-500 employees
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
VMware Fusion is pretty decent if you're locked in a MacOS environment as VMware Fusion allows Mac users to run software design only for PC. An interesting mode of VMware Fusion is the Unity View Mode. With this option enabled, users are allowed to use a window that looks integrated with MacOS, as it's available for them to open from Spotlight search.
January 28, 2019

VMware Fusion is a great operation for running virtual machines on a Mac.

AP
Aaron Pinsker
Owner
Colorado Computer Care (Information Technology and Services, 1-10 employees)
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
VMware Fusion is very well suited for creating virtual machines that are regularly accessed by users and not designed to just be run in the background as a service or server. Fusion's licensing terms also make it a more ideal product when used on a large scale as compared to its main competition in Parallels. In addition, Fusion is a good solution when other VMware products are already being used on other systems, and the interoperability between Fusion and other VMware products is quite good.

Fusion is not an ideal solution for those that need to run 3D programs, as its support for 3D-based workflows is somewhat lackluster. In addition, while a virtual machine can be run in the background as a minimized window, it really isn't designed to run a virtual machine as a background service.
September 07, 2018

VMware Fusion is a great choice for IT pros

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Libraries Company, 1001-5000 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
If you work with VMware servers or need to work with multiple VMs and operating systems, Fusion is your go-to choice. If you really only need one Windows VM, I might not recommend Fusion, as competing products can work better for the single purpose. Fusion is better when you need flexibility or use many VMs for testing. VMware Fusion Pro also includes some very slick tools for testing network applications, such as limiting bandwidth and injecting packet loss into a VMs network connection.
August 03, 2018

VMware Fusion is the best virtualization product for us as a VMware shop.

Kurt Pritchett | TrustRadius Reviewer
Kurt Pritchett
Senior System Engineer
Clayton County Public Schools (Government Administration, 5001-10,000 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
VMware Fusion is well suited for testing environments. Developers can take their work home with them. Our development team loves the fact that they can access their test environment locally on their own desktops/laptops. I do not recommend that users run VMs running on fusion put these VMs into production. Fusion snapshots are a great feature for application testing.
April 12, 2018

Virtualization for Macs!

Michael Timms | TrustRadius Reviewer
Michael Timms
IT Specialist
iQor (Telecommunications, 10,001+ employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
VMWare Fusion is perfectly suited for an application developer because it allows the dev to create cross-platform applications across the entire spectrum of operating systems without changing devices. An example of where it is less appropriate would be an environment where users are not required or have no need, to use multiple operating systems.
November 20, 2017

Fusion, make any Mac even more effective!

Andrew Shannon | TrustRadius Reviewer
Andrew Shannon
Director of Technology
Packaging & Distribution Resources (Education Management, 11-50 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
VMware fusion is best suited for users who want a Mac computer but have to use programs that are only available to Windows computers. Fusion is not that great if you need to reboot often and don't have time to wait for it to start up after a reboot. Fusion is overall a great product and makes any Mac computer way more functional!
November 14, 2017

Intuitive, Simple, and Quick!

Zach Cooper | TrustRadius Reviewer
Zach Cooper
Site Reliability Engineer
AdvancedMD (Computer Software, 501-1000 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Works great for anyone who needs to run additional operating systems while also running MacOS simultaneously. Great for easily standing up local testing or development environments. If you require Microsoft Windows it is more cost effective to run it virtually than to maintain separate hardware just for this purpose.
May 16, 2017

VMware Analysis

Verified User
Technician in Research & Development
Biotechnology Company, 201-500 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Emulating Windows is all that I use it for, and it does that seamlessly. Obviously there are slightly different functionalities between operating systems, but it is very intuitive. The setup can be done by people that have never set up a virtual machine before quite easily. I think there was one coworker complaining about its lack of multi-screen functionality though.
April 10, 2017

VMware Fusion-Best of both worlds!

Verified User
Engineer in Engineering
Education Management Company, 1-10 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
VMware fusion is mostly used by Mac users. Mac users can get Windows OS running instantly on their laptop with the help of VMware fusion. Vmware fusion is less appropriate if the Mac user is using "Yosemite" Mac OSX, as the product no longer runs on the older version of mac OSX.
April 05, 2017

VMware Fusion is a legit tool for corporations.

Fatima Tipu | TrustRadius Reviewer
Fatima Tipu
Enterprise Support Manager
Atlantic Media (Publishing, 501-1000 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Snapshots are great, set up is easy, pulling in previous VMs is also very easy. For the most part, Windows VMs run well through VMWare Fusion on Macs, but I have personally run into issues where a VM will become corrupt and I can no longer use it. I haven't really seen this issue with users, as their VMs are simpler than mine. Also, sometimes Windows can run a little slowly through VMware Fusion.
November 03, 2016

Fusion OS

Verified User
Director in Information Technology
Apparel & Fashion Company, 51-200 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
Suited well for anyone using a Mac that needs regular access to Windows or Windows apps. I don't use other operating systems but assume it's a similar experience. Less suited if you pprimarily use Windows.
September 13, 2016

Vmware Fusion From a Mac IT guy

Gabriel Duff | TrustRadius Reviewer
Gabriel Duff
Macintosh Service Desk Technician III
Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) (Information Technology and Services, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Likelihood to Recommend
It is my preferred virtualization tool to use on Mac OS for constantly staying updated and supporting the latest operating systems. It's great for sand box testing of your own private networks and also supports net boot for building VMs off network servers.

It's less ideal for large scale setups of virtual machines for users in a large Mac user base. VDI setups are better for this.
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