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Amazon WorkSpaces vs VMware Workstation comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Amazon WorkSpaces
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) (2nd)
VMware Workstation
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Amazon WorkSpaces is 0.7%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Workstation is 17.0%, up from 13.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Bhaskar Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
Management console is very easy to use, readily available infrastructure and easy to scale
It's very stable. There is a big difference between traditional physical servers and cloud servers. With physical servers, we need to plan for purchasing, procurement, capacity, storage, get quotations, and then procure them. That took some time. Maybe it would take more than one month or maybe two months to procure and then install. With AWS, it is readily available. Just pay and immediately create the VPC, network, and everything. It is very easy. Within two or three hours, we can implement any server or launch any application. Within five minutes, we can just spin up and publish our servers on the Internet.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Security, streaming, faster performance, scalability, and the fact that it is very much cost-effective, are some of the solution's valuable features."
"The most valuable feature is the mobility. I can use it anywhere."
"The initial setup is simple."
"The product is easy to access. You can access the solution from anywhere at any time."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"They maintain it and manage it very well."
"Performance and scalability are valuable features."
"The best thing about Amazon WorkSpaces is the security it provides."
"VMware Workstation has tons of third-party support, the largest partner ecosystem. VMware works with a ton of different vendors. They have plugins for almost everything. Other hypervisors lack the flexibility that VMware Workstation offers."
"It's really easy to build testing environments with VMware Player."
"The features are good."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is an easy-to-use product."
"VMware Workstation allows you to run a virtual machine."
"The solution's technical support team is excellent."
"The tool’s GUI is very user-friendly."
"It will not harm any of the computer settings to run a specific program. For example, if a program needs a specific security policy, we don't have to use the shared configuration. We have an individual copy of Windows installed on the virtual machine, so anybody can access that. It helps us a lot."
 

Cons

"The product needs to improve its pricing. It should also improve corporate identity management and single sign-on."
"One area that can be improved is the ability to install third-party apps."
"Amazon WorkSpaces needs to improve its pricing."
"Its features for the hardware version could work faster."
"The solution lacks a shadow mode option, and it needs to have it."
"There is always scope of improvement in the stability."
"If they had a cheaper option for graphics pro, I think that it would be beneficial and I would use it."
"You cannot install external applications without doing some additional configurations inside the solution as opposed to your normal desktop or laptop."
"It would be better if software updates occur automatically."
"Its price could be better."
"The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"I have had issues with the virtual network adapters in the past that has taken some time to troubleshoot."
"One improvement is mouse emulation. Some people in the office want to use a five—or seven-button mouse like they're used to at home, but they can't with the workstation setup."
"The support can be improved."
"VMware Workstation has some network limitations which could improve, it is not as flexible as VMware NSX. Additionally, it could support operating systems better. I only run some Linux versions and Windows at the moment but it would be nice to be able to take whatever operating system you want and run it."
"The solution should provide a guide on its installation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are several different options available, but it can range anywhere from $85 to $150 a month per machine."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is low and ten is a high price, I rate the pricing a two."
"The solution is expensive."
"The pricing is based on consumption. You pay for each process based on the transactions you make."
"Price-wise Amazon Workspaces is cheaper than most services available."
"The bundle works out to be approximately $20.00 per month."
"We need to spend some amount for the support. Without money, they won't respond."
"The tool's pricing depends on company turnover and the organization's relationship with Amazon. I rate it a six out of ten."
"It is an expensive solution."
"VMware Workstation's costs are lifetime."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"The solution is moderately priced. I rate the pricing a six out of ten."
"The price of the solution per workstation is approximately 200 Francs annually. We pay a total of 800 francs. Everything is included in the price such as the support."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"The solution's pricing is almost the same as what Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft would charge you."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Government
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
5%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon WorkSpaces?
Performance and scalability are valuable features.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon WorkSpaces?
The pricing is based on consumption. You pay for each process based on the transactions you make. The investment is almost the same as having your own on-premises solution, with the added costs of ...
What needs improvement with Amazon WorkSpaces?
There is always scope of improvement in the stability.
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 Workstation primarily to test environments to determine how well a solution will...
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.
 

Also Known As

WorkSpaces
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GrubHub, Endemol Shine Nederland, CMC Property Services
Akademiska Hus
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon WorkSpaces vs. VMware Workstation and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.