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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)
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
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
6.6
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Amazon WorkSpaces is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Workstation is 15.1%, down from 15.4% 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

"The most valuable features are easy provisioning, an active directory, and mobile access."
"The tool has low latency and multimedia support. For instance, running Zoom calls on Amazon WorkSpaces seamlessly supports local microphones, speakers, and web cameras. This feature is transparent for applications, allowing me to use the Zoom application without requiring exceptional support for remote web cameras or microphones. Amazon WorkSpaces provides this functionality at the operating system level, enabling effortless video conferencing. To my knowledge, Microsoft Remote Desktop does not offer the same support."
"The best thing about Amazon WorkSpaces is the security it provides."
"The most valuable feature is the mobility. I can use it anywhere."
"We can work remotely using the solution."
"The product is easy to access. You can access the solution from anywhere at any time."
"The experience is seamless and there is no delay. The performance is very good. Initial startup times is a little bit of wait time, but it is bearable."
"The initial setup is simple."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is an easy-to-use product."
"The platform’s most valuable feature is snapshot."
"We are able to simultaneously run multiple operating systems in a single machine and have virtually no performance hit."
"VMware Workstation’s most valuable feature is virtualization technology."
"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."
"Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice."
"The performance is good."
"Instead of relying on dual-boot operating systems, I can utilize open-source tools within my infrastructure. This approach allows me to create an in-house cloud platform suitable for testing. VMware Workstation enables me to perform tasks across various operating systems using a single device. It has helped me save time."
 

Cons

"One area that can be improved is the ability to install third-party apps."
"The speed and performance are not always the greatest. It can be improved."
"I would say that it is a little complex to configure."
"Making it more self-service friendly would be the implement I'd be looking for. When we have to add new applications, we have to go through the IT to do that, and they need to do some configuration changes. I believe they have to reevaluate the computation and storage and the memory. So this is this is something that as an unrequired and should be changed. Also, the initial start time takes couple of minutes and it is easy for get distracted during the time. So if it can reduce the start time to a reasonable start of time to a reasonable time of five to ten seconds. That will be great."
"Amazon WorkSpaces needs to improve on releasing the most number of patches immediately as quickly as possible. And they need to enable more USB options to connect a mobile phone to that particular workspace."
"Configuration was a bit complicated at first but manageable."
"You cannot install external applications without doing some additional configurations inside the solution as opposed to your normal desktop or laptop."
"Its features for the hardware version could work faster."
"The network configuration was not as easy as it could be and could take less time."
"The big issue that we've always had with VMware, was the disparity between what was presented for a Windows-based client and a Linux-based client. The Windows client was always two or three releases ahead of the Linux client. We always wanted VMware to change and improve the feature sets between the client connector on Linux and on Windows."
"The tool can improve network storage technology."
"Performance could be improved, it's somewhat clunky."
"When you go to work on a server, it opens up the whole window, and that causes an error inside VMware Player."
"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 problem we are facing with stability is that the network adapter causes crashes of the VM when we're using it for developing purposes."
"They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think that the price can be lower. We have cases where the customer needs to have lower costs. So since we don't have options, like, shadow mode, they need to decrease pricing or have other models for reduced pricing."
"The bundle works out to be approximately $20.00 per month."
"The solution is not very cheap and it is not too pricey."
"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."
"Price-wise Amazon Workspaces is cheaper than most services available."
"The solution is expensive."
"The pricing is based on consumption. You pay for each process based on the transactions you make."
"The product is expensive."
"VMware is expensive. Licensing can be tricky. For example, I recently had a client running VMware vSphere Essentials and wanted to migrate to a more scalable solution. However, they had no choice but to purchase a completely new license and deploy a completely new instance of VMware."
"It has the best licensing modules."
"The solution is moderately priced. I rate the pricing a six out of ten."
"The pricing is a bit steep in my opinion for testing and there are other options."
"With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"VMware Workstation is an expensive solution in Asian countries."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

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?
For Amazon WorkSpaces pricing, I think it is affordable; it is a final decision made through the management part. I am not satisfied with the billing part because sometimes it bills for huge usage ...
What needs improvement with Amazon WorkSpaces?
I have not integrated AWS VPN with my Amazon WorkSpaces setup. Regarding disadvantages, I feel that the product has no areas for improvement. The billing part could be improved. Some features could...
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: July 2025.
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