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Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services 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

Dell Virtual Desktop Infras...
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
24th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
2.2
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Hosted Virtual Desktop Services (4th)
VMware Workstation
Ranking in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) category, the mindshare of Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services is 0.8%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Workstation is 10.4%, down from 17.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware Workstation10.4%
Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services0.8%
Other88.8%
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
 

Featured Reviews

Centralized virtual desktops have boosted secure client access and daily productivity
Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services is hosted centrally in data centers where I log in to the virtual desktop interface to work on client applications. I get access to all client applications on a daily basis, including application permissions and working access, all related to client applications with the help of a VPN network. Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services has had a huge impact on getting connected to a customer's application. It provides seamless access to the client's network, and with the help of a VPN, I connect to the client system and take a remote session to work on daily tasks. It has increased productivity significantly, and Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services is stable and scalable. It has been able to grow with our needs.
GC
Director of IT at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Creating and destroying test machines has simplified our operations and reduced manual recovery time
The Snapshot feature has helped with workflows by allowing us to more easily reconstruct something if we lose it or need it. We've been making Snapshots on a consistent basis, mainly of servers. The VX Rail has worked effectively because we can create machines as we need them. It's helpful for resetting and has helped with our operations because I had set up failover servers on Vertex, but we don't have to do that anymore since VMware will just create a new machine immediately if we have a problem. We're doing our domain servers on there, and we've been very happy with that. We appreciate that we can create machines simply to test things out and then destroy them. I use it for a test machine for checking emails, so if the email has a virus in it, we can just destroy the machine and create a new one. We're slowly moving into the VMware environment, although the pricing with Broadcom has been a disaster.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Dual E5-2600 v3 Xeons, DDR4 memory and the best storage potential makes the PowerEdge T630 a highly versatile server."
"It has increased productivity significantly, and Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services is stable and scalable."
"VMware Workstation’s most valuable features are backup and data transfer from one server to another."
"It will not harm any of the computer settings to run a specific program, because we have an individual copy of Windows installed on the virtual machine so anybody can access that, and it helps us a lot."
"VMware Workstation is easy to manage and understand."
"For all the interface customers, VMware is a one-stop solution for all the virtualization needs."
"We can undo some changes using the snapshot feature."
"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."
"We initially intended to work with Hyper-V because we are selling a virtual appliance and thought our customers would want to run that on Hyper-V."
"It is not an expensive solution, and I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."
 

Cons

"The service needs to work on strong integration with the VMware ecosystem and improve vendor support."
"Eventually, we had to get some licenses with Broadcom, and all the costs went up dramatically to the point where if I had it to do over again, I might have made a different decision."
"The solution freezes sometimes."
"The product is outdated."
"It would be great if VMware Workstation had more networking options and compatibility, that would be great. I would like to deploy virtual switches and play around with networking a bit more. Otherwise, I have to deploy ESXi Virtual Edition and emulate it, which is painful and clunky."
"My experience with Workstation is limited, so I don't know all the functionalities of this tool. Maybe Workstation could add some more compatibility with other vendors."
"I would want to see features included that make deployment easier."
"Lacks the ability to clone onto another system rather than starting from scratch."
"VMware Workstation uses more resources like CPU and disk space, especially the CPU, which is a shortcoming that needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The licensing costs are cheap. I pay approximately $100 per year."
"With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair."
"The product has a moderate price."
"The product is expensive."
"Licensing fees are paid on an annual basis."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"VMware Workstation has a high price than competitors in the market."
"VMware Workstation's costs are lifetime."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Comms Service Provider
12%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

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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

Dell Hosted Virtual Desktop Services
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Royal Opera House, University of the Sciences, Noritz America, University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), Fulton County
Akademiska Hus
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Services vs. VMware Workstation and other solutions. Updated: May 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.