Compare software

VMware Workstation Pro vs Windows Subsystem for Linux: catalog facts
VMware Workstation Pro	Windows Subsystem for Linux
Freemium Free for personal use since 2024. Commercial use still requires a paid Broadcom licence.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence, published by Microsoft. Included with Windows.
Windows, Linux	Windows
Snapshots, cloning, nested virtualisation and virtual networking are mature and reliable, and Broadcom made it free for…	Runs Linux command-line tools unmodified, with no virtual machine overhead or dual boot WSLg lets Linux graphical applications appear as ordinary Windows windows
It is closed-source commercial software, commercial use still needs a paid licence, and downloads now require a…	Requires Windows virtualisation features to be enabled, which conflicts with some other software Filesystem performance across the Windows and Linux boundary is poor; keep files on the correct side
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.