VMware Workstation Pro vs NanaBox
Two of the top three virtual machine programs, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- VMware Workstation Pro has 79 points and NanaBox 74, 5 apart on our virtual machine software rules.
- VMware Workstation Pro earns more on systems and virtual machines; NanaBox earns more on openness and upkeep.
- Cheapest licence for work use: VMware Workstation Pro $0, NanaBox $0.
- Only VMware Workstation Pro meets: also runs on other hosts, snapshots, network modes and security advisories published.
- Only NanaBox meets: virtual TPM and Secure Boot, nested virtualization and open source.
VMware Workstation Pro79/100 #2 of 12
Best for: Windows users who want a free hypervisor with snapshots and shared folders.
NanaBox74/100 #3 of 12
Best for: Windows users who want a light Hyper-V front end with GPU and TPM options.
Points by group
| Group | VMware Workstation Pro | NanaBox |
|---|---|---|
| Systems of 17 | 15 | 13 |
| Virtual machines of 27 | 14 | 9 |
| Devices of 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Openness and upkeep of 14 | 8 | 10 |
| Price of 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Total | 79 | 74 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | VMware Workstation Pro | NanaBox |
|---|---|---|
| Guest systems (8) | Windows, Linux 8 | Windows, Linux 8 |
| Also runs on other hosts (4) | Linux 2 | None 0 |
| Works on Windows Home (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Snapshots (8) | Yes 8 | Not published 0 |
| Virtual TPM and Secure Boot (5) | Not published 0 | Yes 5 |
| Network modes (6) | NAT, Bridged, Host-only 6 | Not published 0 |
| Nested virtualization (4) | Not published 0 | Yes 4 |
| Starts from a ready-made image (4) | Not published 0 | Not published 0 |
| 3D graphics for guests (8) | Yes 8 | Yes 8 |
| USB devices in the guest (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Shared folders (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Shared clipboard (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Open source (6) | Not published 0 | Yes 6 |
| Security advisories published (4) | Yes 4 | No 0 |
| Updated in the last 12 months (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Free edition (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Cheapest licence for work use (12) | $0 12 | $0 12 |
VMware Workstation Pro
VMware Workstation Pro is free for commercial, educational and personal use from version 17.5.2, which removes the price question. It runs on Windows 10 and 11 and Linux hosts and documents snapshots, shared folders, USB devices and three network modes. The catch: free users get community support only, and there is no macOS host version.
NanaBox
NanaBox suits Windows users who want Hyper-V machines with TPM, Secure Boot and GPU options without paying. The source is MIT-licensed and a release landed in September 2026. The catch: it runs on Windows only, documents no snapshots, and has no security policy.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score virtual machine programs.