VMware Workstation, VMware Player and VMware Server seem like redundant products. However there are quite a few distinctions, that are quite apparent from their names already.

VMware Workstation is intended for "desktop use", for a user who creates and edits Virtual Machines and uses them on his/hers desktop. It has features useful for product development that no other VMware product has such as integration with MS Visual Studio or VM teams, where the network between virtual machines in the team can be specified, including bandwidth and packet loss. VMware Workstation usually gets the new virtual hardware releases first and supports the widest guest OS range. It is optimized for interactive use and has some Direct3D (DirectX 9) and OpenGL capabilities. Workstation is not free. More information: http://www.vmware.com/products/ws/new.html

VMware Player is a stripped-down version of workstation, so it offers the same virtual hardware as Workstation. In the latest version it can both create and edit virtual machines while it earlier was only possible to run pre-built VMs. For more info see here:

http://www.vmware.com/products/player/features.html

VMware Server is meant for creating and editing virtual machines and running server-like loads. It is optimized for IO rather than interactive use on the local terminal. Desktop intensive (graphical) applications will not have too good performance when viewed through the interface provided in VMware Server as all requests go through the network (even when you're working locally). Server usually provides older or same generation of virtual hardware as Workstation or Player. Server is a free product. More information: http://www.vmware.com/products/server/features.html

VMware Server cannot be installed at the same time with Workstation/Player. This is most likely due to conflicting, different kernel modules and cannot be circumvented.

Note that even if this article says that the intended use is something, this does not mean that the product could not be used for something else. Just don't expect Player to be a good Server or that you can play games on Server.

Feature comparison

Feature/Product	Workstation 7.0	Player 2.5	Player 3.0	Server 2.x
Intended use	Desktop use, test environments, Q&A, product development	Run VMs made elsewhere	Desktop use, testing	Host production VMs
Edit VM settings?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Max RAM / VM	32GB	8GB	32GB	8GB
VSMP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Snapshots	Multiple, branchable, linked clone	No	No	Single
USB 2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
3D acceleration	DirectX 9 with Shader Model 3.0 OpenGL 2.1	DirectX 9 with Shader Model 2.0	DirectX 9 with Shader Model 3.0 OpenGL 2.1	No
Other	-Integrates with MS Visual Studio / Eclipse / SpringSource - Remote replay debugging -Allows definition of properties of the virtual networks within VM teams - Record/replay functionality -Unity mode - Shared folders - Virtual disk encryption	- Editing of .vmx settings by hand possible - Unity mode - Shared folders	- Create / edit VMs - Unity mode - Shared folders	VMware Server is being discontinued
Cost	$189	Free