8GB is painful for 2–3 VMs.

No, 8GB will cause constant swapping — get 16GB or more.

Here’s the math: Windows or Linux host needs 4GB just to breathe. Each VM (even a lightweight Linux server or Windows 10) wants at least 2–4GB to run without choking. That’s 4 (host) + 6–12 (VMs) = 10–16GB minimum. On 8GB, you’re already overcommitted before the first VM boots. The OS will swap everything to disk, and VMware will start paging guest memory to disk too. Your laptop will feel like it’s wading through molasses.

16GB is workable if you’re smart about it. Give each VM 2GB, close everything else, and avoid running VMs that need more (like Windows 11 with heavy apps). You’ll still hit swap occasionally, but it won’t be constant. If you can afford 32GB, do it — VMs only get hungrier.

Future you will thank you for not buying that 8GB laptop.