QEMU (Quick Emulator) can run as a application without kernel drivers, though performance is lower. Because it doesn’t require installation, you can genuinely run QEMU from a USB stick.
However, VMware Workstation Player is designed by VMware (a division of Broadcom) as a native desktop application. This means it integrates deeply with the Windows registry, installs drivers into the system kernel, and requires administrative privileges to function correctly. vmware workstation player portable download