updated
Aug 18, 2026
480MB
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VMware Fusion Pro is Broadcom's virtualization app for macOS, running Windows 11, Linux and other guest systems in a window beside your Mac apps on both Apple Silicon and Intel hardware, now free with no license key.
VMware Fusion Pro is now completely free for personal, educational and commercial use, with no license key and no trial clock.
That is not a stripped-down free tier - it is the full Pro product that used to cost money.
You can download VMware Fusion Pro 26H1 from the mirrors here, and it is one of the most capable free apps in the whole Mac catalog.
What Fusion Pro Actually Does
Fusion Pro creates virtual machines, which are complete computers that exist as files on your Mac. Inside one you install Windows 11 or a Linux distribution, and its programs run in a window alongside Safari and Mail.
Nothing gets partitioned and your Mac never reboots into another system. The virtual machine can be paused, snapshotted, duplicated or thrown away whenever you like, and none of that touches macOS.
That last part is the reason a lot of people install it. Whatever you run inside the virtual machine is sealed off from your real files unless you deliberately switch on folder sharing, so a risky install or an unknown program cannot reach your documents.
Free Means Free
Broadcom made Fusion Pro free for all three use cases - personal, educational and commercial - and removed the license key requirement entirely. There is no upgrade prompt, no feature you have to buy back and no account to create.
Snapshots, linked and full clones, custom virtual networks, the vmrun and vmcli command-line tools and the REST API are all in the free build. These were the Pro-only features, and they are simply on now.
The short answer to the licence question. No key, no trial period, no sign-in. Install it and it works, including at work.
Check Your Mac First
This is the step that catches people out, because the requirement moved recently and a lot of older write-ups have not caught up.
BEFORE YOU DOWNLOAD
Fusion Pro 25H2 and later need a Mac that officially supports macOS 15 Sequoia or later. If your Mac cannot be updated to Sequoia, this 480 MB download will not install, and that rules out Intel Macs older than roughly 2018.
You also want 8 GB of memory as an absolute floor, 16 GB or more if you plan to run more than one virtual machine at a time. Budget 1.5 GB of disk for Fusion itself and at least 5 GB for every virtual machine you create.
To check, open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. That panel tells you both things you need - your macOS version and whether the chip is Apple silicon or Intel.
Apple Silicon and Intel Do Different Jobs
The installer is a single universal disk image and it sorts out your hardware by itself, so there is nothing to choose at download time. What differs is which guest systems each machine can actually run, and the gap is bigger than most pages admit.
| Guest system | Apple silicon Mac | Intel Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 on ARM | Yes, this is the normal path | Not the usual choice |
| Windows 10 or 11 on x86 | No, not possible at all | Yes |
| ARM Linux, such as Ubuntu 26.04 | Yes | No |
| x86 Linux | No | Yes |
| macOS as a guest | No | Yes |
The row that matters is the x86 one. An Apple silicon Mac cannot run x86 operating systems in a virtual machine, in Fusion or in anything else, because the processor speaks a different instruction set and Fusion does not emulate one.
Windows 11 on ARM covers most of the gap on its own, since it translates ordinary x86 and 64-bit Windows applications well enough that you usually will not notice. What it cannot translate is anything that installs a driver - dongles, capture cards, industrial and lab hardware - and those fail rather than run slowly.
Getting Windows Onto It
Fusion does not include Windows or any other operating system, so you supply the installation media. On an Apple silicon Mac it will fetch it for you.
Choose File then New, pick Get Windows from Microsoft, choose an edition and a language, and Fusion downloads Windows 11 for ARM and builds the installer image itself. The same image can then be reused for as many virtual machines as you want.
On an Intel Mac there is no wizard and you point Fusion at your own ISO instead. Either way the setup assistant handles the virtual TPM and firmware requirements that Windows 11 insists on, so you are not editing configuration files.
Windows itself is a separate question. Fusion is free, but a Windows license is not, and Microsoft sells that separately from Broadcom.
Fusion Pro Against Parallels Desktop
Parallels Desktop is the obvious alternative and it charges an annual subscription. Now that Fusion Pro is free, the comparison is less lopsided than the price tags suggest, but it is not a clean sweep either.
| Where they differ | How it plays out | Which to pick |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Fusion Pro is free outright, Parallels renews every year | Fusion, and it is not close |
| First-run polish | Parallels holds your hand harder through the first Windows install | Parallels if you want zero decisions |
| Graphics and gaming | Parallels generally has the edge on 3D performance in Windows guests | Parallels if you plan to game |
| Linux and server work | Fusion has broad guest OS coverage and connects to ESX hosts | Fusion for anything IT-shaped |
| Automation | Fusion ships vmrun, vmcli and a REST API at no cost | Fusion for scripted or repeatable setups |
For the large majority of people who need Windows occasionally, Fusion Pro is now the sensible default and there is no financial argument for paying. This is the same shift that put DaVinci Resolve and Blender for Mac in front of studio work for nothing.
What Changed in 26H1
This release is build 25388279, dated 14 May 2026, and it is mostly housekeeping with one reason to hurry.
Virtual machines now record their creation date and the last time they were powered on, which sounds minor until you have a library of fifteen of them with names like "test2". Fusion can also connect to ARM-based ESX hosts for basic virtual machine operations, which matters if you also work with VMware server environments.
Guest support was extended to Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, Fedora 43, Fedora 44, SUSE Linux Enterprise 16, openSUSE 16.0 and FreeBSD 15.0, so the current Linux and BSD releases install without hand-holding.
Update if you are on 25H2. This build fixes CVE-2026-41702, a privilege escalation flaw affecting Fusion Pro 25H2, and Broadcom's advisory says updating is the only remedy. Older builds are still on the mirrors here for reference, but 26H1 is the one to install.
Media Playback Inside a Windows VM
A fresh Windows guest is as bare as a fresh Windows PC, so video files that play on your Mac can refuse inside the virtual machine. The fix is the same one you would use on real hardware.
The K-Lite Codec Pack installed inside the Windows guest covers almost every format you will meet, and the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack adds encoding tools if you are producing rather than watching.
If you are not sure which component a stubborn file needs, our Codec Finder will narrow it down before you install anything, and the full codec packs section lists the alternatives.
On the macOS side you rarely need any of that. VLC Media Player for Mac and IINA both play essentially anything without extra codecs, which helps when you are shuttling files between host and guest.
For a lighter, keyboard-driven option there is mpv player for Mac, and MakeMKV for Mac handles disc ripping natively rather than through a virtual machine.
If You Are Running Windows for Creative Work
Check whether the job actually needs Windows first, because a lot of it does not any more.
Editing runs natively on macOS through Final Cut Pro and Shotcut for Mac, neither of which needs a virtual machine anywhere near it.
CapCut for Mac covers the quick social edits, and OBS Studio for Mac handles recording and streaming.
Pro Video Formats adds Apple's professional codec support to macOS itself, which is usually what is missing when a camera file refuses to open on the Mac side.
On the audio side, LAME for Mac and WavPack for Mac handle MP3 encoding and hybrid lossless compression without a virtual machine anywhere in the chain. A native app will always beat the same app running inside a guest system.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
Four things to check before you commit to the download, all of which you can confirm in under a minute.
- Your Mac cannot run macOS 15 Sequoia. Check About This Mac - if Sequoia is not offered as an update, 26H1 will not install and you want Fusion Pro 13.x instead.
- The program you need installs a Windows driver. Dongles, capture cards and lab equipment need x86 kernel drivers, which do not work on Apple silicon at any speed.
- You want to play Windows games. Virtualized 3D performance is workable but not good, and Parallels is the stronger option if this is the whole reason.
- You only need one Windows-only browser page. That is not worth 480 MB and a Windows license - try a different browser first.
Is It Safe to Download?
The 26H1 build offered here is the standard Broadcom installer, virus-checked, served from direct mirrors with no wrapper or bundled extras. The file is named for its build number, so you can confirm you got 25388279 before you open it.
Fusion is also one of the safer places to test software you are unsure about, because a guest system cannot see your Mac's files unless you switch sharing on. If you want to inspect network behaviour while you are at it, the Security Tools section has the utilities for it.
Quick questions
Do I need a license key?
No. Fusion Pro 26H1 is free for personal, educational and commercial use with no key, no trial period and no account.
Can I run normal Windows programs on an M-series Mac?
Most of them, yes. Windows 11 on ARM translates ordinary x86 and 64-bit Windows applications automatically, but anything that installs a driver will not work.
Will it run on my older Intel Mac?
Only if that Mac officially supports macOS 15 Sequoia, which in practice means 2018 or newer. Older Intel Macs need Fusion Pro 13.x, which has a macOS 12 Monterey floor.
Does Fusion come with Windows?
No, and neither does any other virtualization app. On Apple silicon Fusion can download the Windows 11 ARM installer for you, but the Windows license is a separate purchase from Microsoft.
Fusion Pro or Parallels Desktop?
Fusion for cost, Linux work and automation, Parallels for the smoothest first-run experience and better 3D performance in Windows guests. For occasional Windows use, free wins.
Can I run macOS itself in a virtual machine?
On an Intel Mac, yes. On Apple silicon, no - ARM versions of macOS are not supported as Fusion guests.
More setup walkthroughs live in the guides library if you want to read before you install.
Download VMware Fusion Pro 26H1 and see how it runs on your Mac, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before - which chip you are on is the most useful thing anyone can leave on a page like this.
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