How to download and install VMware Fusion on Mac

Before you download

Since November 2024, VMware Fusion Pro is free for everyone: for personal, educational and commercial use. There is no direct download link, though:

• A Broadcom account. Broadcom gives out the installer only through its support portal, so you need a free Broadcom account and have to sign in to download.
• Apple Silicon Macs run Arm versions of systems, such as Windows 11 for Arm and Arm Linux distributions. Intel Macs run the usual Intel versions.
• Disk space. Each virtual machine needs space for its system and programs, often tens of gigabytes.

Download VMware Fusion only from Broadcom’s support portal, reached from the VMware website. Sites offering a «free VMware Fusion download» without signing in are not official.

How to install VMware Fusion

1. On the VMware website, follow the download link to Broadcom’s support portal and sign in, or register a free Broadcom account and confirm your email.
2. In the portal’s downloads, find VMware Fusion, choose the latest release, accept the terms and download the .dmg.
3. Open the .dmg in Downloads and double-click VMware Fusion in its window. Click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.
4. Enter your Mac password, accept the license agreement and let the installer place VMware Fusion in Applications.
5. Create a virtual machine: drag the system’s installer image (ISO) into the window that opens and follow the steps.

What to set up after the first launch

• Permissions. If macOS asks to give VMware Fusion access, for example in Accessibility, allow it in System Settings › Privacy & Security: the virtual machine needs it to receive your keyboard shortcuts.
• The system to install. Fusion doesn’t include Windows or Linux: download the installer image from Microsoft or the distribution. Windows needs its own license.
• Disk space. Virtual machines are stored in the Virtual Machines folder in your home folder and grow as you use them. Delete the ones you no longer need from Fusion’s library.
• The installer. Move the .dmg from Downloads to the Trash once VMware Fusion runs.

If VMware Fusion won’t install or start

• The download stops or the file is damaged. Broadcom’s portal can be slow: download the .dmg again and wait until it finishes completely.
• Fusion won’t install on your macOS. Check the release notes of the version you downloaded on Broadcom’s website: each Fusion release supports a range of macOS versions.
• A virtual machine won’t start on Apple Silicon. Check that you took the Arm version of the system: Fusion on Apple Silicon doesn’t run Intel versions of Windows.

Alternatives to VMware Fusion

• Parallels DesktopThe smoothest Windows on a Mac, paid.
• UTMFree and open source, no account needed.