What is SoftVM?

SoftVM runs lightweight macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple silicon Macs.

Built on Apple's own Virtualization framework, SoftVM gives developers, testers and curious users near-native performance with minimal resource overhead, a guided setup, and no time limits or trials on its free tier.

Key features

• Apple silicon native. Optimised for M-series Macs.
• macOS and Linux guests. macOS 12 and later, Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Red Hat, Kali and other ARM64 distributions.
• Beta OS testing. Try the latest macOS and Linux betas safely, away from your main system.
• Fine-tuned configuration. CPU cores, memory, storage and networking.
• Save and restore. Keep and restore a VM's state instantly.
• Clipboard sharing. Copy and paste between the Mac and the virtual machine.

Who is SoftVM for?

• Developers testing apps across macOS versions and Linux
• System administrators managing several environments
• Security researchers who need isolated machines
• Students learning new operating systems

Availability

SoftVM is available worldwide on the Mac App Store, for Macs with Apple silicon running macOS 14 or later. It's localised in English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.

Pricing

SoftVM is free to download, with full-featured VM management and no time limits.