Blender Download: How to Get Blender Safely

The official download page is blender.org/download. That page also lists the other official channels the Blender project itself publishes through: Steam, the Microsoft Store on Windows and the Snap Store on Linux. All of them are free. If a link does not start from blender.org or one of the stores named on that page, treat it as unofficial.

Blender also publishes its full source code on the same page, and older versions are kept in the project's release archive, so there is never a reason to pick up a "mirror" from a random file-sharing site. Portals that re-host the installer often add their own download manager or bundled offers, which is exactly the kind of risk our safe download guide warns about.

At the time of writing (October 2026) the download page offers Blender 5.2.2 LTS, with a newer regular release announced for November. The page lists these builds:

• Windows x64: a standard installer or a portable .zip. The page states compatibility with Windows 11, 10 and 8.1.
• Windows on Arm: separate installer and portable .zip builds for Arm-based Windows PCs.
• macOS: a .dmg for Apple Silicon Macs that requires macOS 13 (Ventura) or newer. The current page does not list an Intel Mac build.
• Linux x64: a .tar.xz archive for distributions using glibc 2.28 or newer.

LTS or regular release? Long Term Support (LTS) versions receive bug-fix updates for two years, which suits studios, classes and anyone who wants a stable tool that will not change under them. Regular releases bring new features sooner. Beginners following current tutorials can use either, but if a course names a specific version, match it.

Installer or portable? The installer adds Start menu shortcuts and file associations. The portable .zip runs from any folder, which is handy on shared machines or for keeping two versions side by side. Our portable vs installer comparison covers the trade-offs in more detail.

Blender publishes its requirements on the official requirements page. For Windows and Linux the minimum is a 64-bit system with a 4-core CPU that supports SSE4.2, 8 GB of RAM and a graphics card with 2 GB of video memory supporting OpenGL 4.3 and Vulkan 1.3. The recommended setup is an 8-core CPU, 32 GB of RAM and 8 GB of video memory. On a Mac you need Apple Silicon and macOS 13 or later, again with 8 GB of RAM as the minimum.

The minimum is enough to learn modelling and do simple renders. Sculpting with high detail, physics simulations and long Cycles renders are where more RAM and a stronger GPU make a real difference. If you are unsure what your PC has, our guide on reading system requirements shows where to find each figure in Windows and macOS.

The Blender download page links SHA256 (and MD5) checksum files for its downloads. Comparing the checksum takes under a minute and proves the file you received is byte-for-byte the one the Blender team published.

• Windows: open PowerShell in your Downloads folder and run Get-FileHash .\filename -Algorithm SHA256.
• macOS: in Terminal, run shasum -a 256 filename.
• Linux: run sha256sum filename.

Compare the result with the matching line in the official checksum file. If even one character differs, delete the file and download it again from blender.org. Our explainers on what a checksum is and how to verify downloaded files walk through this step by step.

1. Open blender.org/download and pick the build for your operating system and processor.
2. Download the matching checksum file and verify the installer as shown above.
3. Windows installer: run the .msi, accept the license, choose the install folder and finish. Portable: extract the .zip and run blender.exe from the extracted folder.
4. macOS: open the .dmg and drag Blender into Applications.
5. Linux: extract the .tar.xz archive and run the blender file inside it.
6. Update your graphics driver from the GPU maker's site before your first serious session; old drivers are a common cause of viewport glitches and crashes.

If Windows shows a blue SmartScreen prompt on a file you downloaded and verified yourself, read our SmartScreen guide before deciding whether to continue.

Yes. According to the Blender license page, Blender is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2 or later, with some components under compatible permissive licenses. The page states that Blender can be used for any purpose, including commercial work by studios, game developers and freelancers, and that what you create with Blender is your sole property.

That has a practical safety benefit: there is no paid edition to "unlock". Any site that sells a Blender license key, a "Blender Pro" upgrade or a "cracked" version is not offering anything real. Paid add-ons and asset packs from third parties do exist, but they are optional extras, not Blender itself.

Watch for these warning signs: a download button that leads to a .exe "downloader" instead of the Blender installer, a file far smaller than the size shown on blender.org, a request to pay or enter a serial number, or a site that pushes a browser extension before the download starts. Search ads can also point to look-alike domains, so type blender.org yourself rather than clicking an ad. Our guide to avoiding fake download buttons shows the most common tricks.

If you need precise engineering parts rather than artistic models, Blender may not be the best fit; see our CAD software guide for parametric tools such as FreeCAD.