diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/ViteConfig.spec.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/ViteConfig.spec.ts
index 325b5b2b9c..5b3b446a1d 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/ViteConfig.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/ViteConfig.spec.ts
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ describe('ViteConfigGenerator', () => {
     expect(
       buildConfig.build?.lib &&
         (buildConfig.build.lib.fileName as () => string)(),
-    ).toEqual('[name].js');
+    ).toEqual('[name].cjs');
     expect(buildConfig.build?.lib && buildConfig.build.lib.formats).toEqual([
       'cjs',
     ]);
@@ -56,6 +56,30 @@ describe('ViteConfigGenerator', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it('getBuildConfigs:main with type module', async () => {
+    const forgeConfig: VitePluginConfig = {
+      build: [
+        {
+          entry: 'src/main.js',
+          config: path.join(configRoot, 'vite.main.config.mjs'),
+          target: 'main',
+        },
+      ],
+      renderer: [],
+      outputFormat: 'es',
+    };
+    const generator = new ViteConfigGenerator(forgeConfig, configRoot, true);
+    const buildConfig = (await generator.getBuildConfigs())[0];
+
+    expect(buildConfig.build?.lib && buildConfig.build.lib.formats).toEqual([
+      'es',
+    ]);
+    expect(
+      buildConfig.build?.lib &&
+        (buildConfig.build.lib.fileName as () => string)(),
+    ).toEqual('[name].mjs');
+  });
+
   it('getBuildConfigs:preload', async () => {
     const forgeConfig: VitePluginConfig = {
       build: [
@@ -84,8 +108,8 @@ describe('ViteConfigGenerator', () => {
     expect(buildConfig.build?.rollupOptions?.output).toEqual({
       format: 'cjs',
       inlineDynamicImports: true,
-      entryFileNames: '[name].js',
-      chunkFileNames: '[name].js',
+      entryFileNames: '[name].cjs',
+      chunkFileNames: '[name].cjs',
       assetFileNames: '[name].[ext]',
     });
     expect(buildConfig.clearScreen).toBe(false);
@@ -94,6 +118,30 @@ describe('ViteConfigGenerator', () => {
     ).toEqual(['@electron-forge/plugin-vite:hot-restart']);
   });
 
+  it('getBuildConfigs:preload with type module', async () => {
+    const forgeConfig: VitePluginConfig = {
+      build: [
+        {
+          entry: 'src/preload.js',
+          config: path.join(configRoot, 'vite.preload.config.mjs'),
+          target: 'preload',
+        },
+      ],
+      renderer: [],
+      outputFormat: 'es',
+    };
+    const generator = new ViteConfigGenerator(forgeConfig, configRoot, true);
+    const buildConfig = (await generator.getBuildConfigs())[0];
+
+    expect(buildConfig.build?.rollupOptions?.output).toEqual({
+      format: 'es',
+      inlineDynamicImports: true,
+      entryFileNames: '[name].mjs',
+      chunkFileNames: '[name].mjs',
+      assetFileNames: '[name].[ext]',
+    });
+  });
+
   it('getRendererConfig:renderer', async () => {
     const forgeConfig = {
       build: [],
diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/VitePlugin.spec.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/VitePlugin.spec.ts
index a67d91ea61..bfd5898ab3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/VitePlugin.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/VitePlugin.spec.ts
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ describe('VitePlugin', async () => {
 
     it('should remove config.forge from package.json', async () => {
       const packageJSON = {
-        main: './.vite/build/main.js',
+        main: './.vite/build/main.cjs',
         config: { forge: 'config.js' },
       };
       await fs.promises.writeFile(
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ describe('VitePlugin', async () => {
     });
 
     it('should succeed if there is no config.forge', async () => {
-      const packageJSON = { main: '.vite/build/main.js' };
+      const packageJSON = { main: '.vite/build/main.cjs' };
       await fs.promises.writeFile(
         packageJSONPath,
         JSON.stringify(packageJSON),
@@ -88,17 +88,21 @@ describe('VitePlugin', async () => {
         plugin.packageAfterCopy({} as ResolvedForgeConfig, packagedPath),
       ).rejects.toThrow(/entry point/);
     });
-
-    afterAll(async () => {
-      await fs.promises.rm(viteTestDir, { recursive: true });
-    });
   });
 
   describe('resolveForgeConfig', () => {
+    const packageJSONPath = path.join(viteTestDir, 'package.json');
     let plugin: VitePlugin;
 
-    beforeAll(() => {
+    beforeAll(async () => {
       plugin = new VitePlugin(baseConfig);
+      plugin.setDirectories(viteTestDir);
+      // Write a default package.json for tests that don't care about its contents
+      await fs.promises.writeFile(
+        packageJSONPath,
+        JSON.stringify({ main: '.vite/build/main.cjs' }),
+        'utf-8',
+      );
     });
 
     it('sets packagerConfig and packagerConfig.ignore if it does not exist', async () => {
@@ -107,6 +111,48 @@ describe('VitePlugin', async () => {
       expect(config.packagerConfig.ignore).toBeTypeOf('function');
     });
 
+    it('should fail if outputFormat is "es" but package.json has no "type": "module" and main is not .mjs', async () => {
+      const esmPlugin = new VitePlugin({ ...baseConfig, outputFormat: 'es' });
+      esmPlugin.setDirectories(viteTestDir);
+
+      await fs.promises.writeFile(
+        packageJSONPath,
+        JSON.stringify({ main: '.vite/build/main.js' }),
+        'utf-8',
+      );
+      await expect(
+        esmPlugin.resolveForgeConfig({} as ResolvedForgeConfig),
+      ).rejects.toThrow(/outputFormat: "es"/);
+    });
+
+    it('should succeed if outputFormat is "es" and package.json has "type": "module"', async () => {
+      const esmPlugin = new VitePlugin({ ...baseConfig, outputFormat: 'es' });
+      esmPlugin.setDirectories(viteTestDir);
+
+      await fs.promises.writeFile(
+        packageJSONPath,
+        JSON.stringify({ main: '.vite/build/main.js', type: 'module' }),
+        'utf-8',
+      );
+      await expect(
+        esmPlugin.resolveForgeConfig({} as ResolvedForgeConfig),
+      ).resolves.toBeDefined();
+    });
+
+    it('should succeed if outputFormat is "es" and main entry uses .mjs extension', async () => {
+      const esmPlugin = new VitePlugin({ ...baseConfig, outputFormat: 'es' });
+      esmPlugin.setDirectories(viteTestDir);
+
+      await fs.promises.writeFile(
+        packageJSONPath,
+        JSON.stringify({ main: '.vite/build/main.mjs' }),
+        'utf-8',
+      );
+      await expect(
+        esmPlugin.resolveForgeConfig({} as ResolvedForgeConfig),
+      ).resolves.toBeDefined();
+    });
+
     describe('packagerConfig.ignore', () => {
       it('does not overwrite an existing ignore value', async () => {
         const config = await plugin.resolveForgeConfig({
@@ -207,4 +253,8 @@ describe('VitePlugin', async () => {
       });
     });
   });
+
+  afterAll(async () => {
+    await fs.promises.rm(viteTestDir, { recursive: true });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/subprocess-worker.spec.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/subprocess-worker.spec.ts
index 7bafc5ca47..7ec733ab3b 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/subprocess-worker.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/subprocess-worker.spec.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ const workerPath = path.resolve(
 function runWorker(
   kind: 'build' | 'renderer',
   index: number,
-  config: Pick<VitePluginConfig, 'build' | 'renderer'>,
+  config: Pick<VitePluginConfig, 'build' | 'renderer' | 'outputFormat'>,
 ) {
   return new Promise<{ code: number | null; stderr: string }>(
     (resolve, reject) => {
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ describe('subprocess-worker', () => {
     const { code, stderr } = await runWorker('build', 0, config);
     expect(code, stderr).toBe(0);
 
-    const outFile = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'main.js');
+    const outFile = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'main.cjs');
     expect(fs.existsSync(outFile)).toBe(true);
     // getBuildDefine should have injected the renderer name define.
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(outFile, 'utf8');
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ describe('subprocess-worker', () => {
     const { code, stderr } = await runWorker('build', 0, config);
     expect(code, stderr).toBe(0);
 
-    const outFile = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'main-with-define.js');
+    const outFile = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'main-with-define.cjs');
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(outFile, 'utf8');
     // MAIN_WINDOW_VITE_NAME should be statically replaced with "main_window"
     expect(contents).toContain('"main_window"');
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ describe('subprocess-worker', () => {
     const { code, stderr } = await runWorker('build', 0, config);
     expect(code, stderr).toBe(0);
 
-    const outFile = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'preload.js');
+    const outFile = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'preload.cjs');
     expect(fs.existsSync(outFile)).toBe(true);
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(outFile, 'utf8');
     expect(contents).toContain('from-preload');
@@ -176,8 +176,8 @@ describe('subprocess-worker', () => {
     expect(code, stderr).toBe(0);
 
     // Only secondary should be built, not main.
-    const secondaryOut = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'secondary.js');
-    const mainOut = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'main.js');
+    const secondaryOut = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'secondary.cjs');
+    const mainOut = path.join(viteOutDir, 'build', 'main.cjs');
     expect(fs.existsSync(secondaryOut)).toBe(true);
     expect(fs.existsSync(mainOut)).toBe(false);
     const contents = fs.readFileSync(secondaryOut, 'utf8');
diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/src/Config.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/src/Config.ts
index b7cd6847be..eba29d573e 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/src/Config.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/src/Config.ts
@@ -49,4 +49,19 @@ export interface VitePluginConfig {
    * @defaultValue `true`
    */
   concurrent?: boolean | number;
+
+  /**
+   * The output format to use for the main process and preload script builds.
+   *
+   * - `'cjs'` outputs CommonJS bundles (the default, matching Electron's traditional module system).
+   * - `'es'` outputs ES module bundles. When using this option, make sure that your Electron version
+   *   supports ESM (Electron >= 28) and you change your `main` entry in `package.json` and your `preload`
+   *   entry in any BrowserWindow to use the `.mjs` extension.
+   *
+   *    **Note: ESM preload scripts only work with unsandboxed renderers.**
+   *
+   * @defaultValue `'cjs'`
+   * @see https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/esm
+   */
+  outputFormat?: 'cjs' | 'es';
 }
diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/src/VitePlugin.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/src/VitePlugin.ts
index bf9f5152c1..61fa550366 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/src/VitePlugin.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/src/VitePlugin.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ const subprocessWorkerPath = path.resolve(
 );
 
 function spawnViteBuild(
-  pluginConfig: Pick<VitePluginConfig, 'build' | 'renderer'>,
+  pluginConfig: Pick<VitePluginConfig, 'build' | 'renderer' | 'outputFormat'>,
   kind: 'build' | 'renderer',
   index: number,
   projectDir: string,
@@ -222,6 +222,19 @@ export default class VitePlugin extends PluginBase<VitePluginConfig> {
   resolveForgeConfig = async (
     forgeConfig: ResolvedForgeConfig,
   ): Promise<ResolvedForgeConfig> => {
+    if (this.config.outputFormat === 'es') {
+      const pj = await fs.readJson(
+        path.resolve(this.projectDir, 'package.json'),
+      );
+      if (pj.type !== 'module' && !pj.main?.endsWith('.mjs')) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `The Vite plugin is configured with outputFormat: "es", but your package.json does not have "type": "module" ` +
+            `and the main entry point does not use an .mjs extension. Electron requires one of these for ESM support in the main process. ` +
+            `See https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/esm for more details.`,
+        );
+      }
+    }
+
     forgeConfig.packagerConfig ??= {};
 
     if (forgeConfig.packagerConfig.ignore) {
@@ -259,6 +272,15 @@ Your packaged app may be larger than expected if you dont ignore everything othe
 the generated files). Instead, it is ${JSON.stringify(pj.main)}.`);
     }
 
+    const expectedExt = this.config.outputFormat === 'es' ? '.mjs' : '.cjs';
+    if (!pj.main?.endsWith(expectedExt)) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `The Vite plugin is configured with outputFormat: "${this.config.outputFormat ?? 'cjs'}", ` +
+          `but your package.json "main" entry is ${JSON.stringify(pj.main)} which does not use the expected ` +
+          `"${expectedExt}" extension. Update your "main" field to match the output format.`,
+      );
+    }
+
     if (pj.config) {
       delete pj.config.forge;
     }
@@ -275,11 +297,12 @@ the generated files). Instead, it is ${JSON.stringify(pj.main)}.`);
    */
   private get serializableConfig(): Pick<
     VitePluginConfig,
-    'build' | 'renderer'
+    'build' | 'renderer' | 'outputFormat'
   > {
     return {
       build: this.config.build,
       renderer: this.config.renderer,
+      outputFormat: this.config.outputFormat ?? 'cjs',
     };
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.main.config.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.main.config.ts
index ab6d1bc2d1..2d1b7c344f 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.main.config.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.main.config.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@ export function getConfig(
   forgeEnv: ConfigEnv<'build'>,
   userConfig: UserConfig = {},
 ): UserConfig {
-  const { forgeConfigSelf } = forgeEnv;
+  const { forgeConfigSelf, forgeConfig } = forgeEnv;
+  const isEsm = forgeConfig.outputFormat === 'es';
   const define = getBuildDefine(forgeEnv);
   const config: UserConfig = {
     build: {
@@ -33,8 +34,8 @@ export function getConfig(
   if (userConfig.build?.lib == null) {
     config.build!.lib = {
       entry: forgeConfigSelf.entry,
-      fileName: () => '[name].js',
-      formats: ['cjs'],
+      fileName: () => (isEsm ? '[name].mjs' : '[name].cjs'),
+      formats: [isEsm ? 'es' : 'cjs'],
     };
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.preload.config.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.preload.config.ts
index e7c206d068..91f25ef001 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.preload.config.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.preload.config.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ export function getConfig(
   forgeEnv: ConfigEnv<'build'>,
   userConfig: UserConfig = {},
 ): UserConfig {
-  const { forgeConfigSelf } = forgeEnv;
+  const { forgeConfigSelf, forgeConfig } = forgeEnv;
+  const isEsm = forgeConfig.outputFormat === 'es';
   const config: UserConfig = {
     build: {
       copyPublicDir: false,
@@ -19,11 +20,11 @@ export function getConfig(
         // Preload scripts may contain Web assets, so use the `build.rollupOptions.input` instead `build.lib.entry`.
         input: forgeConfigSelf.entry,
         output: {
-          format: 'cjs',
+          format: isEsm ? 'es' : 'cjs',
           // It should not be split chunks.
           inlineDynamicImports: true,
-          entryFileNames: '[name].js',
-          chunkFileNames: '[name].js',
+          entryFileNames: isEsm ? '[name].mjs' : '[name].cjs',
+          chunkFileNames: isEsm ? '[name].mjs' : '[name].cjs',
           assetFileNames: '[name].[ext]',
         },
       },
diff --git a/packages/template/vite-typescript/tmpl/main.ts b/packages/template/vite-typescript/tmpl/main.ts
index f4f001e6e5..cfab2abcaf 100644
--- a/packages/template/vite-typescript/tmpl/main.ts
+++ b/packages/template/vite-typescript/tmpl/main.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ const createWindow = () => {
     width: 800,
     height: 600,
     webPreferences: {
-      preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.js'),
+      preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.cjs'),
     },
   });
 
diff --git a/packages/template/vite-typescript/tmpl/package.json b/packages/template/vite-typescript/tmpl/package.json
index 2be6fdf59b..25e40dabd3 100644
--- a/packages/template/vite-typescript/tmpl/package.json
+++ b/packages/template/vite-typescript/tmpl/package.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "main": ".vite/build/main.js",
+  "main": ".vite/build/main.cjs",
   "scripts": {
     "lint": "eslint --ext .ts,.tsx .",
     "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit"
diff --git a/packages/template/vite/tmpl/index.js b/packages/template/vite/tmpl/index.js
index 121c5c9f80..fc6f5b335e 100644
--- a/packages/template/vite/tmpl/index.js
+++ b/packages/template/vite/tmpl/index.js
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ const createWindow = () => {
     width: 800,
     height: 600,
     webPreferences: {
-      preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.js'),
+      preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.cjs'),
     },
   });
 
diff --git a/packages/template/vite/tmpl/package.json b/packages/template/vite/tmpl/package.json
index 40c9b9b582..f53bdf254f 100644
--- a/packages/template/vite/tmpl/package.json
+++ b/packages/template/vite/tmpl/package.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "main": ".vite/build/main.js",
+  "main": ".vite/build/main.cjs",
   "devDependencies": {
     "@electron/fuses": "^2.0.0",
     "@electron-forge/plugin-vite": "ELECTRON_FORGE/VERSION",
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 9755dcfacc..1817cdbf63 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -10828,8 +10828,8 @@ __metadata:
   linkType: hard
 
 "got@npm:^11.7.0, got@npm:^11.8.5":
-  version: 11.8.5
-  resolution: "got@npm:11.8.5"
+  version: 11.8.6
+  resolution: "got@npm:11.8.6"
   dependencies:
     "@sindresorhus/is": "npm:^4.0.0"
     "@szmarczak/http-timer": "npm:^4.0.5"
@@ -10842,13 +10842,13 @@ __metadata:
     lowercase-keys: "npm:^2.0.0"
     p-cancelable: "npm:^2.0.0"
     responselike: "npm:^2.0.0"
-  checksum: 10c0/14d160a21d085b0fca1c794ae17411d6abe05491a1db37b97e8218bf434d086eea335cadc022964f1896a60ac036db6af0debad94d3747f85503bc7d21bf0fa0
+  checksum: 10c0/754dd44877e5cf6183f1e989ff01c648d9a4719e357457bd4c78943911168881f1cfb7b2cb15d885e2105b3ad313adb8f017a67265dd7ade771afdb261ee8cb1
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
 "got@npm:^14.4.5":
-  version: 14.6.4
-  resolution: "got@npm:14.6.4"
+  version: 14.6.6
+  resolution: "got@npm:14.6.6"
   dependencies:
     "@sindresorhus/is": "npm:^7.0.1"
     byte-counter: "npm:^0.1.0"
@@ -10862,7 +10862,7 @@ __metadata:
     p-cancelable: "npm:^4.0.1"
     responselike: "npm:^4.0.2"
     type-fest: "npm:^4.26.1"
-  checksum: 10c0/ee8980feb842db876cffa42fa27da6d90cc1a9cfe2a38942f4b319cbb37c000e34919a7e5dea017a0fa53b0535c02d00426abbbf528d6a4e89c6eb07b2bde977
+  checksum: 10c0/dab4dbd35deac5634450cd745187ba68cfb9fd8d9236bec4861b633c7dc54f6383fde04cf504b16148625c307a229ff8cccf35d6622824ab13243c9d0af0fcc1
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard