diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/__tests__/plugins/esbuild.spec.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/__tests__/plugins/esbuild.spec.ts
index 9a350a46bee5a2..6591ecee8b9876 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/__tests__/plugins/esbuild.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/__tests__/plugins/esbuild.spec.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 import { describe, expect, test } from 'vitest'
 import type { ResolvedConfig, UserConfig } from '../../config'
-import { resolveEsbuildTranspileOptions } from '../../plugins/esbuild'
+import {
+  ESBuildTransformResult,
+  resolveEsbuildTranspileOptions,
+  transformWithEsbuild
+} from '../../plugins/esbuild'
 
 describe('resolveEsbuildTranspileOptions', () => {
   test('resolve default', () => {
@@ -237,6 +241,16 @@ describe('resolveEsbuildTranspileOptions', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('transformWithEsbuild', () => {
+  test('not throw on inline sourcemap', async () => {
+    const result = await transformWithEsbuild(`const foo = 'bar'`, '', {
+      sourcemap: 'inline'
+    })
+    expect(result?.code).toBeTruthy()
+    expect(result?.map).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+})
+
 /**
  * Helper for `resolveEsbuildTranspileOptions` to created resolved config with types.
  * Note: The function only uses `build.target`, `build.minify` and `esbuild` options.
diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/esbuild.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/esbuild.ts
index 129ec41abca7e0..d7844a0f1b3f63 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/esbuild.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/esbuild.ts
@@ -145,9 +145,10 @@ export async function transformWithEsbuild(
         inMap as RawSourceMap
       ]) as SourceMap
     } else {
-      map = resolvedOptions.sourcemap
-        ? JSON.parse(result.map)
-        : { mappings: '' }
+      map =
+        resolvedOptions.sourcemap && resolvedOptions.sourcemap !== 'inline'
+          ? JSON.parse(result.map)
+          : { mappings: '' }
     }
     if (Array.isArray(map.sources)) {
       map.sources = map.sources.map((it) => toUpperCaseDriveLetter(it))