SciChart – Perpetual, Per Developer Licensing

Q: How many licenses do I need to purchase?

All our licenses are per-developer. This means

• You will need to purchase 1 license for each developer* on your team.
• You do not need to purchase licenses for Build Servers or Testers.
• If your team grows, you will need to purchase additional licenses.
• You are responsible for monitoring that you meet our Terms & Conditions with regard to licensing. 

* A developer is defined as ‘an individual who compiles, debugs and develops against code which references SciChart DLLs, Frameworks or AARs’.

A simple way to test if a person is a developer and needs to be licensed is 'Does the person open, compile and run a Visual Studio solution, Xcode project or Android Studio project which references SciChart DLLs (Windows), Frameworks (iOS) or AARs (Android)? If so, then this person is considered a developer by our licensing mechanism and needs to be licensed'.

Prefer a graphic? Check out our flow diagram here!


Q: Are there any restrictions on using SciChart after I have purchased licenses?

All our licenses are perpetual. This means

• Your license is perpetual, you may continue to use it after your support & updates subscription expires.
• The software is licensed at design/develop time, on a per developer basis.
• You are complying with the EULA and terms of sales specific to your licensing structure.

Q: After paying for licenses on a per-develop basis, am I free to distribute SciChart embedded in our application free of charge?

Yes, you are free to copy and distribute SciChart when embedded in your application free of charge, so long as

• You are not creating a substantially similar product or component to SciChart, e.g. wrapping the SciChart library in a wrapper for distribution to multiple developers / departments, either for sale or as part of an internal framework used by other developers in your organisation.
• Your end users are not developers who will be debugging and developing against your code.

These are both rare cases, but if you are doing either of the above you may need developer licenses for each end-user, or an OEM or Site license. Please contact us if in doubt.

Q: Can I install SciChart on my laptop computer as well as my desktop computer?

Yes, sure! The license is per-developer, not per machine. If one developer installs SciChart on both a laptop and a desktop PC this is allowable, so long as both instances are not being used by different users, or at the same time. 

Q: What is the Support & Updates ( + new platforms for package users) subscription, and how long does this last?

All our licenses, as standard, come with 1 year of Support, Updates and New Features.

This means

• While your support subscription is active, you will be entitled to receive technical support. 
• During the support & updates window, you will be entitled to receive and use the latest version(s) of SciChart that match your product keys.
• Trial Users receive standard support via the SciChart Forums. Customers who have an active support subscription may receive priority support via support tickets.
• Package users also receive access to any newly supported platforms within their subscription term. If you’ve purchased a 2D Package and we release support for a new platform in 2D, you’ll instantly have access to it!

Discounts are available for longer license terms which work out even cheaper than our 50% renewal discount!

Q: What happens when my support expires?

• Your license key includes a date-stamp. So do the SciChart libraries. After support & updates expire, you will no longer be able to use your license key on a newer version(s) of SciChart, which were released after your support expired. You will however still be able to use existing versions that you received during your support & updates subscription.
• After support & updates expire, you will not be entitled to receive support. Your account will be marked as ‘Support Expired’ and staff will see this in your profile. Support will resume once your subscription has been renewed.
• You will be contacted by Sales to renew your support & updates subscription at a reduced rate. Renewal is available for a period of time after which the licenses revert to the full price, so it is beneficial to renew as soon as possible! All Renewals are backdated too so be sure to renew as soon as possible to get the most of your support!

Q: Do I have to renew my support to keep using SciChart?

• No, you do not have to renew, but it is advisable if you have an active project. Any bug fixes, improvements or new features that are released after your license expires won’t be available to you and our support desk will no longer be able to help with queries.
• If you purchased SciChart licenses then these are perpetual, meaning the version(s) of SciChart which you received during your support & updates window you may continue to use indefinitely, even after you have redistributed projects that use SciChart. 

Q: What are the benefits of renewing? 

• Renewal is beneficial to continue receiving support. After your support expires, you will no longer be able to submit support tickets, and your profile will be shown to staff as 'Support Expired'.
• Renewing allows you to continue receiving the latest version(s) of SciChart. Your license key will no longer work on a newer version(s) released after your support expiry date. They will continue to work on versions released during your support & updates window. 
• Renewal conveys a time limited 50% renewal discount. After this window lapses, getting re-started with SciChart will revert to the full current price.
• Bug fixes & improvements that arrive after your license has lapsed will not be available to you and are often more costly to devise yourself.
• Package customers remain eligible to access all our future platforms with an active and sustained license!

Q: Can I upgrade my License?

• Yes, upgrades are the difference in price between your existing package and the package you wish to have + an upgrade fee for non-package customers.
• Package customers have no fee and are free to upgrade for just the price differential.

Q: Where can I find out more about the costs/benefits of Renewal? 

• Please see our Renewal FAQ here!

Q: Does the Watermark show in the full version of SciChart?

• Of course not! The watermark 'Powered by SciChart' is visible on the trial version(s) only.