Camunda licensing is the set of terms under which Camunda Services GmbH and its affiliates sell and distribute the Camunda process orchestration platform. The platform has two product generations. Camunda 8 is a Zeebe-based engine that Camunda hosts as SaaS or that customers run themselves as Self-Managed software. Camunda 7 is the earlier Java-based framework, which has a Community Edition under open source licences and an Enterprise Edition under a licence agreement.[11] Camunda’s pricing page describes three ways to buy or run Camunda 8: a free Development option run on the customer’s own machine, a Production option that runs on the customer’s own infrastructure and requires an Enterprise licence, and Camunda SaaS, which Camunda hosts.[1] Production use of Camunda 8 from version 8.6 therefore requires a paid subscription, apart from licences Camunda grants for non-profit, academic and personal use.[4] For the general models, see subscription and consumption licensing and open source software licensing.
Editions and entry points
Camunda’s contract documents are published together in a Legal Center. The contracts relevant to licensing are the General Terms for Camunda Enterprise, the Camunda Self-Managed Non-Production Terms, the Camunda Trial and Free Terms, the Camunda Starter Terms, the Camunda 7 Trial Terms, the Camunda License 1.0, the Camunda Partner Agreement and the Online Minimum Terms for resold subscriptions.[13] Which one applies depends on how the software was obtained.
| Entry point | Governing document | Production use | Counted unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camunda SaaS Enterprise | General Terms for Camunda Enterprise[2] | Yes, within the Permitted Usage and the Hosting Packages[2] | Process Instances, Tenants, STP Tenants[2] |
| Camunda Self-Managed Enterprise | General Terms for Camunda Enterprise, Exhibit D[2] | Yes, within the Permitted Usage[2] | Process Instances, Tenants, STP Tenants[2] |
| Camunda Self-Managed Non-Production | Self-Managed Non-Production Terms[6] | No[6] | None |
| Camunda Trial and Camunda Free | Trial and Free Terms[8] | No; Free is limited to BPMN and DMN modeling[8] | None |
| Camunda Starter | Starter Terms[9] | Yes, in SaaS[9] | PI, DI, TU, GU and Hosting Packages[9] |
| Camunda 7 Enterprise Edition | Licence agreement for Enterprise components[11] | Yes | Not stated in public documents |
| Camunda 7 Community Edition | Open source licences, mainly Apache 2.0 and MIT[11] | Yes, but end of life[10] | None |
The Starter plan appears in the Legal Center as a current set of terms, but the pricing page no longer lists a Starter plan, so a reader should confirm availability with Camunda before relying on it.[1][9]
Metrics
Camunda 8 pricing is based on usage metrics, and which ones apply depends on the contract. Customers on the current pricing model are billed on process instances and tenants. Customers still on the legacy model of 2023 to 2025 are billed on process instances, decision instances and task users.[7] The Enterprise contract bundles the quantities into one defined term, Permitted Usage: “the number of PI, Tenants, STP Tenants, together with any defined License Scope, in each case to the extent specified in the applicable Order Form.”[2]
A process instance is the technical execution of a BPMN process definition, whether pending or completed, and instances started through call activities are not counted separately.[2] The usage documentation counts only root process instances, which are top-level executions with no parent.[7] A Tenant is a logically isolated environment with separate data, configuration and user permissions. A Straight Through Processing Tenant may only run processes that finish in under 30 seconds and have no task users, and is bought separately as a subscription upgrade.[2] The detail of each metric is in Camunda 8 SaaS plans and usage metrics.
How the licence model changed
Until Camunda 8.5 the components were licensed differently from each other. Zeebe was free under the Zeebe Community License, while Operate, Tasklist, Optimize, Identity and most connectors were free only for development, and Console and Web Modeler were commercial.[4] Camunda announced on 2024-04-09 that it would move to a single licence covering all components in the distribution, with source code available, free use for development and testing, and a production licence required. Camunda 8.6, released on 2024-10-08, was the first version under the new model, and 8.5 was the last release under the old licensing.[4]
The source licence is the Camunda License 1.0. It grants a copyright licence only for use in a Non-Production Environment and tells anyone whose use does not comply to buy a commercial licence from Camunda, its affiliates or authorized resellers.[5] Customers who ran Zeebe 8.5 or earlier in production without a commercial licence were told they stay in good standing on those versions, and that upgrading requires a production licence.[4] The component-by-component position today is in Camunda 8 Self-Managed licensing.
Compliance mechanics
The Enterprise contract relies on reporting and a contractual audit right. Self-Managed Enterprise customers email their consumed quantities for each Permitted Usage metric within 21 days after each calendar quarter. If Camunda receives no report, or reasonably believes a report is materially inaccurate, it may audit the customer’s records no more than once per calendar year, at the customer’s cost, and the right survives for one year after the subscription ends.[2] Where usage exceeds the Permitted Usage, the customer must notify Camunda, which invoices the new annual fee less the annual fee already paid for the current term and adjusts the tier at the next renewal.[2] Use outside the Permitted Usage can also end Camunda’s obligation to provide support at its sole option.[2]
The software itself reads a licence key. Camunda 8 components without a valid licence may show “Non-Production License” in the navigation bar and log warnings, with no effect on startup or function.[3] The Camunda License and the Enterprise terms both prohibit circumventing the key.[5][2]
Support and lifecycle
Camunda’s release policy sets a standard support period of 18 months for Enterprise customers and supports at least the last three released minor versions with patch releases.[12] The Enterprise terms repeat this, counted from the Minor Release date, and add that the customer must then update to a more recent version if one exists.[2] Camunda 7 follows a longer path. The Enterprise Edition end of life moved to 2030-04-09, and the Community Edition receives no further releases after 7.24.[10] See Camunda 7 licensing and end of life.
Programs and channels
Camunda sells directly and through resellers and marketplaces. Partners in the Camunda Connect program may refer customers or resell subscriptions, and customers who buy through a reseller are bound by the Online Minimum Terms. Support is sold in three Customer Success Plans. These are covered in Camunda Enterprise terms, support and partner programs.
Out of scope
This overview does not cover Camunda’s consulting and training terms, the Camunda Academy and certification agreements, the Camunda Marketplace terms of use, the data processing agreement, or any prices and discounts negotiated in an Order Form. Optimize and Console are mentioned only as components of Camunda 8. The Camunda 7 Enterprise Edition licence agreement itself is not public, so its metric and any restrictions beyond those quoted on the Camunda 7 manual page are not described.