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Elastic licensing

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This article covers the source code licenses of Elasticsearch and Kibana (Elastic License 2.0, SSPL and AGPLv3), self-managed subscriptions under the Elastic Software Subscription Agreement, and Elastic Cloud consumption. It is not legal advice. An executed Order Form controls over the published agreements.

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Elastic licensing separates the license on the software from the subscription that unlocks paid features and support. Elastic’s default distributions of Elasticsearch and Kibana are published under the Elastic License 2.0 (ELv2), and the source code of those two products may be used under ELv2, the Server Side Public License (SSPL) 1.0 or, for the free portions, the GNU AGPLv3.[3] Self-managed subscriptions are sold under the Elastic Software Subscription Agreement, per Resource Unit for Enterprise and per Billable Node for the legacy Platinum tier.[6] Elastic Cloud is sold under the Elastic Cloud Service Subscription Agreement and metered by the Resources consumed.[7]

Editions

Source code and distribution licenses

Period Elasticsearch and Kibana source code Default distribution 
Before 7.11 Apache 2.0 for the open source portions[4] Elastic License, since 2018[4] 
2021 (from 7.11) Dual: SSPL or Elastic License[4] ELv2; no Apache 2.0 distribution[3] 
2024 onward ELv2, SSPL 1.0 or AGPLv3 (AGPLv3 for the free portions)[3] ELv2[3] 

Elastic announced the 2021 change on 2021-01-14, saying it moved the Apache 2.0 source code to a dual SSPL and Elastic License model to restrict cloud service providers “from offering Elasticsearch and Kibana as a service without contributing back”; the change applied to all maintained branches before release 7.11.[4] On 2024-08-29 Elastic announced that it would add AGPL “as another license option next to ELv2 and SSPL”, noting that AGPL is approved by the Open Source Initiative and that nothing was removed.[5] The licensing FAQ expected the AGPL addition to take effect before 8.16 was generally available, and states that the change affects only Elasticsearch and Kibana; client libraries, Beats and Logstash remain under Apache 2.0.[3]

When using the source code, each source file header states which licenses may be applied.[3] For the general law of copyleft and source-available licenses, see Software license and License compliance.

Subscription tiers

Tier Self-managed Elastic Cloud 
Free and open – Basic Free under ELv2[8] Not a Cloud level 
Standard Not listed[8] Available[9] 
Gold Discontinued; existing customers supported to end of term[8] Available[9] 
Platinum Existing customers only; may expand or renew[8] Available[9] 
Enterprise Available[8] Available[9] 

The Subscription Level determines the Eligible Features and Functions and the Support Services a customer may use, as described on the subscriptions page.[6] Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (ECK) is offered only in Basic and Enterprise.[11]

Metrics

Elastic name Catalog row Applies to Source 
Resource Units Resource Units Self-managed Enterprise Software Subscription Agreement §1[6] 
Billable Nodes Billable Nodes Self-managed Platinum Software Subscription Agreement §1[6] 
Node Node Input to Billable Nodes Software Subscription Agreement §1[6] 
Elastic Consumption Units (ECU) Elastic Consumption Units Elastic Cloud annual prepaid Pricing FAQ[9] 
GB of RAM per hour GB of RAM per hour Elastic Cloud Hosted Pricing FAQ[9] 

ECK reports Resource Units as “Enterprise Resource Units (ERUs)”.[11] The pricing page summarizes self-managed pricing as licensing “based on number of nodes and used RAM”.[10]

Counting / floors

Enterprise, per Resource Unit (2025-09-12). The Enterprise license is granted “for the number of Resource Units set forth in the applicable Order Form”. Resource Units equal the total GB of RAM Addressable by all Billable Enterprise Software, divided by 64 and rounded up; Addressable means the RAM that benefits the execution of the Software.[6] Billable Enterprise Software excludes Beats and Elastic Agent on ECK, and Beats, Elastic Agent, Logstash, Endgame Agent and Elastic Endpoint agent elsewhere.[6] Catalog: Enterprise Subscription licensed per Resource Unit (64 GB of Addressable RAM, rounded up).

Platinum, per Billable Node per Project (2025-09-12). Billable Nodes are the greater of the number of Nodes running across a Project and the total Addressable RAM of those Nodes divided by 64, rounded up. Nodes in a Non-production Environment (development, staging or quality assurance) are not counted. A Node is an Elasticsearch instance not configured as a dedicated client, coordinating or ingest node.[6] Catalog: Platinum Subscription licensed per Billable Node per Project; non-production excluded.

Same level across connected clusters (2025-09-12). For Cross-Cluster Search and Cross-Cluster Replication, all connected clusters must be on the same Subscription Level.[6] Catalog: Cross-cluster search and replication: all connected clusters on the same Subscription Level.

Excess use (2025-09-12). A customer using more Billable Nodes or Resource Units than purchased must notify Elastic in writing with the number of Excess Units and the date of first use; they are invoiced pro rata from first use for the rest of the term.[6] Catalog: Excess Billable Nodes or Resource Units: notify and pay pro rata from first use. See True-up.

Verification (2025-09-12). Elastic may verify use on 30 days’ notice, remotely or, if that is not possible, on site no more than once in any 12-month period; any shortfall is invoiced, and the right survives one year after the Agreement ends.[6] Catalog: Verification on 30 days' notice, at most once per 12 months.

ECK measurement (as of 2026-09-26). ECK tracks the memory capacity of managed Elastic Stack deployments and reports it as ERUs, based on configured memory (the container memory limit, or else twice the -Xmx heap) rather than runtime consumption. Elasticsearch, Kibana, APM Server and Enterprise Search count; Logstash is counted for information only; Elastic Agent, Beats and Elastic Maps Server do not count.[11] Catalog: ECK reports configured memory as Enterprise Resource Units.

Virtualization & partitioning

Elastic’s self-managed metrics are defined on RAM and Elasticsearch instances, not on physical hosts, sockets or cores. A Node is an instance “running on a server”, and Resource Units count Addressable RAM wherever the Software is deployed, on premises or in the customer’s public cloud account.[6] Elastic publishes no hard or soft partitioning policy.

Cloud / BYOL

ELv2 managed-service limitation (as of 2026-09-26). “You may not provide the software to third parties as a hosted or managed service, where the service provides users with access to any substantial set of the features or functionality of the software.”[1] ELv2 also forbids circumventing license key functionality and removing licensing or copyright notices, requires that recipients get a copy of the terms, and requires modified copies to carry prominent notices of modification.[1] Catalog: ELv2: no hosted or managed service giving access to a substantial set of features, ELv2: no circumvention of license key functionality, ELv2: preserve notices and pass on the terms; mark modified copies.

Elastic’s FAQ gives examples. A SaaS product with a search box, a contractor setting up Elasticsearch for a client’s internal use, and view-only Kibana dashboards inside a SaaS product are permitted. A managed service provider whose customers access substantial portions of Elasticsearch or Kibana “may not be permitted”. A service giving customers direct access to substantial portions of the Elasticsearch APIs and Kibana UI is not permitted.[2]

Source code options (2024-08-29). Public cloud providers “will need to comply with SSPL, AGPLv3 or the Elastic License” to provide a version released after the change.[3] Elastic describes SSPL as requiring a provider of the product as a service to publicly release modifications and the source code of its management layers, and AGPLv3 as requiring modifications and derivative works to be available under the same license.[3] AGPLv3 section 13 requires a modified version to offer network users its Corresponding Source.[12] Catalog: Public cloud providers must comply with SSPL, AGPLv3 or ELv2 for post-change versions, Elasticsearch and Kibana source code: choice of ELv2, SSPL 1.0 or AGPLv3, 2021: Apache 2.0 source moved to dual SSPL and Elastic License before 7.11.

Subscription agreements (2025-09-12; 2026-03-05). Both the Software and the Cloud Service Subscription Agreements prohibit using the licensed offering for time-sharing, software-as-a-service, service bureau or application service provider offerings.[6][7] Self-managed Software may run in the customer’s public cloud account.[6] Catalog: Self-managed subscription: no SaaS, time-sharing or service bureau use.

Elastic Cloud consumption (as of 2026-09-26). Elastic Cloud Hosted is priced on the instance size of each running component, “charged per GB of RAM/hour”, varying by provider, region, hardware profile and number of availability zones; pricing is linear, and snapshot storage and data transfer are metered separately.[9] Elastic Cloud Serverless uses usage-based pricing.[10] New annual subscriptions bought directly from Elastic are prepaid in Elastic Consumption Units, with usage deducted from the ECU balance.[9] Under the Cloud agreement, Resources are metered at the then on-demand rates at the time of use; unused Credit Allotments do not carry over between Consumption Periods, and unused Monthly Allotments of an Annual Subscription do not carry over between months.[7] Catalog: Elastic Cloud Consumption Subscription: on-demand rates; unused credits do not carry over, Elastic Cloud Annual Subscription: Monthly Allotments do not carry over. For the model in general see Subscription and consumption licensing and Cloud BYOL.

Programs

Program Catalog row Terms 
Self-managed Enterprise Self-managed Enterprise Subscription Per Resource Unit on the Order Form[6] 
Self-managed Platinum Self-managed Platinum Subscription (existing customers only) Per Billable Node per Project; existing customers only[6][8] 
Self-managed Gold Self-managed Gold Subscription (discontinued) Discontinued[8] 
Free and open – Basic Free and open – Basic Free; paid features need a subscription[2] 
Elastic Cloud Monthly Elastic Cloud Monthly Subscription Month to month, paid in arrears at on-demand rates[7] 
Elastic Cloud Consumption Elastic Cloud Consumption Subscription Committed Credit Allotment per Consumption Period of up to 12 months[7] 
Elastic Cloud Annual Elastic Cloud Annual Subscription Prepaid Annual Allotment released in Monthly Allotments[7] 
Elastic Cloud via marketplaces Elastic Cloud via cloud marketplaces AWS, Azure and Google Cloud marketplaces[9] 

On Elastic Cloud, a monthly subscription’s level can be changed from the console: upgrades take effect immediately and downgrades at the next invoice date. Features of a higher level require an upgrade, and a customer cannot downgrade while using features of its current level.[9] Platinum and Enterprise carry a 99.95% monthly uptime SLA on Hosted and Serverless.[10] Marketplace purchases are billed through the marketplace account and cannot be cancelled by the customer.[7] Catalog: Self-managed Platinum closed to new customers; Gold discontinued.

Out of scope

  • Self-managed subscription prices and Elastic Cloud per-region rates (the deployment pricing table is not tabulated here).
  • The Elastic Cloud Enterprise “ECE Instances” billing metric, which the subscriptions page mentions without a published definition.
  • OEM, reseller and partner agreements; the Financial Services Addendum.
  • End-of-life products (Enterprise Search, App Search, Workplace Search).
  • Products outside Elasticsearch and Kibana (Beats, Logstash, client libraries), which remain under Apache 2.0.

Catalog rows

References

  1. Elastic License 2.0Limitations; Notices; Termination. No version date on the pageRetrieved 2026-09-26.
  2. FAQ on Elastic License 2.0 (ELv2)Undated pageRetrieved 2026-09-26.
  3. FAQ on Software LicensingChange log: last entry August 29, 2024Effective 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  4. Doubling down on open, Part IIOfficial Elastic announcement (Shay Banon)Effective 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  5. Elasticsearch Is Open Source. Again!Official Elastic announcement (Shay Banon)Effective 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  6. Elastic Software Subscription Agreement (Global, V09122025.1)Definitions (§1); License grant (§4.1); Excess use and verification (§5); Restrictions (§8.3)Effective 2025-09-12. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  7. Elastic Cloud Service Subscription Agreement (Global, V03052026.1)Annual (§5), Consumption (§6) and Monthly (§7) SubscriptionsEffective 2026-03-05. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  8. Elastic self-managed subscriptionsTier and feature matrix with footnotes. Undated pageRetrieved 2026-09-26.
  9. Elastic pricing FAQUndated pageRetrieved 2026-09-26.
  10. Elastic pricingHosted vs. Serverless vs. Self-managed comparison. Undated pageRetrieved 2026-09-26.
  11. Manage your license in Elastic Cloud on KubernetesElastic Docs. Undated pageRetrieved 2026-09-26.
  12. GNU Affero General Public License version 3 (text hosted by the Open Source Initiative)License text only; §13 Remote Network InteractionRetrieved 2026-09-26.

See also

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