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Esri ArcGIS licensing

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This article is about Esri ArcGIS licensing: user types (Named User), ArcGIS Pro Single Use and the deprecated Concurrent Use license, ArcGIS Enterprise per-core Server Licenses, ArcGIS Online credits and the Enterprise Agreement. It is not legal advice. Prices and credit quantities per user type are not published in the retrieved documents.

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Esri ArcGIS licensing is how Esri licenses ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Pro and related products. The contract is the Master Agreement, Products and Services (E204), supplemented by the Product-Specific Terms of Use (E300), which footnote the scope of use for each product.[1][2] People are licensed through user types, which are Named User Licenses. The six user types are Viewer, Contributor, Mobile Worker, Creator, Professional and Professional Plus.[4] ArcGIS Pro comes with the Creator and higher user types. Single Use licenses remain available, but the Concurrent Use license type was deprecated on 1 July 2025.[8][10] ArcGIS Enterprise server software is licensed by cores.[1][11] ArcGIS Online consumption is metered in credits.[7] Organization-wide deployment is sold through Enterprise Agreements.[3]

Editions

User types

A member gets a user type when invited to an ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise organization. The user type sets which privileges roles can grant and which apps are included.[4][5] Esri’s overview says Contributor includes everything in Viewer, Mobile Worker everything in Contributor, Professional everything in Creator, and Professional Plus everything in Professional. At least one Creator, Professional or Professional Plus is required to get started with ArcGIS.[6]

User type Catalog row ArcGIS Pro level Cannot (per Esri) 
Viewer Viewer None Create, edit, share, or analyze[4] 
Contributor Contributor None Analyze, create, or share[4] 
Mobile Worker Mobile Worker None Analyze, create, or share[4] 
Creator Creator ArcGIS Pro Basic None stated[4][8] 
Professional Professional ArcGIS Pro Standard None stated[4][8] 
Professional Plus Professional Plus ArcGIS Pro Advanced (with extensions that cannot be reassigned) None stated[4][8] 

Apps that a user type does not include, such as ArcGIS Business Analyst, are sold as add-on licenses for eligible user types.[4]

Server editions

E300 lists ArcGIS Enterprise Standard or Advanced, ArcGIS Enterprise Workgroup, ArcGIS GIS Server (Standard, Advanced, Basic, Workgroup), and optional capability servers such as Image, GeoEvent, GeoAnalytics, Notebook, Mission, Workflow Manager, Video and Knowledge Server. Each carries its own footnotes.[2]

Metrics

Eleven catalog rows use Esri’s names. Six are the user types listed above. The other five are:

Esri name Catalog row Unit Source 
Named User License Named User License User E204 definitions[1] 
Single Use License Single Use License User E204 definitions; ArcGIS Pro docs[1][8] 
Concurrent Use License Concurrent Use License User E204 definitions; deprecated[1][10] 
Server License (core) Server License (core) Core E204 definitions; white paper[1][11] 
ArcGIS Online credits ArcGIS Online credits Other ArcGIS Online Help; E300 footnote 103[7][2] 

For the cross-vendor patterns, see named user licensing, concurrent and device licensing and processor and core licensing.

Counting / floors

Named Users, E204 2.5 (2025-08-01). Credentials belong to designated users and may not be shared. A Named User License may be reassigned only when the former user no longer needs access.[1] If a signed Master Agreement has no Named User terms, E300 applies these terms instead.[2] Rule: Named User credentials may not be shared; reassign only when the former user no longer needs access.

ArcGIS Pro with a Named User, E300 footnote 7 (2025-11-13). A Named User may sign in on up to three machines at the same time but use ArcGIS Pro on only one at a time. Automated operations on more than one machine are not permitted.[2] Named User licenses can also be taken offline if the administrator allows it.[8] Rule: ArcGIS Pro Named User: sign in on up to three machines, use on one at a time.

Single Use (2025-08-01). One user may install the software on up to two computers, with one copy in use at a time.[1] ArcGIS Pro 3.7 and later need new Single Use licenses.[8] Rule: Single Use: one user, installed on up to two computers, one copy in use.

Concurrent Use (2025-08-01; deprecated 2025-07-01). Simultaneous users may not exceed the number of licenses. The right includes passive failover of the license manager.[1] ArcGIS License Manager serves the pool, and licenses can be taken offline (borrowed).[9] Rule: Concurrent Use: simultaneous users may not exceed licenses; licenses can be taken offline. Esri stopped selling new ArcGIS Desktop Concurrent Use licenses in June 2022. From 1 December 2025, renewal quotes switch to the equivalent user type and license conversions in My Esri end. ArcGIS Pro and CityEngine releases from Q2 2026 do not support Concurrent Use.[10] Rule: Concurrent Use license type deprecated July 1, 2025; not valid for ArcGIS Pro 3.7.

Service accounts, E300 footnotes 23 and 82 (2025-11-13). A dedicated Viewer (read-only) or Contributor (read-write) credential may be used for system-to-system integration, with a separate credential for each third-party system.[2] Rule: System-to-system integration: dedicated Viewer (read-only) or Contributor (read-write) credential per third-party system. A Named User may embed their own credential in a script only for their own workflows.[2] Named User credentials may never be embedded in Value-Added Applications.[1] Rule: Named User Credential may be embedded in a script only for that user; never in Value-Added Applications.

Server cores. A Server License may be limited by server cores. Where the software description includes failover rights, the license includes a Failover License (E204, 2025-08-01). E300 footnote 31 grants this for ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS GIS Server.[1][2] Rule: Server Licenses may be limited by server cores; failover rights where the Software description includes them. Esri’s white paper (November 2018) sets the floors. ArcGIS Enterprise needs at least 4 cores per physical location, and ArcGIS Enterprise Workgroup at least 2. Additional cores come in 2-core increments, and hyper-threads do not count.[11] Rule: ArcGIS Enterprise: 4-core minimum per physical location, 2-core increments; hyper-threads not counted.

Workgroup, E300 footnotes 4 and 28 to 30 (2025-11-13). Workgroup allows 10 concurrent end users of non-Workgroup applications and requires SQL Server Express. All components must be on a single server, and optional capability servers are limited to one four-core server.[2] Rule: ArcGIS Enterprise Workgroup: 10 concurrent end users of non-Workgroup applications; single server; SQL Server Express.

Credits. The user types in a subscription determine how many credits it includes. Examples of consumption: feature storage costs 2.4 credits per 10 MB per month, and tiled imagery storage 1.2 credits per GB per month.[7] Under E300 footnote 103 (2025-11-13), consumption draws down allocated or pre-paid units, and Esri may restrict access at 100 percent. Enabled overages are invoiced monthly in arrears.[2] Rule: Consumption-based capabilities draw down allocated or pre-paid units; access may be restricted at 100 percent. Credits included with an annual subscription expire at the end of the term, and purchased credits expire after two years. An organization that runs out enters a restricted state.[7] Rule: Included ArcGIS Online credits expire with the subscription; purchased credits after two years.

Virtualization & partitioning

Esri counts cores as physical or virtual, whichever is more advantageous to the customer. Hyper-threads do not count. Consider a 4-core license on an unvirtualized 8-core machine: it uses all 8 cores and is out of compliance until 4 more cores are licensed. If the machine is virtualized so the license runs on a 4-core VM, the license is sufficient.[11] Rule: Virtualization and cloud: license the cores of the VM; convert cloud vCPUs to physical core equivalents. A Concurrent Use license could serve ArcGIS Pro on a virtual machine.[9] See virtualization and partitioning.

Cloud / BYOL

In the cloud, one vCPU does not always equal one physical core, so Esri says to use the provider’s physical core equivalency.[11] Consultants or contractors may host Esri Offerings, but only for the customer’s exclusive benefit (E204 1.2).[1] Under an EA, EA Products may be hosted on contractor servers for the customer’s benefit.[3] Rule: Consultants or contractors may host Esri Offerings exclusively for the Customer’s benefit. See cloud BYOL.

Programs

Online Services Subscription (Online Services Subscription). E204 defines it as a limited-term subscription that gives one or more Named Users the right to use Online Services.[1] E300 sells ArcGIS Online through Commercial Retail, EAs, Government, Education and Non-profit programs.[2] See subscription and consumption licensing.

Enterprise Agreement (Enterprise Agreement). Under E512S (2026-08-21), the customer may use, copy and deploy the EA Products up to the quantities in the EA Addendum for the EA term, within the United States and listed territories. EA Maintenance is included in the fee. On expiration after full payment, perpetual licenses of deployed EA Products listed in the final Deployment Report survive under the Master Agreement. Term and subscription licenses end, and no more copies may be deployed.[3] Esri’s FAQ gives three years as the standard commitment term and lists customized, programmatic and specialty EAs.[12] Rule: Enterprise Agreement: deploy up to EA Addendum quantities for the term; perpetual Deployed licenses survive expiration. The EA works differently from the Autodesk Single User and Flex Enterprise Business Agreement: Esri’s EA grants deployment up to addendum quantities rather than prepaid tokens.

Out of scope

  • Prices and SKUs. Esri Store and quote prices were not used.
  • Credits included per user type. No quantity is published in the retrieved Help pages.
  • ArcGIS Location Platform and developer plans, ArcGIS Runtime and Engine deployment licenses (E300 footnotes 15 to 22).
  • Educational, non-profit and Hub Premium programs beyond their E300 mention.
  • ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) licensing beyond the Concurrent Use deprecation notice.
  • Esri Community posts, resellers, blogs and SAM-tool vendor material.

Catalog rows

References

  1. Master Agreement, Products and Services (E204)E204-Legal, revised August 1, 2025. Sections 1.2 (consultant hosting), 2.1 (license definitions), 2.5 (Named User Licenses), 2.6 (Value-Added Applications).Effective 2025-08-01. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  2. Product-Specific Terms of Use (E300)November 13, 2025. Footnotes 4, 7, 23, 28 to 31, 82, 103, 106.Effective 2025-11-13. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  3. Enterprise Agreement (E512S)August 21, 2026. Grant of license, Authorized Entities, EA Maintenance, term and expiration.Effective 2026-08-21. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  4. User types, ArcGIS Online HelpViewer, Contributor, Mobile Worker, Creator, Professional, Professional Plus.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  5. User types, ArcGIS Enterprise documentationSame user types in an ArcGIS Enterprise portal.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  6. User Types to License ArcGIS (esri.com)At least one Creator, Professional or Professional Plus required to get started.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  7. Understand credits, ArcGIS Online HelpCredit consumption, restricted state, credit expiry, credits by capability.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  8. ArcGIS Pro license typesNamed User (default), Single Use; Concurrent Use not valid for ArcGIS Pro 3.7.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  9. Concurrent Use licensing, ArcGIS Pro 3.5ArcGIS License Manager pool; licenses can be taken offline.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  10. Deprecation: Concurrent Use License Type and ArcGIS License ManagerEsri Support article 000036856; first published July 1, 2025; last published November 5, 2025.Effective 2025-07-01. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  11. Licensing ArcGIS Enterprise Deployments in Virtualized and Cloud EnvironmentsEsri white paper, November 2018 (month only). Core licensing, hyper-threads, virtual and cloud cores.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  12. Enterprise Agreement (EA) overview and FAQCustomized, programmatic and specialty EAs; standard commitment term three years.Retrieved 2026-09-26.

See also

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