MathWorks licensing is the set of terms under which MathWorks sells MATLAB, Simulink and their add-on products (toolboxes, blocksets, coders and server products). Two choices define every licence. The first is the intended use, which sets eligibility and price: Standard for commercial, government or other organisations, Startups for approved early-stage companies, Academic for teaching and academic research at a degree-granting institute, Student for use with courses at a degree-granting institution, and Home for personal use only.[1] The second is the licence option, which sets how the software may be deployed and counted: Individual (named users), Designated Computer (specific devices), Concurrent (a pool of keys) or Network Named User (named users served from a license server).[2] Each licence is also bought on an annual or a perpetual term, and Software Maintenance Service (SMS) is the annual subscription that delivers new releases and support.[1]
The governing contract is the MathWorks Software License Agreement, which MathWorks ships in the root of every MATLAB installation as license_agreement.txt.[14] For policies such as the number of computers an Individual licence may use, MathWorks refers customers to the SLA and to its Program Offering Guide.[15] For the general models, see concurrent and device licensing and named user licensing.
Editions
MathWorks does not sell editions of MATLAB in the sense of feature tiers. A customer licenses MATLAB, Simulink and each add-on product separately, or as a suite, under one intended use and one licence term. The pricing page lists the intended uses and terms shown below.[1]
| Intended use | Who may use it | Terms offered on the pricing page | Catalog SKU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Commercial, government or other organisations[1] | Annual; Perpetual | Annual, Perpetual |
| Startups | Approved early-stage companies; includes MATLAB, Simulink and 90+ add-ons[1] | Annual | MATLAB Suite, MATLAB and Simulink Suite |
| Academic | Teaching and academic research at a degree-granting institute[1] | Annual; Perpetual | Annual, Perpetual |
| Student | Use with courses at a degree-granting institution[1] | Annual | Annual |
| Home | Personal use only; not for government, academic, commercial, for-profit, revenue-generating or other organisational use[1] | Annual | Annual |
Institution-wide academic licences (Campus-Wide, Academic Teaching and Primary and Secondary School) are sold through sales rather than the pricing page. They are covered in MathWorks academic licensing. The Startups program has its own eligibility rules: most accepted companies were founded within the last five years, have fewer than 15 engineers and less than USD 1 million in annual revenue.[18] Catalog: Startups program eligibility.
Annual and perpetual. An Annual licence gives the right to use the software for 12 months, and SMS is included in the annual fee. A Perpetual licence gives the right to use the software indefinitely, with the first year of SMS included in the purchase price.[1] On the pricing page, only Standard and Academic offer a Perpetual term.[1] Catalog: Annual licence is a 12-month right with SMS included; Perpetual licence is indefinite with first-year SMS.
Metrics
| MathWorks term | Catalog row | What is counted |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | Individual | One named user who may run the software on a limited number of computers[3] |
| Designated Computer | Designated Computer | One computer, identified by host ID; many users, but not at the same time[4] |
| Concurrent | Concurrent | License keys checked out from the network license manager, per product[5] |
| Network Named User | Network Named User | A specified number of named users, served from a license server[6] |
| Total Headcount | Total Headcount | Campus-Wide licence covering all users and machines of an institution[10] |
| Worker | MATLAB Parallel Server worker | Simultaneous MATLAB computational engines on a cluster[11] |
The licence option applies product by product. MATLAB and each toolbox appear separately on a licence and in a network licence file, so a licence position has to be calculated for every product, not just for MATLAB. Detail on each option is in MATLAB and Simulink licence options.
Counting / floors
Individual and Designated Computer. An Individual licence is assigned in the License Center to a named user, who installs the software after signing in with the MathWorks Account for the email address the administrator entered.[3] The number of computers allowed per user is set in the SLA and Program Offering Guide, which are not on the public site. Many MathWorks licences limit the total number of computers, and deactivating an unused computer frees the licence for another one.[20] A Designated Computer licence covers one computer only. Users must be physically present at it, because this option does not allow remote access.[4] Catalog: Individual licence is for one named user on a limited number of computers; Designated Computer licence covers one computer, one user at a time; Designated Computer licence does not allow remote access.
Concurrent and Network Named User. Concurrent licences control access with keys. When all keys for a product are checked out, the license manager denies further requests.[5] A Network Named User licence lists each authorised user in the license manager options file. The number of users for a product must not exceed its keys.[6] Both options need a license server.[2] See MathWorks network license manager.
Floors. The public pages publish no minimum quantity for any licence option. A Master License groups all of a customer’s licences, and an administrator can see the products across them in one view.[9]
Virtualization & partitioning
MathWorks has no processor, core or partitioning metric for desktop products. Virtualization matters in three ways. First, before running MATLAB in a virtual machine or VDI, MathWorks tells customers to check in the Program Offering Guide that their licence offering permits virtual machines or environments.[19] Second, the Designated Computer option rules out remote access, so it does not fit remote desktop or VDI use.[4] Third, on cloud virtual machines a MAC address that changes after a restart counts as a new machine against the licence limit.[16] Catalog: Check the licence offering before virtualising MATLAB; Cloud VMs need a static MAC address. See virtualization and partitioning.
Cloud / BYOL
MathWorks lets eligible customers bring their own licence to public clouds and containers. MATLAB on AWS, Azure, Cloud Center, containers and Jupyter environments is supported under Campus-Wide, Individual, Network Named User and Concurrent licences. The licence must be linked to a MathWorks Account and configured for cloud use.[16] MATLAB Online requires a licence that is current on SMS.[16] MATLAB Parallel Server is licensed by workers, meaning the number of MATLAB computational engines running at the same time.[11] The details are in MathWorks cloud, MATLAB Online and Parallel Server licensing.
Deployment. Applications built with MATLAB Compiler can be run by end users royalty-free using MATLAB Runtime, so recipients of a compiled application need no MATLAB licence.[17] Catalog: Compiled applications run royalty-free on MATLAB Runtime.
Programs
- Software Maintenance Service. SMS provides new releases twice a year, technical support, and online offerings such as MATLAB Online, MATLAB Drive and MATLAB Mobile. A one-year subscription is included with new product licences.[7] An active subscription is needed to buy and install add-on products, and to transfer products or convert licence options.[7] If SMS on a perpetual licence lapses, the products can still be used at the releases they are licensed through. A Concurrent or Network Named User licence on which only some keys lapse may need a custom licence file from MathWorks.[8] Catalog: Active SMS needed to add products, transfer or convert licences; Perpetual products out of maintenance stay usable at licensed releases. See software maintenance and support.
- Master License. A Master License provides a single SMS renewal for all the licences within it. Customers can keep several Master Licenses to match separate budgets or departments.[9]
- Campus-Wide License, Academic Teaching License and Primary and Secondary School License cover education. See MathWorks academic licensing.
- MATLAB and Simulink for Startups and the Accelerator Program. Startups buy annual individual Suite licences at startup pricing. Through the Accelerator Program, MathWorks partners with more than 500 accelerators to give startups free licences.[18]
Contract terms
Audits. MathWorks runs License Compliance Audits, which it describes as consistent with its software licence agreement, with help from an independent third-party auditing firm. Selected customers are notified in advance to discuss timing and procedures.[12] MathWorks names several forms of end-user non-compliance. They include use by someone who is not the licensed user, over-installing beyond the licensed quantity, using more designated computers than licensed, use in unauthorised geographical regions, and buying academic or student software for commercial use.[12] Catalog: License Compliance Audits; MathWorks runs licence compliance audits with a third-party firm; Over-deployment, wrong region and wrong-use licences count as piracy. See software license audit.
Store purchases. Online orders from the MathWorks Store are governed by the Terms and Conditions of Sale. They are subject to Delaware law, and using the products also requires accepting additional licence terms.[13] Software returns must be requested within 30 days of purchase. Products bought from a reseller or distributor follow that source’s return policy.[13] Catalog: Store purchases can be returned within 30 days; Store terms are governed by Delaware law.
Practical checklist
A licence manager reviewing MathWorks entitlements typically needs to know, for each licence number in the License Center:
- the intended use (Standard, Startups, Academic, Student or Home), which limits who may use it and for what;[1]
- the licence option (Individual, Designated Computer, Concurrent or Network Named User), which sets how installations or users are counted;[2]
- the term (annual or perpetual) and the SMS end date, which together decide which releases may be used and whether add-ons can still be bought;[1][7]
- the products and quantities on the licence, which for network licences are the INCREMENT lines in the licence file;[5]
- where the software runs (physical, virtual, cloud or container), checked against the Program Offering Guide.[19]
Out of scope
This article does not cover MathWorks training, consulting or certification services, third-party products sold through MathWorks Connections partners, or the export-control conditions in the SLA. It also does not cover the exact computer and activation limits for each licence option, because these appear only in the SLA and Program Offering Guide, which require sign-in. Pricing varies by region and is not reproduced here.