Milestone Systems licensing is the set of terms under which Milestone Systems A/S licenses its XProtect video management software (VMS), its extensions and its clients. The 2026 R1 documentation lists four VMS products: XProtect Corporate, XProtect Expert, XProtect Professional+ and XProtect Express+.[11] Each XProtect system is licensed with two kinds of entitlement. The XProtect base license licenses the product, and device licenses license the cameras and other IP devices connected to it.[4]
The licences are perpetual. Milestone’s pricing page states: “Once you purchase an XProtect license, you have the right to use it indefinitely, rather than for a subscription term.” Updates and support are sold separately as Milestone Care subscriptions.[2] The contract is the Milestone End-user License Agreement (EULA), governed by Danish law. It states that the software is “licensed to you, not sold” and that the licence “is identified by the Software License Code you have received when purchasing the Product”.[1] Catalog proof: XProtect licences are perpetual; Software licensed, not sold; Licence identified by the Software License Code.
Editions
Milestone calls its editions “variants”. The product comparison on milestonesys.com distinguishes them by deployment type and scale.[3]
| Variant | Positioning (Milestone) | Deployment | IP devices per recording server | Recording servers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XProtect Express+ | Small businesses | Single server | 100 | 1 |
| XProtect Professional+ | Mid-sized installations | Centrally managed, multi server | Unrestricted* | Unrestricted* |
| XProtect Expert | Mid-to large-sized installations | Centrally managed, multi server | Unrestricted* | Unrestricted* |
| XProtect Corporate | Mission-critical installations | Centrally managed, distributed sites | Unrestricted* | Unrestricted* |
*“Depending on system configuration”.[3] The EULA confirms the topology limits. Express+ allows the Recording Server on “one (1) computer”. Corporate and Expert allow “an unrestricted number of computers designated as Recording Servers and Failover Recording Servers”.[1] Some features come with the base licence only in the higher variants. A Smart Wall base licence is included with XProtect Corporate and bought separately for XProtect Expert. An Incident Manager base licence is included with Corporate 2022 R2 and later and bought separately for Expert and Professional+.[4] Catalog proof: XProtect Express+ base license; XProtect Professional+ base license; XProtect Expert base license; XProtect Corporate base license; Express+ limited to one management server and one recording server; Corporate and Expert allow unrestricted recording and failover servers.
The current EULA still mentions XProtect Essential+, the former free variant, but only to exclude it from extensions such as XProtect Access and LPR. The 2026 R1 product list does not include it.[1][11]
Metrics
| Unit | Catalog row | Rule in Milestone’s words |
|---|---|---|
| Product | XProtect base license | “As a minimum, you have a base license for one of the XProtect VMS products.”[4] |
| IP device | Device license | One device licence “per IP device connected to and enabled in the Product” on the Supported Device List[1] |
| Enabled video channel | Device license per enabled video channel | Unlisted devices, universal drivers, intermediate systems and encoders above 16 channels[1][9] |
| Stream to central site | XProtect Interconnect camera license | “one license per stream”[4] |
| Door, LPR camera, country module | XProtect Access door license, XProtect LPR camera license, XProtect LPR country module license | Extension licences |
| Mobile video push | XProtect Mobile video push license | One device licence per pushing mobile device[4] |
| Failover node, Hospital Assist channel | XProtect Management Server Failover license, XProtect Hospital Assist license | Per node hostname; per enabled video channel[1] |
The detailed rules are in XProtect device licences and counting.
Counting / floors
Devices, not users. The comparison chart lists the maximum number of users as “Unrestricted*” for every variant.[3] Price and compliance are driven by the variant and “the number of connected devices (cameras, sensors, etc.)”.[2] Each product “may only be used with as many IP devices as you have acquired device licenses for”.[1] Speakers, microphones and input/output devices attached to cameras need no device licence.[4] Catalog proof: Use limited to the number of device licences acquired; Speakers, microphones and I/O devices need no device licence.
Exceptions by device type (EULA 20250425). Multi-lens devices and encoders with up to 16 analog cameras count as one IP device. Encoders with more than 16 channels, devices behind an intermediate system, and devices not on the Supported Device List count per enabled video channel.[1] Devices connected through a universal driver are also licensed per enabled video channel.[9] Catalog proof: One device license per listed IP device; Encoders above 16 channels and intermediate systems count per channel; Universal-driver devices count per enabled video channel.
Enforcement in the product. Licences must be activated. Devices added without activation run in a 30-day grace period, after which they “will stop sending video”, unless they fall within the allowance of device changes without activation.[6] Devices beyond the licences held appear in a Without License column and “cannot be used in your system”.[12] Activation also reports device data to Milestone, which “keeps track of the number of times cameras are registered and deleted to make sure the licenses are used according to the EULA”.[1] See XProtect licence activation and the Software License Code. Catalog proof: 30-day grace period for unactivated devices; Devices beyond licences held cannot be used; Activation reports device data to Milestone for licence enforcement.
Floors. Milestone publishes no minimum device quantity. Care Plus is mandatory for the first year of XProtect Corporate.[2] Catalog proof: Care Plus mandatory in the first year of XProtect Corporate.
Virtualization & partitioning
XProtect is not licensed by processor, core or host. The base licence permits a number of management and recording server installations per Software License Code, and those installations can run on any computers “running operating systems for which the Product was designed”.[1] The one exception is XProtect Management Server Failover. Its licence is issued for named Node 1 and Node 2 hostnames.[1] Catalog proof: Management Server Failover licence bound to node hostnames.
Cloud / BYOL
The EULA states that XProtect VMS products “are also delivered as an Amazon Machine Image (“AMI”) under the bring-your-own-license model (“BYOL”)”, deployed with a CloudFormation script that Milestone provides as is.[1] The same base and device licences apply on AWS as on premises. Catalog proof: AWS BYOL deployment; XProtect may be deployed on AWS under BYOL.
Programs
- Milestone Care, Care Plus and Care Premium. Every purchase includes basic Milestone Care, which gives access to self-help material.[5][7] Care Plus gives product updates, upgrade trade-in and connected services. Care Premium adds 24/7 direct support. “Care plans are available monthly from 12 to 60-month terms and priced according to the number of devices.”[2][8]
- Care Plus trade-in. 100% credit for the existing licence when upgrading to a more advanced variant.[2]
- Test and pilot licenses. Test licences are valid for 365 days. Customer pilot licences last up to four months.[4][2]
- Grace period, device changes without activation and automatic license activation. Built-in activation flexibility.[6]
- Milestone Product Lifecycle. Products are Discontinued three years after General Availability and Terminated after four.[10] Licence activation is available for 10 years after general availability.[1]
The contract and maintenance terms are covered in Milestone EULA and Milestone Care.
Channel and litigation
Milestone does not sell directly. “Milestone does not sell directly to customers”, and it cannot sell to unauthorised partners “even if it’s an expansion for an existing customer”.[2] Catalog proof: XProtect sold only through authorised partners. Milestone’s OEM licensing has been the subject of litigation. In 2016 Milestone Systems A/S petitioned the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to confirm Danish arbitration awards against On-Net Surveillance Systems (OnSSI), which had incorporated Milestone software in its own VMS. The case ended with a consent judgment on 2017-07-12.[13] See Milestone v. OnSSI.
Out of scope
- Prices, part numbers and partner discounts, which Milestone does not publish.
- BriefCam video analytics and Arcules video surveillance as a service (VSaaS), which Milestone prices separately.[2]
- Milestone Husky NVR hardware and OEM versions of XProtect.
- XProtect versions before 2021 R1, whose device licensing is documented separately on the Supported Device List page.[9]