The Native Instruments 360 subscription is the publisher’s recurring-fee offer, in which instruments, effects and sounds are licensed for the duration of the subscription instead of being sold as perpetual products. The Subscription Terms describe “Services” offered in modules called Tiers, and apply to every subscription offer, with inMusic NI GmbH as the contracting party.[1] The same pages and support articles also record a change in group structure: iZotope products are leaving the subscription, and Plugin Alliance and Brainworx tools are joining it. Plugin Alliance software is licensed under a separate EULA published by Plugin Alliance LLC.[7]
Tiers
The 360 page lists three plans.[2]
| Tier | Contents stated on the page |
|---|---|
| 360 Essentials | 60+ plugins, 40+ instruments, 20+ effects, 10+ additions each year, 9,000+ loops and sounds, Kontakt Player, Guitar Rig 7 LE |
| 360 Plus | 110+ plugins, 90+ instruments, 25+ effects, 20+ additions each year, 18,000+ loops and sounds, Kontakt Player, Guitar Rig 7 Pro, Absynth 6, handpicked orchestral libraries |
| 360 Pro | 150+ plugins, 120+ instruments, 25+ effects, all eligible additions, 24,000+ loops and sounds, Kontakt 8, Guitar Rig 7 Pro, Absynth 6, premium orchestral libraries |
The catalog lists each tier as a SKU (360 Essentials, 360 Plus, 360 Pro). The page’s FAQ says new products arrive at least ten times a year for Essentials, at least twenty for Plus and all eligible products for Pro.[2] The bundle name does not appear as a product in Native Access, which lists the individual products in a Subscription tab.[3]
Licence grant and use
The Subscription Terms grant a non-exclusive, limited, revocable, non-sublicensable and non-transferable right to use the services for the duration of the subscription; the services are licensed, not sold, and nothing authorises sublicensing, loan, rental, resale or transfer (The subscription is a term licence and is non-transferable).[1] The device clause matches the perpetual EULA: the subscriber may install and personally use the services on three devices, used only on one device at a time, and the services may not be used on a network by multiple users unless each user has subscribed individually (The subscription covers three devices).[1] The 360 FAQ adds that installations may not be used simultaneously and the account may not be shared.[3] Audio content embedded in the services may be used only for commercial or non-commercial music and audio production, which must qualify as a creative work, and may not be used to build sound libraries or be redistributed standalone.[1]
Activation needs an internet connection at least once per subscription term, and the 360 page and FAQ state that once installed products work offline, but that the subscriber must connect through Native Access once a month so the subscription can renew itself (The 360 subscription needs a monthly online check).[1][2] For machines that are normally offline, such as studio computers on isolated networks, this monthly connection is the main operational constraint.
Billing, renewal and changes
The page offers a 14-day free trial; if the subscriber cancels within the trial nothing is charged, and afterwards the plan renews automatically monthly (360 trial lasts 14 days, 360 free trial).[2] The Subscription Terms state that monthly plans renew for another month unless cancelled before the end of the term, that annual plans renew for an indefinite period unless cancelled and can then be cancelled on a monthly basis, and that cancellation takes effect at the end of the current term (Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled).[1] The support FAQ says started billing cycles are not refunded, not even partially.[3]
A tier change follows a fixed rule. Moving to a higher tier takes effect immediately, with prepaid unused fees applied to the new tier, while moving to a lower tier or changing the payment plan takes effect after the current term (Tier upgrades apply immediately and downgrades at term end).[1] The publisher may increase or decrease fees at its reasonable discretion in proportion to cost changes and may amend the terms, giving at least 30 days’ notice and allowing the subscriber to cancel within 30 days; it may also update, replace, discontinue or remove individual products at any time without notice (Fees and terms may change with 30 days notice, Products in the services may change at any time).[1] If products reach end of life they may be removed for new subscribers, while existing subscribers keep access while they remain subscribed.[3]
When a subscription ends, 360 instruments and effects stop working at the end of the term. Settings and presets are preserved in their last saved state, audio continues to pass through effects and most instruments work for 15 minutes so that tracks can be bounced (Cancelled 360 products keep a limited bounce mode).[3] A product that a subscriber already owns perpetually and that is also in the subscription appears once in Native Access, with the licence giving the largest feature set taking precedence.[3]
Educational pricing
Native Instruments offers 50 percent educational pricing on 360 Plus and 360 Pro for students, educators and institutions, stated on the educational page at USD 125 per year for 360 Plus and USD 250 per year for 360 Pro, available only on yearly plans, with eligibility verified through a third-party service (Educational 360 pricing applies to yearly plans only, EDU licence).[5][6] The Subscription Terms say educational versions must not be used for commercial purposes.[1]
iZotope, Plugin Alliance and Brainworx
The support FAQ explains the change in group structure: Native Instruments is now part of inMusic and iZotope is now part of Boris FX, and as part of each company focusing on its own customers and product lines, 360 is moving to mixing and mastering tools from Plugin Alliance and Brainworx (Native Instruments is part of inMusic and iZotope is part of Boris FX).[4] The transition rules are specific (iZotope transition in 360).[4]
- New subscriptions from 1 August 2026 do not include iZotope products but include the Plugin Alliance and Brainworx tools for their tier (New 360 subscriptions from 2026-08-01 exclude iZotope).[4]
- Existing active subscribers keep the iZotope toolkit through 31 July 2027, and on that date iZotope products are removed from all 360 tiers (iZotope products leave 360 on 2027-07-31).[4]
- A tier change is treated as a new subscription and ends the iZotope toolkit on the new tier, and the FAQ says a lapsed subscriber who reactivates after the stated cut-off follows new-subscriber terms (A tier change ends iZotope access).[4]
- The price does not change, because the new tools are added at no extra charge.[4]
For an inventory this means that iZotope tools used through 360 are time-limited entitlements, and that a perpetual iZotope licence purchased separately is under the terms of iZotope, which are not Native Instruments documents.
Plugin Alliance EULA
Plugin Alliance LLC publishes its own Software End User License Agreement, last updated on 6 May 2024. It grants a non-exclusive, revocable, personal, non-transferable, non-sublicensable licence to use the software on up to three hardware units, defined as computers, USB drives or venue consoles, simultaneously (Plugin Alliance licenses three hardware units).[7] The software is not supplied for use on a network or multi-user system, and additional licences must be requested from Plugin Alliance (Plugin Alliance network use needs additional licences).[7] Software may be transferred only under the transfer policy, subscription licences cannot be transferred and the transferee pays a fee (Plugin Alliance transfers are restricted and fee-bearing).[7] If a subscription lapses through non-payment the software no longer runs (Plugin Alliance subscription software stops when payment lapses), and Plugin Alliance may terminate licences without notice in case of failure to comply, change of control or sale of the company, going out of business or discontinuing the software (Plugin Alliance may terminate licences on change of control).[7] Audio content may be used in original soundtracks and distributed in them, but may not be distributed standalone or repackaged as samples, libraries or plugins.[7] A licence manager who receives Plugin Alliance and Brainworx tools through 360 should check which of these terms apply, because the Subscription Terms, and not the Plugin Alliance EULA, are the contract for the 360 services.[1]
Out of scope
This article does not cover iZotope’s own licence terms after the move to Boris FX, Brainworx products sold outside 360, pricing in regions other than those retrieved, or the 360 product lists beyond the tier summaries. It does not cover perpetual licences, which follow the EULA.[8]