Graphisoft Archicad licensing is governed by the Graphisoft Software License and Forward Agreement. Graphisoft SE of Budapest, Hungary, publishes it as the Archicad EULA; Graphisoft is part of the Nemetschek Group.[2] It licenses the software “to You, an individual or as the representative of and on behalf of Your employer”.[1] The agreement is a single document in five parts:
| Part | Covers |
|---|---|
| A, License Agreement | The licence grant, licence modes, data processing, licence parameters, restrictions, termination and warranty |
| B, Subscription License | Subscription definitions, terms, delivery of cloud licences, support, payment, fair use, content storage and termination |
| C, Forward Agreement | Graphisoft Forward, the maintenance and benefits program for perpetual licences |
| D, Conversion Program | A pointer to the SSA/Forward to Subscription conversion terms |
| E, General provisions | Confidentiality, sanctions, audit, modifications, cloud licensing conditions, Hungarian law and Budapest arbitration |
The grant is a “non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, limited license”, and the software “is licensed, not sold”.[1] The page carries no version date. Part E says Graphisoft may change any term with or without notice, so the retrieval date matters when you cite it.[1]
Editions
Graphisoft currently sells Archicad as two subscription plans. Archicad Studio uses BIMcloud Basic for local Teamwork. Archicad Collaborate adds BIMcloud Software-as-a-Service and cloud collaboration.[5] MEP Designer Studio and DDScad Electrical Collaborate are sold the same way.[5] Archicad Solo and BIMx Pro appear in the EULA’s offline-use rules.[1]
Feature sets depend on the plan. The EULA says “The Software features differ based on and according to the purchased license plan”.[1] Selected markets also offer a rental option. It sells a licence for a fixed period such as a month, and the period starts on the order date, with five extra days to cover delivery of the physical key.[2]
Licence modes
Part A recognises four modes, and the mode that runs depends on the authorisation present:[1]
| Mode | Authorisation | Use allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial | Hardware key, software key or activated cloud licence | Production use on a single computer at a time |
| Trial | Time-limited cloud licence | Non-commercial learning, education or research only |
| Educational | Educational serial number | Study and instruction by degree students, faculty and staff; one-year License Periods |
| Demo | None | Explore features; Copy, Save and Teamwork are disabled |
Education files carry a watermark that cannot be removed. A commercial project opened in an education version also becomes watermarked, and apart from opening files, no data exchange is allowed between education and commercial projects.[2] Licence managers should therefore keep education installations off production machines.
Metrics
Graphisoft names no metric in its price lists. The licence documents describe three units.
Graphisoft Cloud License. Part B defines it as the model “used for the Subscription(s), that grants Users the right to access and use the Software or Service without requiring a local license (e.g., a software or hardware key attached to the device)”.[1] The Contract Manager or Administrator assigns each licence to a Member on the License Management Portal. The Member then signs in to Archicad with a Graphisoft ID.[1] The licence is not tied to a device, “but you can only use the license on one device at a time”, and it can be released remotely from the Graphisoft account site.[3] Cloud licensing needs Archicad 26 Update 5 or later; earlier versions cannot be launched with a cloud licence.[1]
Archicad Collaborate floating license. For Collaborate subscriptions bought in September 2023 or later, a cloud licence is named when assigned directly to a Graphisoft ID account. It becomes floating when assigned to a group whose members share it.[2] The Services and Benefits List describes licence pooling as dynamic “first come first serve” access to the company’s entire licence pool, on network keys or cloud licences, for certain plans only.[4]
Graphisoft key-based license. Perpetual and some rental licences run on a CodeMeter hardware key or a software key. One copy ships on a “single license” key; several licences ship together on a “NET” key.[2] The EULA gives the hardware key a one-year defect warranty from first sale. It excludes any warranty for the software key, which must be re-purchased if destroyed or damaged.[1]
Counting / floors
The basic counting rule is per computer. In Commercial Mode, “You may use the Software on a single computer at a time”.[1] For cloud licences, Part E adds that a licence “can only be used on one machine at a time, no concurrent use is allowed”. It prohibits two workarounds: marking a licence on an offline machine as unused and activating it on another machine, and sharing a Graphisoft ID to run several machines in parallel on one licence.[1]
The cloud licence must check in periodically. Without that connection, licences can be used for at most 7 calendar days for Archicad, BIMx Pro of Archicad Collaborate and Archicad Solo, and 3 calendar days for DDScad Electrical. BIMcloud needs a continuous connection.[1]
Graphisoft publishes no minimum purchase quantity. One customer may hold only one Graphisoft ID Company for buying and managing subscriptions, and only one BIMcloud Tenant.[1] Emergency Archicad Licenses are capped at the number of active licences in the pool, twice in any 12-month period of the Subscription Term.[4]
Virtualization & partitioning
The EULA does not license by processor or virtual machine. The relevant restriction concerns hosting. Unless a separate Service Provider License Agreement is in force, providing “‘Software as a Service’ (e.g.: ‘Archicad as a Service’) for third parties” or similar services that reassign licences to third parties, including cloud services, is prohibited.[1] The single-computer and one-machine rules still apply to the customer’s own virtual desktops. A licence in use on a virtual desktop counts as in use on that machine.
Cloud / BYOL
Subscriptions bring Graphisoft-hosted services. Fair use of a subscription is limited to AECO workflows on project files, and Graphisoft may set limits such as the maximum stored gigabytes per licence.[1] BIMcloud SaaS content is hosted in a data centre near the billing country. After expiry, a 15-day Reactivation Period applies before Graphisoft may delete the BIMcloud Tenant.[1] No bring-your-own-licence program for public clouds is described.
Programs
Subscriptions (Part B)
Subscriptions are sold through the Graphisoft Store or a Graphisoft Partner. Terms can be monthly or one, two or three years, and additional subscriptions keep their own end dates rather than co-terminating.[1] A subscription “can contain one or more named or floating user licenses”. It also includes eligibility for new versions released during the term.[1] Customers with active subscriptions may use the latest version at no extra cost and receive personal technical support from the appointed Service Provider.[4]
Renewal and cancellation follow fixed mechanics. The Contract Manager can cancel up to 48 hours before the Charge Period, and the cancellation takes effect at the end of the current term. If payment is not collected by the fifth day of the Charge Period, the licences are revoked automatically.[1] Graphisoft may discontinue a subscription on 180 days’ notice. If the customer reasonably rejects the alternative offered, Graphisoft refunds the unused part of the term.[1] A Trial Subscription is free for one month by default, and each user may order it only once.[1]
Graphisoft Forward and SSA
Graphisoft Forward is the maintenance and benefits program for perpetual licences. It succeeded the Software Service Agreement (SSA). Its scope is wide: it “provides coverage for Customer’s entire pool of existing Product licenses, current, and future purchases”. Service Fees are owed for all Product licences acquired or owned at any time during the Service Term. Legacy Products and Non-Forward Products are excluded.[1] A customer therefore cannot keep Forward on some Archicad licences and drop it on others, except for licences that qualified as Legacy Products. Those are licences without active SSA that were held on 2022-03-31 alongside covered licences, or licences withdrawn from Forward coverage.[1]
Forward renews automatically unless either side gives notice at least 30 days before the end of the Service Term. A Service Term is at least one year.[1] New Versions are otherwise licensed separately for an upgrade fee, which Forward customers do not pay.[1]
End of perpetual sales and the Conversion Program
Graphisoft is moving Archicad to subscription only. Perpetual and SSA/Forward licences were available to new customers through 2024-12-31 and to existing customers through 2025-12-31. “Starting in 2026, Archicad will only be available through subscription.”[5] Perpetual licences without active SSA/Forward can still be used indefinitely, but they receive no updates.[5]
The SSA/Forward to Subscription Conversion Program runs in phases:[5]
| Phase | Window | Main terms |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024-04-01 to 2024-12-31 | 3-year or 1-year Archicad Collaborate; price parity with the SSA/Forward list price for 3-year upfront terms; 1-year terms 10% higher |
| 2 | 2026-01-01 to 2026-03-31 (as stated by Graphisoft) | 1-year subscription at the SSA/Forward price plus 8%; Collaborate at the Studio price plus EUR 300 per unit |
| 3 | 2026-04-01 to 2027-03-31 | As Phase 2; annual increases limited to 8% for terms starting before 2029-03-31; optional 3-year term billed annually in some markets; fallback to the latest perpetual version at the end of the conversion term |
In all phases, licence pools convert “all or nothing”, and unconverted SSA/Forward contracts lapse whatever the customer decides about conversion.[5] DDScad is outside the current program.[5]
Transfers and resale
The licence may not be sold, lent, sublicensed, rented or otherwise transferred without Graphisoft’s prior written consent. Dividing a licence and reselling parts of it is expressly prohibited. A buyer of a resold licence must re-register it with Graphisoft’s appointed local Partner and pay the applicable fees.[1] Keys reported as refunded, stolen, destroyed, damaged or lost are blacklisted. Graphisoft may revoke licences on blacklisted or grey-listed keys and delete their contents.[1] This puts the buyer of a second-hand key at risk if the key’s history is not checked with a Partner first.
Audits and compliance
Part E gives Graphisoft a general audit right “in addition to any other license compliance checking”. On seven days’ prior written notice it may run a remote electronic audit or a physical audit at the premises where the software is used, and it may appoint a third party to do so. The customer must cooperate and bring its use into line with the result, including paying fees. If non-compliance is found, the customer reimburses the fees of the audit.[1]
Graphisoft also relies on technical protection measures (TPM). The software checks the operation mode, version and key, cloud licence or educational serial numbers to verify use.[1] If Graphisoft finds an unlicensed copy, it treats this as a material breach. It may terminate immediately, claim damages and block future updates. The user is notified by an in-app message, and “In case You do not legalize the license within a reasonable but maximum 14-day time period the program will switch to demo mode.”[1] Legalising means buying a licence as Graphisoft determines and paying its damages and expenses.[1]
Disputes are governed by Hungarian law and go to the Commercial Arbitration Court in Budapest, with three arbitrators and English as the language.[1]
Lifecycle
If Graphisoft discontinues the software, or the services needed to activate it, the licence terminates (End-of-Life). Graphisoft posts the dates on its website at least 365 days before the End-of-Life date.[1] For key-based perpetual licences this means continued use depends on Graphisoft keeping the activation services running.
Out of scope
- Archicad Solo, BIMcloud, BIMx and DDScad product-specific agreements, which are separate documents on graphisoft.com.
- Prices and market-specific partner terms of sale.
- The Service Provider License Agreement for hosting, which is not public.