PaperCut NG is PaperCut’s self-hosted print control product without MFD integration. It is licensed perpetually by number of users: “Pricing is based on the number of users with no limit on the number of servers, workstations, or number of printers.”[1] Unlike PaperCut MF, NG is sold directly by PaperCut through an online order system, and “Subscriptions are not available for PaperCut NG”.[3][13] Each licence is a Standard License under the PaperCut NG/MF EULA, granted “for up to the maximum number of Users or other license metric set out in the Contract Details”.[2]
Editions
NG has three price lists. They differ by type of organization and by included features.[1]
| Users | Commercial business | Education/Government | Professional client billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-5 | Free | Free | (0-25) USD 710 |
| 25 | USD 494 | ||
| 50 | USD 597 | USD 921 | |
| 75 | USD 687 | USD 1,124 | |
| 100 | USD 772 | USD 1,335 | |
| 150 | USD 954 | USD 1,755 | |
| 500 | USD 584 | ||
| 1,000 | USD 750 | ||
| 1,500 | USD 914 | ||
| 2,000 | USD 1,085 | ||
| 2,500 | USD 1,250 | ||
| 3,000 | USD 1,420 | ||
| Above | calculator | calculator | calculator |
Source: PaperCut NG page, USD, exclusive of GST, as displayed on 2026-10-02.[1] Catalog rows: Commercial business, Education/Government, Professional client billing.
- Education/Government is “Designed for the smallest school to the largest multi-campus university, governmental or nonprofit organization”.[1] Registered charities and non-profits pay the same as Education.[10]
- Professional client billing is “Commercial Business with the addition of advanced client software for professional services”. Advanced Client licences are included in it as standard.[1]
Add-ons
| Add-on | List price (USD) | Notes | Catalog row |
|---|---|---|---|
| Print Release Station | 159 | One included | row |
| Advanced Client License (per user) | 11.28 | Two included; standard in Professional client billing | row |
| Print Deploy 10 Zones pack | 1,282 | row | |
| Print Deploy 100 Zones pack | 10,254 | row | |
| Print Deploy Unlimited Zones pack | 35,889 | row | |
| Site Servers | 0 | Unlimited site servers included | |
| 12 Months Maintenance & Support | from 284 | Mandatory for the first year | row |
| Online Payment Gateway | 605 | Indicative; varies by gateway | row |
Source: PaperCut NG page add-ons, identical across the three lists.[1]
Print Deploy’s base licence “includes Print Deploy with one Everyone zone”. More zones come in 10, 100 or Unlimited packs, which can be combined. VDI support “is only available to PaperCut MF customers, PaperCut NG doesn’t support VDI”.[7] See Print Deploy zone.
Metrics
The licensed User is an identifier in the PaperCut database. A generic identifier may be used by only one person, and the users of the licensee and its Affiliates are counted together.[2] The free tier uses the same count: “the number of users that appear in the PaperCut database (under Users > User List in the PaperCut NG admin interface)”. “Built in users that come with Windows are not counted towards your user limit”.[4]
Counting / floors
How users accumulate. Users enter the database in two ways. Directory sync, which runs nightly by default, “only adds users and doesn’t take any away”. On-demand user creation adds users when they first print.[3] PaperCut also imports disabled Active Directory and Entra ID users by default, unless “Import disabled users” is unticked.[3] In practice, the user count often grows over time unless the sync settings are restricted to selected groups and the “Delete users that do not exist in the selected source” option is used.[3]
Exceeding the limit. When the user limit is exceeded, “The admin console will warn that an additional license is required and needs to be updated within the next 40-days”. If the count is not reduced by then, most admin pages, including configuration and reports, are “locked down”. Printing and tracking continue and no data is lost.[3] See Exceeding NG users gives a 40-day warning, then admin lock-down. The fix is to buy more users through the online order system, or to delete users. The Users tab stays accessible for deletion from version 22.0.11.[3]
Reducing the licence. PaperCut can lower the licensed user count on written request. It “will offer no refund for users purchased”, and users added back later are charged at normal prices.[5] See Reducing licensed NG users gives no refund.
Free tier. After the 40-day trial, NG keeps running free with 5 users or fewer, with no registration needed. Licensed features stop, since “features that require a specific license will cease to function”, including Release Stations and Advanced Clients, and there is no phone or chat support.[4] The free licence is “available in PaperCut NG only”.[4]
After a trial. If a trial ends without a licence and there are more than 5 users, PaperCut continues to function, “The system will simply prevent admin level login until a valid license is installed.”[6] PaperCut extends the standard 40-day NG trial on request.[6]
Virtualization & partitioning
NG pricing places no limit on servers, workstations or printers, and “A single license can be used across multiple sites”.[1] A licence entitles one production Application Server, with site servers, secondary servers and direct print clients, and covers every node of a cluster.[12] Since version 24.0, a second Application Server activated on the same CRN, for example a test server, shares the same licensed quantities.[13]
Cloud / BYOL
NG can run on premises or “self-managed in the cloud” on any supported operating system, synchronizing against local directories or cloud directories such as Google Sync and Microsoft Azure Active Directory.[1] The licence does not depend on where the server is hosted.
Programs
- Maintenance & Support: “Maintenance & Support (M&S) is mandatory for the first year at a flat, introductory price. Ongoing M&S costs are based on total license value with discounts for purchasing multiple years upfront.”[1] NG customers whose licence is too old for a target version can buy an upgraded licence online “for a small upgrade fee”.[11]
- Developing world and non-profit pricing: NG is available “at a discount (or for free)” to organizations in developing countries, and a charity or non-profit discount can stack with it.[8]
- Competitive cross-grade discount: available for organizations moving from listed products such as PCounter, Equitrac, SafeCom, YSoft SafeQ and Pharos. It is applied as a special order code.[9]
- Cross-grade to MF: an NG customer moving to MF gets “a substantial credit toward the new solution”.[10]
Out of scope
This article does not cover PaperCut MF device licensing, PaperCut Hive and Pocket, prices in currencies other than USD, or payment gateway providers’ own fees.