Sketch licensing is the way Sketch B.V., a company based in Eindhoven in the Netherlands,[1] grants rights to use the Sketch design platform. The platform consists of a native Mac app, a web app and an iPhone and iPad app.[2] It is sold mainly as a subscription in which customers pay for each person who edits designs, called an Editor, while people who only look at designs, called Viewers, are free.[2] Sketch also still sells a Mac-only licence, a licence key for the Mac app alone that is “yours to keep” but includes only one year of updates.[2]
For a licence manager the practical questions are who counts as an Editor, how many Workspaces exist, how the Mac-only licence keys are tracked and what happens when a subscription ends. The contracts are short and public. The Terms of Service apply to the subscription platform and are headed “Version 06 October 2026”, and the End User License Agreement applies to the Mac app under a licence key and is headed “Version 06 March 2025”.[3][1]
Plans and pricing
The pricing page shows four subscription plans on 2026-10-08. Prices are per Editor per month when billed yearly.[2]
| Plan | List price | What it adds | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | USD 12 | Real-time collaboration, unlimited documents, unlimited free Viewers, version history, developer handoff | For individuals and small teams. Card payment only.[2] |
| Professional | USD 24 | Standard plus SSO, project archiving and permissions groups | Billed yearly by credit card.[4] |
| Enterprise | USD 44 | Professional plus SCIM provisioning, BYOK encryption, dedicated support, custom reviews and terms | Yearly commitment billed annually by invoice; priority support needs at least 15 Editors.[5][3] |
| Private Cloud | Contact for pricing | Isolated private cloud environment, choice of hosting location, unlimited Workspaces | At least 50 paid Editors and a one-time setup fee.[3] |
The terms use the names Standard Plan, Professional Plan, Enterprise Plan and Private Cloud Plan.[3] A licence inventory should map the plan name on the customer’s invoice to these four.
Beyond the subscriptions there are three other forms. The Mac-only licence lists at USD 120 per seat including one year of updates, and does not include collaboration, online sharing or previewing on an iOS device.[2] The App Store subscription is a subscription bought through the Mac App Store, limited to one Editor per Workspace.[6] The Education Plan is a free one-year Workspace for students, teachers and institutions.[7]
Licence form and metrics
Editors, Viewers and Guests
The Terms define the roles that matter for counting. An Editor is a role that allows the person to access the Mac app and to add, modify, manage and delete Workspace documents; the Terms grant an Editor a licence to use the Mac app for as long as the person remains an Editor.[3] A Viewer may view, comment and inspect documents in the web app, but does not have access to the Mac app and cannot upload content.[3] A Guest sees only the documents they are invited to; they can edit only if they belong to another Workspace or hold a valid Mac-only licence.[3] Sketch charges for every Editor role on every Workspace of the account, whether or not the invitee accepts, so assigned but unused Editor roles are billable.[3]
Workspaces and storage
A Workspace is the shared space for documents and members. Workspaces are a subscription feature, and each additional Workspace needs its own billing details.[8] Standard and Professional Workspaces have 50 GB of storage per Editor, pooled across the Workspace, while Enterprise and Private Cloud are unlimited under a Fair Use Policy.[3]
The Mac-only licence key
The older Mac-only licence is a key beginning with SK3 that is registered on a Mac. The EULA allows use on one computer unless a volume licence was bought, in which case the number of computers may not exceed the number of licences.[1][9] The licence key is a separate plan from the subscription: a Mac-only licence and a subscription operate independently and a subscriber needs a new account.[10] See Sketch Mac-only licence keys.
Programs
- Free trial. A one-time 30-day trial without a credit card. Until payment details are added only three members can be invited, and with them up to 20.[11] The trial does not apply to Enterprise, Private Cloud or partner purchases.[3]
- Education. Students aged 16 or over, employed teachers and institutions can apply for free Workspaces for use in studies or teaching.[7]
- Non-profits. A 50% discount on a yearly Standard subscription or a Mac-only licence for recognised non-profit organisations.[2]
- Partners. Customers can buy through partners. From 15 July 2026 Sketch no longer supports direct purchases from customers in India.[2]
- Refunds. A full refund within 30 days of the initial purchase for annual billing and Mac-only licences; renewals, added seats and monthly billing are not refundable.[3][12]
Term, expiry and deletion
Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled, and price changes are announced by email and take effect at the next renewal.[3] After cancellation or expiry the Workspace becomes read-only and documents can be downloaded for 90 days, after which the Workspace and documents are permanently deleted; support can reactivate within the period.[2][13] For a licence manager this means that expiry is an operational event: Editors lose access to the Mac app when the Workspace subscription expires.[1]
Compliance
The Terms make the customer responsible for all Users under its account, including employees and contractors, and prohibit sharing login credentials.[3] Sketch may terminate subscriptions immediately for breach or non-payment.[3] The Terms and the EULA contain no audit clause. The compliance record is the Workspace’s member list with roles, the billing page and, for Mac-only keys, the device list in the License Manager. Either contract may be changed without prior notice, so the version date should be recorded with a licence position.[3][1]
Building a licence position
A Sketch licence position has two halves that rarely overlap. The subscription half is made of Workspaces. For each Workspace record the plan, the billing option (yearly or monthly), the purchase channel (website, partner or App Store), the renewal date, the number of paid Editor roles and the members in each role. The licence-key half is made of SK3 keys. For each key record the Admin email, the number of seats, the registered devices, the expiry date and the date until which updates are available.[9][14] Where a person appears in both halves, for example an Editor who also holds a key, the two licences are independent and only one is needed to run the Mac app.[10]
Three events deserve a calendar entry: the renewal date of each subscription, because price changes take effect at renewal; the end of the update year of each key; and the 90-day deletion clock that starts when a subscription ends.[3][13] The deeper articles explain each construct: Sketch subscriptions, Editors, Viewers and Workspaces, Sketch Mac-only licence keys and Sketch Terms of Service and EULA.
Out of scope
- Enterprise and Private Cloud contract terms agreed in writing, which supersede the standard terms.
- Prices in currencies other than USD, partner prices and App Store prices.
- Open source components that Sketch publishes under their own licences.
- Court cases: none involving Sketch’s licence terms were found in primary court records.