Steinberg licensing is the set of licence terms and licence-management technology under which Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH sells its music production, audio post-production, notation and audio editing software. Its best-known products are Cubase, Nuendo, Dorico, WaveLab and SpectraLayers, together with instruments and plug-ins such as HALion, Groove Agent and the Absolute collection.[1] In Europe and the United States support is provided directly by Steinberg; in countries such as Canada, Australia and Japan it is provided by Yamaha affiliates.[2] The software is sold as a perpetual licence for a given product generation and is bound to the customer’s Steinberg ID rather than to a hardware key. A single-user licence may be activated on up to three computers at a time, for one person’s use only.[3][4]
For a software asset manager the practical questions are narrow. Who is the licensee, how many computers can the licence be on, what happens when a machine is replaced, what counts as a seat in an institution, and what is the status of older licences that were stored on a USB dongle. Steinberg publishes no audit programme; its contract instead gives the vendor a right to charge for further licences or to disable a single-user licence that it finds shared between users.[4] This article summarises the model and points to the deeper articles.
Products and editions
Steinberg sells most desktop products in several editions that share an installer and differ by licence. The Help Center explains that licences of higher editions are valid across editions, which is why a trial of Cubase Pro can be started in Artist mode by holding Alt or Option at launch.[5] The reverse is not true: a licence must match the installed edition, and the Steinberg Activation Manager reports “No license found” if, for example, Cubase Elements is installed with only a Cubase LE licence.[6]
| Product line | Editions named in Steinberg documents | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cubase | Pro, Artist, Elements; Cubase AI and LE supplied with hardware | Cubase 15 is the current generation in the retrieved documents. An update moves to the latest generation of the same edition; an upgrade moves to a higher edition.[3] |
| Nuendo | Nuendo (full version), Nuendo 365 for education | Audio post-production and game audio. Nuendo 15 is shown as the current version.[7] |
| Dorico | Pro, Elements, SE (free), Dorico for iPad | SE is a free download for up to eight players; the iPad edition is a free download with an optional in-app subscription.[8] |
| WaveLab | Pro, Elements, Cast, LE; WaveLab Go (free) | Four paid or bundled editions plus a free Go edition registered through MySteinberg.[9][10] |
| SpectraLayers | Pro, Elements, Go (free) | SpectraLayers 13 licences are covered by the grace period table.[1] |
The edition lists above are those named on Steinberg’s own pages on the retrieval date, 2026-10-08; the shop shows further bundles and hardware packages that this wiki does not catalogue. The catalog records each edition as a SKU, for example Cubase Pro 15, Dorico Pro 6 and WaveLab Pro 13.
OEM editions need separate attention. Cubase AI, Cubase LE and WaveLab LE come bundled with hardware, and the Resale Wizard states that such OEM software must not be sold separately from the hardware, which also applies to bundled effect collections such as the Basic FX Suite.[11] The OEM or bundled licence metric records this.
Licence form and metrics
Steinberg ID and Download Access Codes
A purchase produces a Download Access Code, a one-time voucher that adds the software and its licence to the buyer’s MySteinberg account when it is redeemed in the Steinberg Download Assistant or on the website.[12] The licence is then listed in the Steinberg Activation Manager and can be activated on a computer. Steinberg operates two separate accounts: MySteinberg, which manages licences and is also used by the Download Assistant and Activation Manager, and the online shop account, which is operated by the payment partner FastSpring and uses different credentials.[13] FastSpring replaced the previous shop operator, Asknet, on 23 October 2023.[14]
Counting computers
The central metric is computer activation. Steinberg Licensing is identity-based. When the user signs in, the computer contacts Steinberg, records an identifier of that computer and activates the software; the user can then disconnect from the internet and continue to run it indefinitely.[15] The activation limit is three computers at once, and a fourth requires releasing an earlier one in the Steinberg Activation Manager, or, if that computer cannot be reached, deactivating it from the Licensed Devices page in MySteinberg.[16][17] The Steinberg Licensing FAQ adds that significant hardware changes can make a computer appear new and use another activation.[15]
Single-user and multi-user licences
The EULA defines the single-user licence: the licence may be installed on any number of the licensee’s own computers and activated on a limited number of them, but only one person may use it. Where several users need it at once, multi-user licences or additional single-user licences must be bought.[4] A multi-user licence counts seats. The education FAQ says each seat activates one computer, the minimum for a new multi-user licence is five seats, and floating licences are not currently available.[18] The EULA text, in contrast, mentions that seats may be consumed from a pool of floating licences across a larger number of computers, so an institution that wants floating use should ask Steinberg in writing rather than assume either reading.[4]
Programs and commercial forms
Perpetual licences are the default. Steinberg stated, when it introduced Steinberg Licensing, that it had no plans to withdraw the option to buy and use its software under a perpetual licence.[15] The forms that depart from a plain perpetual retail licence are these.
- Education licences. Students, teachers and institutions can buy education editions at a discount with proof of eligibility. The EULA restricts these to non-commercial use, and they cannot be resold.[4][18] See Steinberg education and multi-user licensing.
- 365 licences. For Nuendo, institutions can buy a fixed 12-month multi-user term that includes any major version released during the term and disables the software at the end.[18]
- Rent-to-own. Cubase Pro and Backbone are offered through Splice by instalments. The licence is valid for the version it started with, and becomes an ordinary perpetual licence after the final payment.[19]
- Dorico for iPad. The iPad app is licensed through the Apple App Store, not through Steinberg Licensing, with a monthly or annual subscription or a Lifetime Unlock purchase.[15][20]
- Free update and grace period. A licence activated shortly before a paid update can receive the update free. Steinberg lists the start dates, for example 8 October 2025 for Cubase 15 and 26 March 2025 for Dorico 6.[1]
- Crossgrades. Cubase Pro is sold at a discount to owners of eligible competing DAWs; Dorico Pro was offered to Finale owners.[21][2] See Steinberg updates, crossgrades and resale.
- Free trials. A trial gives full functionality for a limited time from the moment it is requested, expires automatically and cannot be activated offline.[5]
Legacy licences
Until 2022 Steinberg protected its software with eLicenser technology: licences were stored on a USB-eLicenser dongle or in a Soft-eLicenser file on the hard disk. Steinberg Licensing was introduced in January 2022 and the eLicenser service was closed on 20 May 2025. Existing eLicenser products continue to work as long as the licences remain on the dongle or Soft-eLicenser, but licences can no longer be moved, replaced or recovered.[22][23] The USB-eLicenser licence and Soft-eLicenser licence metrics describe the two forms, and Steinberg and the end of the USB-eLicenser covers the consequences. A software asset manager should treat eLicenser-era installations as a closed estate: they are usable, but not repairable.
Compliance and audit
The retrieved EULA contains no audit clause and no right to inspect the customer’s systems. Compliance is enforced by the licence technology itself, by the activation count, and by the clauses on shared single-user licences and fraudulent licences.[4] The EULA also prohibits sharing the Steinberg Account and reserves termination for that reason.[4] Steinberg may amend the EULA by notice, and the amended text is deemed accepted if the licensee does not object in writing within two weeks; German law applies and the courts of Hamburg are exclusively competent.[4] See Steinberg EULA and account terms.
For a licence position, collect the following: the Steinberg IDs that hold licences and the people they belong to; the activation list per licence in MySteinberg; the version generation of each licence, because a Cubase 15 licence opens Cubase 12 to 14 but nothing earlier;[3] the educational or OEM status of each licence; and any eLicenser dongles still in service.
Out of scope
- Prices. The retrieved documents give no list prices.
- Signed institutional quotes for multi-user licences, which are by quotation from the education team.[18]
- Third-party content and plug-ins sold through Steinberg, whose licences follow their own vendors’ terms,.
- Court cases. No court case on Steinberg’s software licensing was found with a primary court record, so none is covered.