The free non-commercial licensing FAQ
General
Which IDEs are covered by this non-commercial licensing model?
You can use the following IDEs for non-commercial development or content creation free of charge:
Will the new licensing model be extended to other JetBrains IDEs?
We first introduced this new licensing model for Aqua and RustRover, and then extended it to WebStorm and Rider. We’re considering extending the model to other JetBrains IDEs, but it’s still too early to give a definitive answer on whether this will ultimately be possible. We’ll evaluate the outcomes of this free non-commercial licensing initiative to see if it can be expanded.
Have you considered adding more Community Editions instead?
While weighing the options, we did consider creating more Community Editions (as many of you requested us to do). However, Community Editions have limited feature sets and wouldn't provide the full range of IDE features that are essential for productivity. Therefore, we felt it would be better to create this new license type that is targeted specifically at non-commercial development while still providing full-featured functionality.
Licensing
What qualifies as non-commercial use?
As defined in the Toolbox Subscription Agreement for Non-Commercial Use, commercial use means developing products and earning commercial benefits from your activities. However, certain categories are explicitly excluded from this definition. Common examples of non-commercial uses include learning and self-education, open-source contributions without earning commercial benefits, any form of content creation, and hobby development.
What features are included under the free license?
With the new non-commercial license type, you can enjoy a full-featured IDE that is identical to its paid version. The only difference is in the Code With Me feature – you get Code With Me Community with your free license.
Which license should I choose if I want to use IDEs for both non-commercial and commercial projects?
If you intend to use Aqua, Rider, RustRover, and WebStorm for commercial development for which you will receive direct or indirect commercial advantage or monetary compensation within the meaning of the definitions provided in the Toolbox Subscription Agreement for Non-Commercial Use, you will need to purchase a commercial subscription (either individual or organizational). This license can then also be used for non-commercial development.
What license should I choose if I just started a new project?
If you plan to release the product and get commercial benefits from it, either now or in the future, you should use a commercial license. If your project is for non-commercial purposes, then a non-commercial license is valid. However, if your intentions change over time, you’ll need to reassess whether you still qualify for non-commercial use. If you're unsure after considering your intentions, it's safer to choose a commercial license.
The company I am working for doesn’t do commercial development. Am I eligible to apply for a non-commercial license?
If you’re working and receiving payment, even if your employer doesn’t receive commercial benefits from the end product, such as in a non-profit organization, you should be using a commercial license. For startups and non-profit organizations, we have separate offers mentioned on this page.
Can I use the IDE for free to create educational courses and stream content while earning money through course sales or advertisements in the stream?
With the non-commercial license agreement, you can create any type of content, even if it involves receiving commercial benefits. Here are some examples of such content creation:
- Creators of educational courses looking to sell their courses.
- Content creators who share posts on platforms like YouTube and earn commissions from ads.
- Podcasters and streamers who sell ad space in their content.
Does this non-commercial license type affect paid subscriptions for individuals or organizations?
This new license type does not impact any of our other paid subscription options. You’ll still be able to purchase paid subscriptions for Aqua, RustRover, Rider, and WebStorm.
How do renewals and upgrades work now?
Non-commercial subscriptions are issued for one year and will automatically renew after that. However, for the renewal to happen, you must have used the assigned license at least once during the last 6 months of the subscription period. If it has been more than 6 months since you last used an IDE activated with this type of license and the renewal did not occur automatically, you can request a new non-commercial subscription again at any time.
Am I eligible for a refund if I’ve already bought a paid subscription but do non-commercial development?
If you’re unsure whether you qualify for a refund, you’ll find full details of our policy here. Please note that if you also work on projects that qualify as commercial usage, you can’t use the free license for them.
What are my other options if I don’t qualify for this non-commercial option?
We’re sorry you can’t benefit from the non-commercial use license, but we’re sure we’ve got something to suit your needs. It’s always worth checking our special offers and Community page to see all our latest promotional pricing options.
How and where can I get technical support if I encounter a problem or wish to ask a question?
As a non-commercial license holder, we encourage you to reach out with any questions you might have via our public community forums. You can also report any issues you might be experiencing by submitting a new request on the relevant issue tracker.
These resources can be accessed via the following links:
- WebStorm community forum and bug tracker
- Rider community forum and bug tracker
- RustRover community forum and bug tracker
- Aqua community forum and bug tracker
Please note that support via private tickets is not included under this license.
Anonymous data collection
Does my IDE send any data to JetBrains?
The terms of the non-commercial agreement assume that the product may also electronically send JetBrains anonymized statistics (IDE telemetry) related to your usage of the product’s features. This information may include but is not limited to frameworks, file templates used in the product, actions invoked, and other interactions with the product’s features. This information does not contain personal data.
Is there a way to opt out of sending anonymized statistics?
We appreciate that this might not be convenient for everyone, but there is unfortunately no way to opt out of sending anonymized statistics to JetBrains under the terms of the Toolbox agreement for non-commercial use. The only way to opt out is by switching to either a paid subscription or one of the complimentary options mentioned here.
Getting a non-commercial subscription
What should I do to apply for this subscription?
It can be easily done right inside your IDE:
- Install Aqua, Rider, RustRover, and WebStorm and run it.
- Upon startup, there will be a license dialog box where you can choose the Non-commercial use option.
- Log in to your JetBrains Account or create a new one.
- Accept the Toolbox Subscription Agreement for Non-Commercial Use.
- Enjoy development in your IDE.
If you’ve already started a trial period or have activated your IDE using a paid license, you still can switch to a non-commercial subscription by following these steps:
- If you’re using Rider, go to Help | Manage Licenses. If you’re using Aqua, RustRover, and WebStorm, go to Help | Register.
- In the window that opens, click on the Remove License button.
- Choose Non-commercial use.
- Log in to your JetBrains Account or create a new one.
- Accept the Toolbox Subscription Agreement for Non-Commercial Use.
- Enjoy development in your IDE.
I don’t see the Non-commercial use option in my IDE. What should I do?
The most likely explanation for this is that you’re using an older version of an IDE. Unfortunately, we don’t support obtaining the non-commercial license for any releases prior to:
- Aqua 2024.1
- RustRover 2024.1
- Rider 2024.2.7
- WebStorm 2024.2.4
Will a single non-commercial subscription cover all supported IDEs?
The new non-commercial subscription type is product-specific. This means that if you want to use all supported IDEs for non-commercial purposes, you’ll have to obtain separate licenses for each product.
Can I generate an activation code for offline activation?
Unfortunately, acquiring an activation code for a non-commercial subscription is not possible. You can only activate an IDE through your JetBrains Account.