Qt Licensing | Choose the Right License for Your Development Needs (original) (raw)

Application Development (AD) vs Device Creation (DC)

There are two main types of commercial licenses in the Qt Development Framework and Tools.

Nominal, subscription-based licenses for AD and DC are usually purchased for 12 or 36 months. The licenses auto-renew at the end of the term. Named user licenses are based on Qt Account—see, Qt Customer Portal under https://account.qt.io.

Qt for Application Development (AD)

The AD license is used to create applications that run exclusively on desktop and mobile operating systems as one of many applications (such as email, browser, games, office apps, etc.). AD license cannot be used to create devices powered by Qt-based software.

Qt for Device Creation (DC)

When you build a hardware device that incorporates, integrates, or links to parts of Qt’s libraries or when the main functionality of your hardware product depends on Qt-based products, you need a DC license, Qt Developer Framework Appendix 2024-02. DC license can be used to create applications and devices powered by Qt-based software.

Distribution License

If you plan to build a hardware device and distribute it jointly with Qt-based software, in addition to the DC license, you will need a distribution license for each device. Its unit price varies based on volume and other factors.