Community Edition (original) (raw)
Start With the Same IdentityServer Enterprises Use
Community Edition is a free license for Duende IdentityServer. It’s feature-equivalent to Advanced, with no watered-down capabilities and no time limit. Available to qualifying startups and non-profits running IdentityServer on their own infrastructure.
Trusted by the World’s Most Demanding Organizations
The Same IdentityServer, Licensed Free
Community Edition is not a feature-gated demo. It's the same binaries, the same capabilities, and the same release cadence as the Advanced Edition. Licensed free for organizations that qualify.
The Solution You’d Pick Anyway, Priced For Where You Are
Identity is the part of your architecture you don't want to replace later. Community Edition lets early-stage teams build on the right platform from the start, without the usual tradeoff between cost and capability.
Enterprise Server, Not a Starter Kit
Most "free tier" identity offerings are limited on purpose with fewer flows, fewer integrations, and fewer controls. Community Edition is the opposite: the full product, free, so your first identity decision doesn't become your first re-platforming project.
Made for Startups and Nonprofits
Qualification is clear and revenue-based. If you're a for-profit with under 1MUSDprojectedannualgrossrevenueandunder1M USD projected annual gross revenue and under 1MUSDprojectedannualgrossrevenueandunder3M USD in capital access, or a non-profit or registered charity with a published annual budget under $1M USD, you qualify.
Grow Into a Commercial License
When you outgrow the eligibility thresholds, you transition to a paid license. But you’re on the same platform, same APIs, same deployment. Supported by the same team. No migration, no refactor, no swap-out. Your code doesn't know the difference.
How it works
1. Evaluate freely
You do not need a license for evaluation, development, test environments, or personal projects. Download IdentityServer and build — the startup warning message in non-licensed mode does not constrain your application.
2. Eligibility is reviewed against the revenue and capital thresholds
Once you're ready to run in production. Submit the application with your organization details; eligibility is reviewed against the revenue and capital thresholds.
3. Receive your license key
Deploy to production on your own infrastructure.
4. Stay on Community Edition
As long as you continue to qualify, you can stay on Community Edition. When your organization grows past the thresholds, transition to a paid Standard, Advanced, or Custom license on the same platform.
Who It’s For
Apply for Community Edition Today
If you qualify, there's no reason to build on anything less. Apply for Community Edition and ship production identity on the same solution that enterprises deploy.
