Ordering & Licensing: Frequently Asked Questions

PostSharp comes in 6 distinct editions, each with a different set of features: PostSharp Essentials (free edition), PostSharp Ultimate (full edition), PostSharp Framework, PostSharp MVVM, PostSharp Caching, and PostSharp Logging.

Click here to discover which PostSharp edition is right for you.

Metalama comes in 4 editions: Metalama [Free], Metalama [Starter], Metalama [Professional], and Metalama [Ultimate]. The editions mainly differ in the number of aspect types that can be used in a single C# project. They also differ in the availability of features such as fabrics, a testing framework, or debugging abilities.

We offer the following types of licenses:

• Business Licenses are floating, concurrent-user licenses and are commercially available to companies and organizations.
• Personal Licenses are named-user licenses, available to physical persons only, and are available for Metalama only.

Additionally, we offer Evaluation Licenses and Academic Licenses, which do not permit commercial use.

Metalama is included in your PostSharp Framework or PostSharp Ultimate subscription. Simply use the same license key you received with your active PostSharp subscription during the installation wizard. Note that the licensing concept of PostSharp Framework and PostSharp Ultimate do not match. You may need Metalama Ultimate where PostSharp Framework was sufficient, or Metalama Framework could be sufficient where PostSharp Ultimate was required.

Maintenance Subscriptions provide free updates, including bug-fixing and major releases, during the subscription duration. Note that bug-fixing releases will not be available without a maintenance subscription. The subscription also includes web-based support.

No, that option is not available. You can only purchase subscriptions for 12-month periods.

Yes, you can build commercial products using , and redistribute them without any additional costs.

No, you don't need a license for your build server.

Normally, no. will detect that it is running on a build server and will not enforce licensing. However, in case fails to detect the build server, you can install any license key on the build server.

To learn more about using PostSharp on a build server, please refer to our documentation.

The complete text of our License Agreement can be found here.

No, our licenses are perpetual. Each new license includes a maintenance subscription, which determines the version of the product you are allowed to use. If you are allowed to use a version one day, it will continue to work every future day. However, it is important to note that the build date of the product release must be within the maintenance period. Additionally, Microsoft releases new versions of Visual Studio and .NET Core frequently, and not having an up-to-date license may hinder your ability to use the latest development tools.

Only if this is a single-person company. Individual licenses are intended for personal use only and can only be assigned to a physical person. If you are looking for a license for commercial use, please consider our Business Licenses.

No, it is not possible to upgrade an Individual License to a Business License. If you wish to upgrade your license, you will need to purchase a new Business License.

All individuals who modify and build code that includes aspects need a license. If you have 100 developers who both modify and build code that uses aspects created by 5 senior developers, you will need a 100-user license. Developers who only build the code without editing do not require a license.

Everyone who modifies and builds code that includes aspects needs a license. If the 100 developers modify code that uses the aspects created by 5 senior developers, you will need 100 user licenses.

Everyone who modifies and builds code that includes aspects needs a license. In this case, only 5 developers are modifying code that includes aspects, so you will only need to purchase a 5-user license. Developers who only build the code without editing do not require a license.

Business Licenses are floating licenses. Licenses are not explicitly assigned to a developer. There is no "sign in" and "sign out" process, so there is nothing you need to do when a developer leaves and another developer arrives.

Licensing is enforced using telemetry, a mechanism we call license audit. Everyday, we collect information that contains your license key, a hash of the name of the developer using the license, and a hash of the machine. We aggregate this information for each license key, every day.

If we notice that the total number of users exceeds the entitlements of your subscription, we will contact you to address the issue. Note that we do not have the technical ability to remotely block a license key and have always resolved all problems in a friendly and cooperative way.

Companies with their own internal license audit processes can request to opt out of our license audit. For more information and to make this request, please contact us.

Yes, it is possible to add more users to an existing Business License subscription before its expiration date. The price for the additional user(s) will be discounted from the original price and the subscription end date will remain unchanged.

However, it is not possible to add more users to an Individual License as it is, by definition, intended for a single user.

No, we no longer offer site licensing.

Yes, we do offer global licensing. For more information and to request a global license, please contact us at hello@postsharp.net.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to merge or align the expiration dates of multiple subscriptions. You can either purchase a new subscription for the desired number of developers and let the old subscriptions expire, or add more users to one subscription and let the others expire.

Some changes to the License Agreement may be accepted for orders of a significant size. Other changes will need to be reviewed by our legal team. Please contact us for more information.

No, does not require a connection to the Internet to function. However, license audit requires an internet connection once per week. If this is not acceptable for your organization, please contact us to request license keys without audit.

Yes. You can request a team evaluation by visiting this page.

The license key you will receive will work with both PostSharp and Metalama.

To renew your maintenance subscription, navigate to the Customer Portal. You will need the license key of the subscription you want to renew or your customer account secret link.

If you choose not to renew your maintenance subscription, you may continue to use the software as normal but free upgrades, bug fixes and support will no longer be available to you.

No, you can only purchase a renewal subscription for a 12-month period.

If you renew your subscription before the previous maintenance subscription period ends, the new subscription date will start just after the previous period ends. If you renew a subscription that has already expired, the new 1-year period will start on your order date.

Yes, you can do so by navigating to the Customer Portal. You will need the license key of the subscription you want to add more users to, or the secret link to your customer account. The end date of your subscription will not be affected if you add new users, but the price will be discounted to reflect the shorter period.

The software is delivered electronically. An email with your license key will be sent to you shortly after the purchase.

For online orders, all commonly used payment methods are accepted by our e-commerce partner PayPro Global, such as bank wire transfers and credit cards.

For offline orders, payments via bank wire transfer are possible. We are not able to process credit cards for offline orders.

You can contact us directly. The purchase process is as follows:

1. You send us a quote request.
2. We reply with a quote.
3. You accept the quote and send us a purchase order.
4. We reply with a payment request (pro-forma invoice).
5. You pay via wire transfer or certified check.
6. After receipt of the payment, we send you the license key and the final tax invoice.

Yes. Learn more about our volume pricing here.

We offer free licenses of Metalama and PostSharp to students, classrooms, open-source projects, MVPs, bloggers, streamers, user group leaders, and bootcamps, and hackathons. To apply, please visit our free license application page.

We offer a 50% discount to universities, educational institutions, and startups for internal projects. Additionally, we offer a 25% graduation discount for former students. For more information and to apply, please visit our discounts page.

Freelancers are eligible for a 50% discount on the PostSharp product line. However, this discount does not apply to the Metalama product line. Freelancers should choose from the discounted personal licenses for Metalama.

Yes. A redistribution license allows users of your package to use the aspects defined in your package without having to pay for .

We are more than happy to promote packages that help us spread awareness about our products. A redistribution license is generally free of charge, expected that no legal costs are involved.

Please contact us and we will set up an online meeting to discuss your case.