CockroachDB has announced a change to its licensing model that will allow startups and smaller companies to use it for free, while still making money off the larger companies that can afford to pay for it. 

Previously, CockroachDB was available as a free Core version that was designed more for individuals and startups, and a paid Enterprise version that was designed for larger companies and offered advanced capabilities for scaling. 

Starting November 18, 2024, CockroachDB Core will be retired and the company will only offer CockroachDB Enterprise, which will be free to individual developers, students, and companies that make less than $10 million in annual revenue. For companies that don’t qualify for free usage, there is now a 30 day free trial that they can use. 

These changes only apply to the self-hosted version; the cloud version will remain the same, the company claimed. 

According to Cockroach Labs, this change gives everyone — regardless of if they are paying customers — access to advanced features that were previously not available in Core, such as cluster optimization, disaster recovery, backup, streaming, and advanced security measures. 

The company explained that part of the reasoning behind this change is that two trends had emerged over the years. One is that startups and small businesses expressed an interest in using the advanced features not available in Core, and the second is that large companies would often compromise on using the full capabilities offered in Enterprise in order to stay on the free Core version. 

“In consolidating to a single CockroachDB Enterprise offering, we are ensuring that all of our users have access to the full breadth and scope of our product, delivered through a streamlined trial experience. Individuals and small businesses will now benefit from capabilities previously available only to paying customers, but continue using CockroachDB for free,” Spencer Kimball, CEO of Cockroach Labs, wrote in a blog post. 

The paid version of Enterprise will get access to support from Cockroach Labs, while the Free edition will only have access to support from the community, such as the Slack channel. 

Cockroach Labs explained that under this new license, CockroachDB will technically be “source code available.” 

These changes coincide with the release of CockroachDB 24.3, but will also apply to patches to CockroachDB 23.1 or later issued after that date.

The company has an FAQ on its website, and Kimball said it will continue adding to it as new information is available.