<![CDATA[HISE Licensing question]]>Sure this is a daft question but there we are -
We're finally almost ready to go with our first 2 plugins, both freebies, with paid stuff coming later this year/early next year - do I just need to buy the yearly HISE license and that's it? I see a lot of old threads talking about contacting Christoph etc, is that something I need to do before hand?

Also JUCE - we're using JUCE 6, which as understand it means we don't need to do anything JUCE side until we hit a user count/income amount?

]]>https://forum.hise.audio/topic/15041/hise-licensing-questionRSS for NodeThu, 10 Sep 2026 18:06:16 GMTThu, 10 Sep 2026 15:57:39 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to HISE Licensing question on Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:35:36 GMT]]>Nice chart

let me know if any of this is wrong and I'll update.

In addition to making the source code available, it must be under the GPLv3 license or a compatible license.

]]>https://forum.hise.audio/post/122848https://forum.hise.audio/post/122848Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:35:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to HISE Licensing question on Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:34:47 GMT]]>@Lurch Actually, I made a flowchart. Yes, there are a lot of steps! 😂

@David-Healey @Christoph-Hart, and anyone else - let me know if any of this is wrong and I'll update.

HISE and JUCE licences.png

]]>https://forum.hise.audio/post/122847https://forum.hise.audio/post/122847Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:34:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to HISE Licensing question on Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:29:21 GMT]]>@Lurch To add to David's reply - freebies and paid products are treated the same. If they're not open source (as in, plugin source code supplied to end users) then you need a HISE licence.

If they are open source, and you supply the source code to end user, you don't need either a HISE or JUCE licence.

For closed source, the revenue for the JUCE licence is calculated differently depending on if you're an individual or company:

  • For individuals, the revenue is just that from your use of JUCE, meaning the plugins you create.
  • For companies (limited company, LLC, etc.), it's the whole company's revenue, regardless of whether it's from the plugins or not. Big distinction.

Note that although the current JUCE licence is technically for JUCE 9, it still covers JUCE 6 that HISE uses:

Can I use a previous version of JUCE using a JUCE 9 licence?

A JUCE 9 licence grants you the right to use all previous versions of JUCE, under the terms of the JUCE 9 licence.

]]>https://forum.hise.audio/post/122846https://forum.hise.audio/post/122846Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:29:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to HISE Licensing question on Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:11:51 GMT]]>@Lurch said in HISE Licensing question:

do I just need to buy the yearly HISE license and that's it

If your plugin is closed source then you need a HISE license and a JUCE license.

@Lurch said in HISE Licensing question:

which as understand it means we don't need to do anything JUCE side until we hit a user count/income amount?

JUCE has a free tier which you will probably be within.

]]>https://forum.hise.audio/post/122845https://forum.hise.audio/post/122845Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:11:51 GMT