Free Enterprise Lite Activation Key
Program policy and FAQ
Who qualifies for free self-hosted Grist Enterprise Lite?
We build Grist to be useful and widely used. That’s why our core is open-source and freely licensed. Grist Enterprise adds features mostly needed by large organizations, but some of these are valuable for smaller teams or organizations with limited budgets. For them, we offer Grist Enterprise Lite for free for self-hosters.
For clarity, any organization whose total finances are less than USD $1,000,000 may request a free activation key to run Enterprise Lite at no cost. “Total Finances” is defined as the greater of (a) gross annual revenue, (b) total annual operating budget, or (c) funds raised in the preceding 12 months. The free use comes with community support only (Community Forum, Discord), like the Grist Community Edition.
Organizations above the $1M threshold require a paid Enterprise or Enterprise Lite license, which comes with a full commercial relationship and options for hosting and professional services.
For IT consulting, contracting, and solutions companies, there’s a nuance. If the Grist end-users are your customers, eligibility is based on your customer’s revenue, not yours. See note on solutions [on our free Enterprise Lite policy page](link).
Any organization, regardless of size, may use Grist Enterprise for a 30-day trial period, and may request an evaluation key for the purpose of evaluating or testing Grist. To request a longer evaluation period, email success@getgrist.com.
Note: The free Enterprise Lite activation key applies only to self-hosted Grist installations. For hosted Grist on our servers, regular pricing and limits apply.
FAQ
How long is the free Enterprise Lite activation key valid for?
Enterprise Lite activation keys are valid for one year. After one year:
If your organization is now over the US $1M threshold, you can purchase a license or downgrade to the free open-source version — core functionality remains fully available and only Enterprise features (e.g. email notifications, audit log streaming) are disabled. No data is locked or removed.
If your organization still qualifies, e.g. is still under US $1M threshold, then the key can be renewed for another year at no cost.
What if I work for a nonprofit?
Regardless of profit/nonprofit status, the free activation threshold is always total funding, revenue, or income.
On our hosted solution at getgrist.com, non-profit organizations are eligible for a 50% discount on the Pro plan. Sign up for the Pro team plan, and email us a Letter of Determination for your organization at support@getgrist.com at least a week before your free trial ends.
If you are interested in a discount on the Business plan (hosted by us) or Enterprise Lite plan (self-hosted), please contact us at success@getgrist.com.
What if I work at a university and/or research lab?
As part of our free Enterprise Lite activation key for self-hosters, we look at the overall finances of the parent organization, even if only a small group will be using Grist. With universities and research institutes, this often means the parent organization is above the $1M threshold, even though the actual team requesting Grist operates with its own budget and decision-making process.
In these cases, we’ll work with you to issue a free Enterprise evaluation key with an appropriate term. At the end of the evaluation period, you can either purchase a license or downgrade to the free open-source version — core functionality remains fully available and only enterprise features (e.g. email notifications, audit log streaming) are disabled. No data is locked or removed.
What if I work as part of a small team in a larger organization?
To qualify for a free self-hosted Enterprise Lite activation key, the overall finances of the parent organization must be less than USD $1,000,000. If it’s more than USD $1,000,000, you can request a free Enterprise evaluation key by emailing success@getgrist.com.
At the end of the evaluation period, you can either purchase a license or downgrade to the free open-source version — core functionality remains fully available and only enterprise features (e.g. email notifications, audit log streaming) are disabled. No data is locked or removed.
What if I’m a small solutions provider or consultant?
For IT consulting, contracting, solutions or hosting companies providing Grist to their customers, eligibility is based on your customer’s revenue, not yours.
If you’re deploying Grist for an organization with more than USD $1,000,000 in annual revenue, we ask that you purchase an Enterprise license for their use. This directly funds the continued improvements, bug fixes, documentation, and long-term sustainability of Grist, and also allows it to remain open-source and self-hostable.
For your customers with less than USD $1 million in annual revenue, you may apply for a free activation key on their behalf.
This is where a partnership model can work nicely: you’d resell Enterprise licenses to larger customers (over $1M) who use Grist as part of your offering, while smaller customers still qualify for the free key. Official partners also get some extras: lead referrals from us, co-marketing opportunities, use of the Grist name in your materials, and more. More details here: https://www.getgrist.com/partners/
