Redpanda Licenses, Editions, and Enterprise Features

Redpanda Self-Managed, Redpanda Console, and Redpanda Connect are available in community and enterprise editions. Each product has a single binary that supports both editions.

Redpanda Cloud is a managed deployment of Redpanda Enterprise Edition. To learn more about Redpanda Cloud, see the Redpanda Cloud Overview.

Community Edition

The Community Edition is licensed with the Redpanda Business Source License (BSL). These core features are free and source-available.

  • Users cannot provide Redpanda as a commercial streaming or queuing service to others.

  • The BSL code converts to Apache 2.0 licensing four years after each code merge.

Enterprise Edition

The Enterprise Edition is licensed with the Redpanda Community License (RCL). It includes the free features licensed under the Redpanda BSL, as well as enterprise features.

License keys

Enterprise features require an Enterprise Edition license key, sometimes referred to as Enterprise license, license key, or license. You can evaluate enterprise features with a free 30-day trial. To request a trial license key, to extend your trial period, or to purchase a license, contact Redpanda Sales.

Enterprise features in Redpanda Self-Managed

The following enterprise features for Redpanda Self-Managed are activated with a valid Enterprise Edition license key:

Enterprise features in Redpanda Console

The following enterprise features for Redpanda Console are activated with a valid Enterprise Edition license key:

Enterprise features in Redpanda Connect

The Enterprise Edition of Redpanda Connect includes additional connectors. For a list of all available connectors, see Connector Catalog.

How Redpanda Console handles licenses

If Redpanda Console cannot find a valid license either locally or in the connected Redpanda cluster, it shuts down. Redpanda Console tries to load a valid license for community or enterprise features at startup in the following order:

  1. From the local configuration file or environment variables.

  2. From the connected Redpanda cluster (if available).

Redpanda Console displays warnings in the following scenarios:

  • Upcoming license expiration: Redpanda Console checks the license status at startup. If the license expires within 30 days, a warning is displayed in the UI. Redpanda Console also logs the license details at startup, including the expiration date. For example:

    {"level":"info","msg":"successfully loaded Redpanda Enterprise license","license_org":"redpanda","license_type":"enterprise","expires_at":"Oct 12 2024"}

  • Redpanda Self-Managed enterprise features are in use without a valid license: If the Redpanda cluster is using enterprise features without a valid license, Redpanda Console displays a warning specifying the features in use without proper licensing.

  • Redpanda Console enterprise features in use without a valid license: If you configure enterprise features in Redpanda Console without a valid license, Redpanda Console shuts down and logs a warning.

Ways to manage licenses for Redpanda Console

Redpanda Console offers two methods for applying or updating a license, depending on your setup:

Next steps