How does the software licensing work?
Answer
APG vNext license is per-instance. What it means is one APG vNext license gives you the right to install the software on one web server serving one base URL&...
Where to Learn More
- FAQ — frequently asked questions about APG vNext
- Knowledge Base — in-depth articles and tutorials
- Installation Guide — getting started step by step
- Support Forum — ask the community
- Features Overview — what APG vNext can do
Understanding the APG vNext Licence Model in Detail
The APG vNext licence is perpetual and per-instance — one licence allows one installation serving one base URL. A base URL is defined as the root domain (e.g., yourforum.com) including all subpaths under that domain. Running the forum at yourforum.com/community is covered by the same licence as yourforum.com. Multiple distinct domains (yourforum.com and anotherforum.com, or www.yourforum.com and members.yourforum.com when they host different forum instances) each require their own licence. Development and staging environments on non-public URLs (localhost, private IP addresses, .local or .dev TLDs) do not count as a licensed instance and do not require a separate licence.
Perpetual vs Subscription Components
The APG vNext licence has two components: the perpetual software licence and the optional annual maintenance subscription. The perpetual licence gives you the right to use the specific version of APG vNext you purchased indefinitely. The annual maintenance subscription provides software updates (including new major versions), security patches, and access to the private support forum. If the maintenance subscription lapses, the forum continues operating on the last version released during your subscription period — no features are disabled and no data is lost. Renewing restores access to newer versions and support.
Upgrading Your Licence Tier
APG vNext offers multiple licence tiers based on the scale of the community: Small Community, Professional, and Enterprise. Upgrade between tiers at any time by paying the difference in price — your existing licence key is upgraded to the new tier without requiring a new installation. Tier differences typically relate to member count limits, number of simultaneous instances covered, and priority support response time commitments. Review the current tier specifications on the pricing page to determine which tier is appropriate for your community's current and projected size.
Related Resources
Licence Audit and Compliance
APG vNext periodically performs licence compliance checks by sending an encrypted ping to the APG licence server including the installation domain, version number, and a site fingerprint. This telemetry is used exclusively for licence validation and version tracking — no personal member data, post content, or user behaviour data is included. For environments with strict outbound traffic policies, whitelist the APG licence validation endpoint (licence.aspplayground.net on port 443) in the outbound firewall rules. If the licence server cannot be reached due to firewall restrictions, APG vNext operates in a grace period mode for up to 30 days before displaying an admin alert — contact APG support to arrange an offline validation method for high-security environments.
Redistribution and White-Labelling Restrictions
The APG vNext licence does not permit redistribution of the software to third parties or use in a SaaS offering where you provide forum-as-a-service to other organisations. Each organisation running APG vNext must hold their own licence. White-labelling (removing APG branding) is permitted under the Professional and Enterprise licence tiers but not under the Small Community tier. If you are building a managed forum service for multiple clients, contact APG sales for a hosting partner programme agreement, which provides volume pricing and permits managing multiple client installations under a single partner account without requiring individual licence purchases for each client.
Open Source Contribution and the Licence
While APG vNext is commercial software, the company has a history of releasing standalone utilities, plugins, and SDK components as open source under the MIT licence. Check the APG GitHub organisation for open source components that extend APG vNext functionality. Community-contributed themes and plugins available through the theme marketplace may have their own licences independent of the core APG vNext licence. Always review the licence of each plugin or theme before deploying it to a production community, particularly if your community operates in a regulated industry where open source licence compliance is reviewed by legal.
Transferring a Licence to a New Owner
If a community changes ownership — for example, if you sell the forum business to a new operator — the APG vNext licence can be transferred to the new owner. Submit a licence transfer request through the customer portal specifying the current owner details, the new owner details, and confirmation of the sale. APG processes licence transfers within 3 business days. The new owner receives a transferred licence tied to their customer portal account with the original purchase date preserved for maintenance subscription calculations. Licence transfers are free of charge for customers with active maintenance subscriptions and are available at a small administrative fee for lapsed subscriptions.
Looking for more help? Browse the support forum or check the Knowledge Base.