Oracle Java Licensing FAQ

Most companies that pay Oracle for Java did not decide to. Someone installed the Oracle JDK years ago, updates kept arriving, and the licence under those updates changed underneath them. In September 2026 it changed again: Oracle JDK 21 updates stopped being free for production use. This page answers the questions we are asked most about Oracle Java licensing, with Oracle’s own documents as the source for every rule and price.

In short

• Oracle JDK 25 is free for all users, including production, under Oracle’s No-Fee Terms and Conditions (NFTC) until September 2028 (Oracle Java SE Licensing FAQ, updated 20 October 2026).
• Oracle JDK 21 updates after September 2026 (21.0.13 and later), and current updates of JDK 17, 11 and 8, come under the OTN licence: free for personal use, development and testing, not for running your business.
• The paid licence is the Java SE Universal Subscription, priced per employee, not per Java user. Every employee counts, plus the staff of contractors and outsourcers who support your internal operations (price list of 8 October 2026).
• OpenJDK builds are free under an open source licence, from Oracle and from other vendors.

The rule, in Oracle’s words

Which licence applies depends on two things: the Java version, and the exact update you installed. Oracle’s licensing FAQ sets out three licences. The NFTC “permits free use for all users, even commercial and production use”. The OTN licence “permits personal use, development, testing, prototyping, demonstrating, and some other limited uses at no cost”. Oracle OpenJDK builds are under the GPLv2 with the Classpath Exception, free for everyone.

Personal use is narrower than most people think. Oracle’s FAQ says that using Java on a desktop or laptop “as part of any business operations” is not personal use. A finance team running a Java accounting tool on their laptops needs a licence.

Which Oracle JDK builds are free in production

From Oracle’s Java SE Licensing FAQ, updated 20 October 2026.

Oracle JDK release	Licence	Free in production?
JDK 25, releases through September 2028	NFTC	Yes
JDK 21.0.12 and earlier (through September 2026)	NFTC	Yes
JDK 21.0.13 and later (after September 2026)	OTN	No
JDK 17.0.12 and earlier (through September 2024)	NFTC	Yes
JDK 17.0.13 and later	OTN	No
JDK 11, all Oracle JDK releases	OTN	No
JDK 8u211 (April 2019) and later	OTN	No

The pattern repeats with every long-term release. Oracle’s FAQ says JDK 25 updates stay under the NFTC until September 2028, one year after JDK 29 is due, and then move to the OTN licence, “the same currently used for Java 8, 11, 17, and 21”.

What the Java SE Universal Subscription costs

From the Oracle Java SE Universal Subscription Global Price List of 8 October 2026. The minimum term is one year.

Employees	Price (US$)
Up to 10	100 a year
11 to 100	1,000 a year
101 to 500	10,000 a year
501 to 2,999	10,000 a year plus 147.20 a year for each employee above 500
3,000 to 9,999	10.50 per employee per month
10,000 to 19,999	8.25 per employee per month
20,000 to 29,999	6.75 per employee per month
30,000 to 39,999	5.70 per employee per month
40,000 to 49,999	5.25 per employee per month
50,000 and above	Contact Oracle

The prices for 2,999 employees or fewer are sold only by Oracle directly, not through resellers. Companies with 500 employees or fewer can buy online at the Oracle Store.

Worked examples

A company of 2,000 people

US$10,000 for the first 500, plus 1,500 x US$147.20 = US$220,800. The total is US$230,800 a year, whether 20 people use Java or 2,000.

The step at 3,000

Oracle’s own price list shows it. A company with 2,999 employees pays US$377,852.80 a year. At 3,000 employees the price is 3,000 x US$10.50 x 12 months = US$378,000. Above 3,000, every employee is charged at the band’s monthly rate.

Contractors count

A firm with 400 staff and an outsourced IT desk of 200 people who support its internal operations has 600 employees under Oracle’s definition. That is US$10,000 + 100 x US$147.20 = US$24,720 a year, not the US$10,000 its own headcount suggests. Our guide to the Java employee metric shows how to measure your real number before Oracle does.

Where you do not need a Java subscription

Java inside another Oracle product

If an Oracle product you license requires Java, Oracle’s subscription FAQ says you are already licensed to use the Java runtime “with, and for the sole purpose of running, that Oracle product”. It does not cover other applications on the same server. We explain the edges of this in approved product use in Oracle Java.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

OCI customers are entitled to use Oracle Java SE products under Oracle’s PaaS and IaaS Universal Credits service descriptions.

OpenJDK builds

Oracle’s OpenJDK builds on jdk.java.net are free for all users, but Oracle updates each one for six months only. Builds from other vendors, such as Eclipse Temurin, Amazon Corretto and the Microsoft Build of OpenJDK, are free as well, each on its own support terms. See OpenJDK versus Oracle JDK and alternatives to Oracle Java SE.

Mistakes we find in Java licence counts

• Counting Java users instead of employees. The subscription is priced on total employees. A quote built on the number of developers is wrong from the start.
• Automatic updates. A server set to take the latest Oracle JDK 21 moved from a free licence to a paid one with update 21.0.13, without anyone deciding to.
• Java nobody installed on purpose. Third-party applications often ship their own Oracle JRE. Whose licence covers it depends on the vendor’s agreement with Oracle.
• Old desktops. Oracle Java 8 from update 211 onwards on business laptops is commercial use.
• Forgetting the contractors. Outsourcers and consultants who support internal operations raise the count, as in the example above.

Our Java license review finds each Oracle Java installation, its version and update, and the licence it falls under, so you know what you owe before Oracle asks. The Java License Analyzer does the discovery.

Questions we are asked about Oracle Java licensing

Is Java still free?

Java the language is free, and so are OpenJDK builds. Oracle’s own JDK is free in production only under the NFTC: today that means JDK 25, and JDK 21 up to update 21.0.12. Other Oracle JDK updates need a subscription for business use.

Do we need a licence for Oracle JDK 21?

Only for updates released after September 2026 (21.0.13 and later) used in production. Updates up to 21.0.12 stay under the NFTC. Staying on 21.0.12 means running without security fixes, so most companies either subscribe, move to JDK 25, or move to an OpenJDK build.

What counts as an employee for Java?

All your full-time, part-time and temporary employees, plus those of your agents, contractors, outsourcers and consultants who support your internal business operations. The licensed number must at least equal your employees on the date of the order. The Java employee metric guide covers the count in detail.

Can we license only the servers that run Java?

Not under the current price list. The Java SE Universal Subscription is sold by the employee metric only. Each band also sets a processor limit (50,000 processors from 501 employees upwards, desktops and laptops excluded), and above it you must buy more.

What happens if we stop paying for the subscription?

Oracle’s FAQ says your right to use the software downloaded under the subscription, and your access to support, ends. Oracle itself recommends moving to OpenJDK builds before the subscription ends.

Does Oracle audit Java?

Yes. We have seen formal Java audits of end-user companies since June 2022, and audits of software vendors that ship Java to their customers. If Oracle has asked about your Java use, read how an audit defense works before you reply.