What free tier provides

What is Liferay Free Tier?

From 2026, Liferay offers a single, unified DXP platform. The difference between Community and Enterprise is no longer the software itself, but the activation key.
The Free Tier is a great way to get started. But when security, continuous updates, and professional support truly matter, Enterprise becomes the only sensible choice.

Liferay Free Tier delivers the core capabilities previously available in Community Edition on a unified Liferay DXP platform. It is a free activation model designed for testing, proof-of-concept projects, and non-business-critical applications.

Liferay Free Tier provides access to the same unified Liferay DXP platform used in Enterprise environments. It is activated through a free Activation Key that is renewable annually and registered to a single domain for server validation purposes. Once activated, you can host as many Sites and Virtual Instances as you need, each with their own unique URLs. Compared to Enterprise, access to updates, features, and support remains limited. It allows you to build, test, and run applications using the core capabilities of the platform, with access to one curated, stable release per quarter, which may be the .0, .1, or .2 release, depending on which version Liferay designates as most ready for use.

As part of Liferay’s open source commitment, the source code remains available under the LGPL license via the GitHub master branch, and Free Tier users retain the fundamental rights to use and copy the software.

Request an Enterprise offer

What Free Tier does NOT provide?

Limitations

What it means in practice

Access limited to one stable release per quarter

Free Tier users receive one curated, stable release per quarter. Continuous hotfixes and security patches released between quarterly drops are not included, only Enterprise subscribers receive those immediately.

No Security Alerts

No proactive security alerts or enterprise-grade vulnerability notification system

Enterprise features are restricted

Certain capabilities and modules are only available with an Enterprise Subscription

No modification or redistribution rights

Free Tier users can extend the platform through custom modules and extensions. Modification of the core platform itself and redistribution to third parties are not permitted under the Free Tier terms.

No official support

No official vendor support – teams must rely on internal resources or community-based solutions

Annual key renewal required

The Activation Key is valid for 12 months and must be renewed regularly

In summary: Free Tier is not suitable for business-critical projects. If security updates, bug fixes, and guaranteed support matter, Enterprise is the only safe path.
customer success story

Improving digital experience to increase conversion by 30%

"Even the most ambitious projects can be delivered when you gather the right people, and when people rally behind the customer to drive it forward. KBC Bank Ireland now have the power to keep updating the experience themselves, without having to call in engineers."
Paul Flynn
Head of Digital Channels at KBC
Customer success story

Enabling MSCI to move fast at scale

"As a big global company that's intensely regulated we had to be intentional about speed. Our culture of customer centricity, a clearly articulated strategy and software with self-service capability allowed our teams to move fast at scale. We are now able to decide on a Monday that we want to change something, and see it in production 2 weeks later."
Zoltán Szőke
Vice President of Business Technology at MSCI

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Expert opinion
10 years as a Leader
“Liferay is the leader you can rely upon.”
Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms

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When your project becomes business-critical

Enterprise is no longer optional.

All security updates, without delay
Free Tier provides one curated, stable release per quarter, while Enterprise ensures continuous patching, security updates, and full release coverage across every dot release.
No migration, no downtime
Upgrading to Enterprise is a single step: applying a Subscriber Activation Key. Your environment, data, and configurations remain unchanged, only your capabilities expand.*
Guaranteed support
24×7 SLA-based support and access to Liferay's global services are available exclusively to Enterprise subscribers. For teams that need deeper guidance, a dedicated Technical Account Manager (TAM) is also available as an add-on.
Unlock enterprise-only features
Certain capabilities and modules (such as advanced workflows, SSO/SAML, MFA, and analytics) are restricted in Free Tier and can only be unlocked with an Enterprise Subscription.
Legal protection
Enterprise Subscription includes Legal Protection: Liferay's legal program protects customers and ensures the business continuity of their projects, a critical factor for organizations in regulated industries.
Perpetual license
For on-premise deployments, Enterprise customers receive a perpetual commercial license: even if the subscription ends, the software continues to run, without support, updates, or additional services.

*If you're currently using Liferay Portal CE, a short assessment may be required, as legacy customizations are not always fully compatible with the unified platform. Your existing content (Web Content, Documents and Media) remains fully supported on the new platform — though new feature development is focused on the next-generation Liferay CMS going forward.

Who is Enterprise for?

An Enterprise Subscription is especially recommended if:

  • The system supports critical business processes or runs in a production environment
  • Rapid response to security vulnerabilities is required
  • Your organization operates in a regulated industry (finance, healthcare, public sector)
  • The system needs to be handed over to or integrated with third parties
  • Guaranteed SLA and dedicated support are essential
  • You require enterprise-only capabilities (such as SSO, MFA, advanced workflows, or analytics)