VMime has two licensing options available. For more information about why these licenses were chosen, please visit the Dual Licensing Model page.

License Comparison Chart


 Commercial version
Buy Online		 GPL version
License cost License fee charged Free
Must provide source code changes to VMime Modified source code of VMime must be provided
Can create proprietary applications Yes, in accordance with the GNU LGPL v3 terms and exceptions for VMime
(see below)		 No, applications are subject to the GPL and source code must be made available
Updates provided
 Yes, freely distributed on this site
Support Not guaranteed
Royalties
 No
Number of developers One or Unlimited, depending on the license
(see below)		 Unlimited

Open Source License (GNU GPL)

We are supporters of Free and Open Source software (FOSS). This is the appropriate option if you are creating an Open Source application with a license compatible with the GNU GPL version 3. This license is free of charge.

We are currently working on an Open Source License Exception for FOSS Applications which are released under licenses which are not compatible with GNU GPL v3.

Commercial License

This is the appropriate option if you are creating proprietary applications and do not want to distribute and share the source code of your application under the GNU GPL license.

The VMime commercial license actually is the GNU Lesser GPL license with the following exceptions:

  • You may link, statically or dynamically, your application with VMime, and you may distribute the resulting combined work under terms of your choice, without any of the additional requirements listed in clause 6 of the GNU Lesser General Public License;
  • You must either 1) purchase a Single Developer License for each developer which uses VMime in your company, or 2) purchase an Unlimited Developers License;
  • You may NOT relicense the code to anyone.

This license does not require your application to be GPL-compatible (ie: you are NOT forced to release your source code under the GNU (L)GPL v3 license), nor to touch anything to your application or your license: you may link your proprietary application against VMime library without sharing your source code.

Commercial licenses:

  • Are royalty-free;
  • Remove any obligations to release your source code under the GNU GPL; however, any change made to the VMime codebase should be published and brought back to the community (as with the GNU Lesser GPL license);
  • Are perpetual and include all public upgrades that are released after the date of purchase, for lifetime;
  • Are on a per developer basis. Each person who directly or indirectly creates an application, a module or a user interface which makes use of VMime components is considered a developer.

You can purchase a commercial license online:

Single Developer License Unlimited Developer License
€99,00

 €299,00

Please note: payment is secured using PayPal. You will receive a confirmation email and a license contract by postal mail, so be sure to include the name and address of your company in the billing form.

If you are not sure what license to use, or if you have any question about VMime licensing, please feel free to contact us.

Please note: nothing else is included in the commercial license. Mainly, there is still no warranty on the project, and it does not include or guarantee any support.