What’s the difference without the license?
Sublime is totally free? Can I use legally without a license?
braver
#2
It’s legal without a license You can use, or “evaluate”, it without a license indefinitely but it might not be completely legal. However, with a license, the application will stop bugging you about getting a license and the developers get paid for their effort and the value the application provides you.
1 Like
reedwade1
#4
That’s not correct. See https://www.sublimetext.com/buy
Sublime Text may be downloaded and evaluated for free, however a license must be purchased for continued use.
It will continue to function but you are in violation of the eval terms.
3 Likes
dhbn
#5
That’s not true. Legally you must buy a license if you continue to use it. Especially for companies and compliance rules it is necessary to follow and obey the licensing terms.
1 Like
braver
#6
Good points. The legality is probably more complicated, but in practice it doesn’t really matter. You can use/evaluate it indefinitely without problems or risk.
0 Likes
octothrope
#7
I will confess to a pretty lengthy “evaluation” period which I finally broke when the new version came out. I’m not a developer and use ST3 more for writing – but I do find it so useful that it made sense to support and “go legit” by buying a license.
5 Likes
dhbn
#8
Me too. I tried ST 3 beta a few times and bought the license a month ago. 
I write mainly Markdown files and convert them with Pandoc to Microsoft Word files. Besides Markdown editing I also use the snippets a lot.
2 Likes
Jared_Dixon
#10
So let’s say I’m using it for python (solo dev) then I make a successful game only out of sublime. Is that legal?? or do I have to do some kind of deal with Sublime cause I don’t wanna pay for it.
0 Likes
UltraInstinct05
#11
The license is kind of uncertain on this. It says
Sublime Text may be downloaded and evaluated for free, however a license must be purchased for continued use.
It can be downloaded and evaluated (used) for free. Okay, so how long the evaluation should last ? (In theory, it’s indefinite, so you could technically use it legally forever). A license must be purchased for continued use (So when does the “continued use” start ?). It doesn’t say whether you could build commercial products out of a unlicensed version. So the license term is generous but it leaves a lot of loose threads hanging.
0 Likes
bitsper2nd
#12
Short answer: They don’t and won’t bother to enforce legal action against people. There is no-hidden mechanism either to prevent you from using ST. So you can use the free evaluation without paying.
honest answer: Sublime Text is a premium tool that required a lot of effort to do. If you find yourself with a lot of money, please to consider buying a license. It’s the only way to support the developers.
2 Likes
bitsper2nd
#14
Nope. Every version of Sublime Text is closed-source. Most plugins are open-source though.
0 Likes