Anaconda Licensing: What Changes with the New License Terms

Anaconda is a widely used open-source platform in the field of data science, providing a solution to manage Python environments and packages. It's a key tool for data science teams, as it simplifies the installation, management, and deployment of packages, environments, and libraries for data analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and statistics.

Software packages can be downloaded from two main types of channels: 

• The default channel, included in the Anaconda Distribution, provides packages tested and optimized by Anaconda. These packages are designed to be stable, secure, and suitable for production environments, especially in enterprise or regulated sectors. The Anaconda Repository, part of this channel, contains official packages and ensures users access secure and stable library versions.

• Community channels, such as conda-forge, managed by the open-source community, offer a broader selection of packages, including those not available in the default channel. These packages are updated more frequently but may not be as thoroughly tested as official ones. Nonetheless, they’re useful for accessing newer libraries or versions.

Packages available through channels like conda-forge are generally released under open-source licenses like MIT, GPL, or Apache, and are not subject to commercial restrictions. One example is Conda, the well-known package and environment manager, which remains free and open-source. The same goes for conda-compatible packages that can be installed from community channels like conda-forge at no additional cost.

In contrast, packages from the Anaconda Distribution often require commercial licenses or come with usage restrictions, especially in enterprise settings. This is because Anaconda Inc. invests resources to ensure their stability, security, and support.

Keep in mind that whether a license is required often depends on the source of the downloaded packages.For example, Miniconda, a lightweight alternative to the full Anaconda Distribution, is free and not subject to Anaconda's licensing terms, provided the default channel is not used and only community repositories are accessed.

Due to the growing use of Python and Anaconda by commercial users, Anaconda has updated its license terms in 2020, 2024, and most recently on July 15, 2025. These changes have extended license obligations to a broader range of organizations, with fewer exceptions—especially for educational and research institutions.

In the next paragraph, we will take a closer look at who is subject to licensing fees for using packages downloaded from the defaults channel and from Anaconda Distribution. 

Who Needs a Commercial License

With the 2020 license changes, it was clarified that free use is not allowed for entities that heavily rely on Anaconda's packaging and distribution.

“Commercial users who heavily rely on [our] packaging and distribution efforts purchase [our] commercial repository software.” [Anaconda 2020 Terms of Service] 

“Heavy commercial usage” refers to organizations that mirror the repository on a large scale or whose CI/CD and deployment systems make thousands of package download requests. Such usage can be easily detected via network traffic analysis. 

However, non-commercial users (like students, academics, and hobbyists) are excluded from these requirements. If the software is used for small research projects or educational purposes (e.g., learning data science), it doesn’t constitute a significant load and doesn't require a commercial license.

In 2024, Anaconda updated its terms to clarify the notion of “Organizational Use.” Under the new terms, any organization with 200 or more employees or contractors must purchase a paid license to use Anaconda software.

“Your registration, download, use, installation, access, or enjoyment of all Anaconda Offerings on behalf of an organization that has two hundred (200) or more employees or contractors (“Organizational Use”) requires a paid license of Anaconda Business or Anaconda Enterprise.” [Anaconda 2024 Terms of Service] 

This threshold applies not only to for-profit companies but also to government and non-profit organizations. This marks a significant shift from previous policies that allowed universities, research institutes, and other non-profits to use Anaconda for free.  

According to the latest terms, accredited educational institutions may still use Anaconda for free only for curricular activities such as teaching, learning, and research. This exemption applies even to institutions with over 200 staff. However, non-curricular research activities at such institutions (especially if they exceed the 200-person threshold and fall under ineligible criteria) now require a commercial license.

With the 2025 update, organizations with over 200 employees or contractors who are not eligible for free use must now subscribe to a Business Plan.

You must pay for a ‘Business Plan’ Subscription from Anaconda if you are using the Platform on behalf of a for-profit organization with more than 200 total employees or contractors (including all Affiliates) and you do not qualify for free use under Section 1(a) of these Terms (When Your Use is Free). [Anaconda 2025 Terms of Service]

There is also a new clause requiring additional payments for large-scale enterprise use, such as computing clusters, HPC, supercomputers, serverless, and dynamic scaling architectures.

How Anaconda Determines Who Must Pay 

The metric used to determine license obligations is “Authorized User” or simply “User.”

With the 2025 license update, Anaconda expanded the definition of “User” to include not only human users, but also non-human agents such as automated processes, AI, and serverless systems. This change enforces stricter user counting rules, requiring a license for each active or identifiable user, whether human or not.

Clients must maintain detailed records of authorized users, as the number of licenses specified in the order determines how many users can access the platform. Exceeding that number requires purchasing additional licenses.

To ensure compliance, clients must retain accurate usage records throughout the subscription period and for 12 months afterward. If Anaconda requests it, clients must provide these records to confirm compliance.

Anaconda, due to privacy and technical limitations, does not collect user data directly, and therefore it cannot know exactly who accesses what. Instead, it uses network traffic analysis and asks clients to actively confirm user counts. Their compliance monitoring includes the number of installers and package downloads over a specified period (usually 12 months).

1. Installers: Each time Anaconda is installed on a machine associated with a company domain.
2. Package Downloads: Each time a package is downloaded from a company domain.
3. Mirroring Downloads: If a company domain mirrors the entire repository, each such occurrence is counted.

Compliance Verification 

Anaconda performs data analysis to understand the customer's usage of Anaconda Python and related tools. It examines installer and package downloads associated with the company's domain to detect discrepancies between the license order and actual use.

This process targets organizations with 200+ employees that are ineligible for free use under the latest terms. The aim is to ensure the organization is fully licensed and that all active users and downloads are accounted for.

If non-compliance is found, the vendor requires customers to pay for the additional licenses at current pricing:

If Anaconda finds that you have more Users than what is listed on your Order, Anaconda may charge you for those extra Users based on Anaconda’s then-current pricing. 

The 2020 terms also stated in Section 14.3:

“…in the event there is no custom commercial agreement beyond these TOS between You and Anaconda at the time of a true-up pursuant to Section 14.2, and said true-up uncovers unauthorized or noncompliant usage, You will remunerate Anaconda via a settlement amount or back bill for any fees owed as a result of all unauthorized usage after April of 2020. Fees may be waived by Anaconda at its discretion. In addition to any charges for User counts, Anaconda may, at its sole discretion, also calculate damages based on activity metrics such as installers, packages or mirrors.“ 

Therefore, if a client has used the software without a proper license, Anaconda may also request a back settlement, meaning the retroactive payment of fees related to that unauthorized use, covering a period that may go back as far as 2020 (when commercial use started being regulated).

Given that a commercial license typically starts at $50/user/month, being non-compliant could become costly. Just 10 unlicensed users could mean an unexpected annual expense of $6,000, or $30,000 if back-charged to 2020. 

How to Ensure Compliance 

Given the risks of non-compliance and the fact that Anaconda does not guarantee exact tracking (which could work against you), preparation is critical. Keeping accurate and detailed software usage records is essential for quickly resolving any ambiguity and avoiding licensing issues.

In this way, we can prevent issues related to non-compliant usage and have the necessary documentation to respond to verification or resolution requests from Anaconda.

At WEGG, we are expert software licensing consultants. We can help you assess your current license status and support you in preparing for a vendor audit. We can also help determine the correct number of users to include in your Business Plan, based on your specific use cases.

Here are some tips to ensure compliance and avoid licensing problems: 

• Use Software Asset Management (SAM) tools: These tools allow you to precisely track software usage within your company. As Flexera partners, we can help you establish a baseline of installed software and identify Anaconda products and their source channels.