Run your store on Vendure, and your plugins stay yours
Running your own store on Vendure Core is not distribution, and a plugin exception lets your plugins use any licence. Core is licensed under GPLv3, every paid plan adds a commercial licence for it, and the B2B capabilities are licensed per plan.
What applies to your project
No source to publish for your own store
Shoppers use your store over the network and receive no copy. Under GPLv3, that is not conveying, whether you changed Vendure Core or not.
Your plugins, your licence
The plugin exception lets plugins distributed separately from Vendure Core, with no Core source inside, use any licence, proprietary included.
A commercial licence with every paid plan
With an active paid Subscription, the Terms of Service license Vendure Core for your project as an alternative to GPLv3. The GPL conditions then do not apply to your use and modification of Core for the project.
What applies to each part of your project
The line that matters is distribution. Running the store for your shoppers is not distribution, and GPLv3 sets no conditions on software you run but do not hand over. Handing a build to someone else is distribution, and the recipient is entitled to the source of the Vendure Core packages in it.
This page summarises. The licence texts and the Terms of Service govern.
| Part | What applies |
|---|---|
| Vendure Core | GPLv3 since v3.0, released in July 2024. v2.3 was the last minor version under MIT. The GPLv3 rights are irrevocable as long as its conditions are met. |
| Running your store | Not distribution. Shoppers use it over the network and receive no copy. |
| Your plugins | Any licence, proprietary included, when distributed separately from Vendure Core with no Core source inside. The plugin exception grants this. |
| A build you hand over | The Vendure Core packages in it stay under GPLv3, changed or not, and the recipient is entitled to their source. If you build the Project for a client who holds a paid Subscription, the build is the client's Project and the commercial licence covers it (Terms 10.3). |
| Commercial licence | While a paid Subscription is active, and for non-production use during a trial, the Terms of Service license Vendure Core for the project as an alternative to GPLv3. |
| B2B capabilities | Proprietary plugins, licensed per plan for one project. Vendure Core runs without them. |
What applies when
You run your own store: nothing to publish
Your team changes Vendure Core, writes plugins and runs the store for its shoppers. The shoppers receive no copy, so there is no source to publish, changed or not.
You write plugins: your choice of licence
Plugins distributed separately from Vendure Core, with no Core source inside, can carry any licence: MIT, proprietary or another of your choice.
You hand over a build: the source goes with it
An agency delivering to a client, or a vendor shipping a product: under GPLv3, the recipient is entitled to the source of the Vendure Core packages, changed or not. If you build the Project for a client who holds a paid Subscription, the build is the client's Project and the commercial licence covers it (Terms 10.3). Plugins distributed separately keep their own licence.
The commercial licence in the Terms of Service
Every paid plan includes a commercial licence for Vendure Core. For Starter, Growth and Scale, it is set out in section 10 of the Terms of Service. Enterprise is covered by a separately negotiated agreement.
- What it covers. While a paid Subscription is active, the Terms license Vendure Core to you for the Project, as an alternative to its open-source licence. Under it, the conditions of GPLv3 do not apply to your use and modification of Vendure Core for the Project (section 10.2(c)). A Project is one Vendure application with one production database.
- During a trial. The same licence applies for non-production use only, and it ends with the trial unless the trial converts into a paid Subscription (section 5.5).
- Who may use it. Your employees and contractors, including an agency or systems integrator building the Project for you. You are responsible for their compliance (section 10.3).
- GPLv3 stays available. You may use Vendure Core under GPLv3 instead. When the Subscription ends, the commercial licence ends with it, and GPLv3 applies from then on (section 10.9).
- Its scope. It covers Vendure Core for the Project. If you plan to distribute Vendure Core to others, talk to us about your case.
The B2B capabilities are licensed per plan
Each plan licenses its own B2B capabilities for one project. Starter, Growth, Scale and Enterprise are cumulative, and Vendure Core runs without them.
What legal teams ask
No. Under GPLv3, interaction with users over a network, with no transfer of a copy, is not conveying. Your shoppers receive no copy.
Yes. The plugin exception in Vendure's licence covers plugins distributed separately from Vendure Core that contain no Core source. They can use any licence.
You can. Under GPLv3, the Vendure Core packages stay GPLv3, changed or not: if you hand a build to someone, they are entitled to its source. Running it yourself is not distribution. With an active paid Subscription, the Terms of Service license your use and modification of Vendure Core for the project without the GPL conditions.
Yes. Your employees and contractors may use Vendure Core under the licence in the Terms of Service, including an agency or systems integrator building the project for you. You remain responsible for their compliance.
The commercial licence for Vendure Core ends with it, and GPLv3 applies from then on. Your rights under GPLv3 are not affected. You must also stop using the plugins of your plan and remove them from all environments.
Under GPLv3 you can, and whoever receives it is entitled to the source of the Vendure Core packages in it. The commercial licence in the Terms of Service covers Vendure Core for your own project. For anything beyond that, contact us.
Yes, with v3.0 in July 2024. Vendure Core moved from MIT to GPLv3, and v2.3 was the last minor version under MIT.
Questions from your legal review?
Send them to us, including questions about the commercial licence, or ask the implementation partner on your project.
Sources (10) · claims last checked 2026
- Vendure, Discover Vendure's new licensing models, 19 June 2024: the move from MIT to GPLv3 · vendure.io/blog/license-change-announcement
- Michael Bromley, Announcing Vendure v2.3 and v3.0: v2.3 as the last release under MIT · vendure.io/blog/announcing-vendure-v2-3-v3-0
- npm: @vendure/core 3.0.0, published 17 July 2024 · npmjs.com/package/@vendure/core
- LICENSE.md in the Vendure repository · github.com/vendurehq/vendure/blob/master/LICENSE.md
- The Vendure plugin exception · github.com/vendurehq/vendure/blob/master/license/plugin-exception.txt
- Vendure docs, Publishing a plugin: licence · docs.vendure.io
- Michael Bromley, Busting the myth of GPL, 31 July 2025: network use, plugins and distribution · vendure.io/blog/busting-the-myth-of-gpl
- GNU General Public License v3, sections 0, 2, 6 and 7 · gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0
- Vendure Terms of Service, sections 1.4, 5.5 and 10 · vendure.io/company/terms-of-service
- Vendure pricing: what each plan includes · vendure.io/pricing
