How many lifetime renewals for personal/startup users?

[jsejcksn]

I have read in many places that I can sign up a "startup" license, which is for personal use or for projects that haven't made $100 000. My question isn't about the definition of startup. I have read many responses from Autodesk representatives that say that if I still fit that same "startup" definition when the 1-year license expires, that I can renew the license again. I am also clear on that.

What I want to know is this if I continue to fit that definition perpetually, will Fusion 360 be made available to me to perpetually license at no cost for the lifetime of the product? I do not want to begin to use a software in this manner if there will be a point in the future where my ability to access and modify my files through it might change.

[brianrepp · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the community @jsejcksn - I want to make sure I fully understand your question, but it sounds like you're asking if we can guarantee hobbyist/startup access to Fusion 360 for free, indefinitely.  Is that correct?

In short, while we cannot make that guarantee, at this point in time we are 100% committed to our hobbyists and startups (they're a HUGE part of what helped us with our early success), and have every intention of continuing to offer Fusion 360 to them free of charge if they're making less than $100k/yr.

[jsejcksn]

Thanks for the response, Brian

[Noah_Katz]

Hi Brian,

Sounds good, but I'm finding ambiguous if not conflicting info about this;I fall in the hobbyist classification.

From  knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-acti...

"The Start-Up/ Enthusiast licenses allow you to access Fusion 360 Ultimate with a yearly subscription after the trial period has ended."

On this page it says www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview

"Free for students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and startups

Full use of Fusion 360 for as long as you need it"

but when you hover your mouse over the info symbol it says

Access the same design software used by industry leaders worldwide. A free 3-year license is available for students, teachers, and academic institutions.
A free 1-year startup license is also available for hobbyists, enthusiasts, makers, and emerging businesses that make less than US$100,000 in revenue per year. At the end of 1 year, you can reselect the startup entitlement or transition to a commercial entitlement.

Oh, now that I read to the bottom I guess it's pretty clear, but just to make sure (it just seems too good to be true):

As a hobbyist, I can get a 1-yr free license which currently is perpetually renewable - correct?

Thanks

[brianrepp]

Hey @Noah_Katz - sorry for any confusion, but yes, assuming you're eligible (meaning you make less than $100k per year off of your business using F360), you have free hobbyist/startup access to Fusion 360.  While I can't make any promises about what level of functionality we will offer to hobbyists or startups down the road, we are fully committed to you and have no intention on removing the no-cost option for F360.  Hope that helps!

[Noah_Katz]

Great, thanks, Brian!