Why is autodesk trying to hide/remove the free personal license for fusion 360?

[Anonymous]

Hi.

I've noticed that autodesk website has no mentions of this free non-commercial license, and even in the software it self the mention is only when your license expires and you want to renew it and with that it's easy to miss.

My question is does autodesk plan to remove this license option?

You see, thanks to this license I've convinced a lot of people to give fusion 360 a try, and now they use it, and those who work with cad in their job have convinced their employer to switch from solidworks to fusion 360.

Not just that, but everyone who has a 3d printer uses exclusively blender and fusion 360, meshmixer.

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi.

1.  I've noticed that autodesk website has no mentions of this free non-commercial license,...

3. My question is does autodesk plan to remove this license option?

2.  ...those who work with cad in their job have convinced their employer to switch from solidworks to fusion 360..

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1. See attached (information button lower right corner). Download Free Trial

2. That does not sound like non-commercial use.  Are these companies so tenuous that they depend on free software to stay in business?

3. Why should Fusion be free indefinitely, even as it enters a market status as a robust and mature technology able to replace your professional MCAD, CAD/CAM, CAE analysis and Rendering softwares?

[SamanthaJaneyCake]

True, but as a just graduating, currently unemployed maker and 3D print enthusiast I don't have the finances to afford a full version if it comes to it and F360 is a cut above every other free program out there.

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@TheCADWhisperer wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi.

1.  I've noticed that autodesk website has no mentions of this free non-commercial license,...

3. My question is does autodesk plan to remove this license option?

2.  ...those who work with cad in their job have convinced their employer to switch from solidworks to fusion 360..

---

1. See attached (information button lower right corner). Download Free Trial

2. That does not sound like non-commercial use.  Are these companies so tenuous that they depend on free software to stay in business?

3. Why should Fusion be free indefinitely, even as it enters a market status as a robust and mature technology able to replace your professional MCAD, CAD/CAM, CAE analysis and Rendering softwares?

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[Anonymous]

that's not what i meant.

their companies are paying for license.

And there is nothing wrong with paying for a license.

I was just concerned that people would turn away if the non commercial
license went away.

It's a good software, and I like many people I know can't afford to pay for
the license.

[TheCADWhisperer]

I have not heard any rumors of the free license program being discontinued.

Where did you get your information?

I searched Google on the terms Autodesk Fusion 360 Free Trial Download and came up with the same link that I have always seen.  (image and link posted in my previous response)

[Anonymous]

few days ago my license expired and it presented an option to buy one, and
I overlooked the link for the non-commercial license, I went to the
autodesk site and couldn't find it there either.

Maybe I'm just paranoid, sorry for that.

[lichtzeichenanlage]

The start-up / enthusiast licence was (always) limited to one year. The student licence was (always) limited to 3 years. You can contact fusion to extend the startup licence.

[HughesTooling]

@lichtzeichenanlage You used to be able to renew the one year non commercial license easily from the banner warning you it was about to expire and you could renew as many times as you liked. Sounds like maybe they've changed that and made it less obvious how to renew. @brianrepp can you comment?

Mark

[keqingsong · Accepted solution]

Hey all, apologies for the confusion. Fusion 360 is and will continue to be free for Students (3 year subscription) and startups/hobbyist (1 year subscription). Both are renewable - you can still renew in-product when the software detects that you're near the end of your subscription. Recently we have made changes to the in-product experience around how you can subscribe - see this page here for more info.