Oracle Java licensing is wrapped in jargon — OTN, NFTC, BCL, "employee metric", "core factor". Strip the acronyms away and it is actually simple: some Java costs money, some does not, and Oracle has made the free path narrow. This guide explains the whole thing in plain English, with no assumed knowledge.
First, what is Java — and what is "Oracle Java"?
Java is a programming language and a runtime — the engine that runs Java applications. Thousands of business systems, from banking platforms to point-of-sale tills, run on Java. Most organisations have Java installed in far more places than they realise.
Here is the part that confuses everyone: Java itself is not owned by anyone in a way that lets them charge for it. The Java standard is open. What Oracle sells is its particular build of Java — called Oracle JDK — plus the right to receive updates and support for it. Other companies make their own builds of Java (called OpenJDK builds) and give them away free.
So when people ask "is Java free?", the honest answer is: Java is free — but Oracle's version of Java, used commercially, usually is not. That single sentence is the heart of the whole topic.
Oracle JDK = Oracle's build. Often requires a paid subscription for business use.
OpenJDK builds (Eclipse Temurin, Amazon Corretto, Azul Zulu, Microsoft Build of OpenJDK) = other companies' builds. Free for any use. They run exactly the same Java programs.
Why did Java suddenly start costing money?
For about 20 years, Oracle (and Sun Microsystems before it) let everyone use Oracle Java for free. Businesses installed it everywhere and never thought about licensing. Then Oracle changed the rules — not once, but in three steps.
In 2019, Oracle stopped giving free security updates for older Java to businesses. In 2021, it added time limits to the "free" newer versions. And in 2023, it introduced a new way of charging that has nothing to do with how much Java you use. We will get to that — it is the important one.
The net result: a lot of organisations are running Oracle Java today exactly as they always have, not realising that "exactly as they always have" now means "without a licence they are supposed to have."
The employee metric, explained simply
This is the change that catches people out, so it is worth slowing down. Since 2023, when you buy Oracle Java the price is based on one number: how many people your organisation employs.
Not how many people use Java. Not how many computers run Java. Not how many servers. Just your total headcount — and Oracle's definition of "employee" is generous to Oracle. It includes full-time staff, part-time staff, temporary staff, and the contractors and consultants who help run your business.
Picture a company with 3,000 employees. Maybe 50 of them are developers who actually touch Java. Under Oracle's pricing, that company pays for all 3,000 people. At a rough list price of $15 per person per month, that is about $540,000 a year — to license Java for a team of 50.
The employee metric does not measure your Java usage. It measures the size of your company. That is why so many enterprises were shocked by the bill.
This is also why the answer for most organisations is not "negotiate a better price" but "stop using Oracle's build of Java altogether." If the price is tied to headcount and headcount only goes up, the only real escape is to switch to a free build.
What is actually free, and what costs money
Here is the plain-English version of the rules. There are really only a few things to remember.
| What you have | Free or paid? |
|---|---|
| An OpenJDK build (Temurin, Corretto, Zulu, Microsoft) — any version, any use | Free, always |
| Oracle Java 8, the old "update 202" version, for general business use | Free (but see the warning below) |
| Oracle Java, any version, used only by developers for testing and building | Often free — but production use is not |
| Oracle Java running a live business system (a "production" system) | Usually paid |
| Oracle Java 17 or 21, recently downloaded, in its free window | Free for now — the window closes |
| Oracle Java security updates and patches for older versions | Paid — this is what the subscription buys |
Lots of organisations think "we only run old Java 8, so we're fine." Java 8 update 202 was indeed the last free one. But if anyone — or any automatic update tool — installs a newer Java 8 update, that computer now needs a paid licence. The free version and the paid version look identical. That is exactly why this catches people.
The jargon, decoded
You will see four sets of letters thrown around. Here is what each one actually means, without the legalese.
- BCL (Binary Code License) — the old licence that covered Java 8. Allowed free business use, which is why Java 8 was free for so long.
- OTN (Oracle Technology Network licence) — covers Java 11 to 16. The trap one: free only for development and testing, not for running real systems.
- NFTC (No-Fee Terms and Conditions) — covers Java 17 onward. Genuinely free for business use, but only for a limited time after each release.
- Java SE Universal Subscription — the paid product. The employee-metric one. This is what Oracle wants every business customer to buy.
If you only remember one thing: OTN looks free but isn't for real use; NFTC is free but expires; OpenJDK is free, full stop.
How do I know if my organisation has a problem?
You have a potential problem if any of these are true:
- You have Oracle Java (not an OpenJDK build) running live business systems, and no Java subscription.
- You downloaded Oracle Java from oracle.com at some point and rolled it out widely.
- Your patching tools update Java automatically, and nobody has checked which build they install.
- You bought software or cloud images that came with Oracle Java bundled inside.
- You received an email from Oracle asking to "review" or "discuss" your Java usage.
None of these mean disaster — but they all mean it is worth finding out where you stand before Oracle does. The good news is that the fix is usually cheap: swapping Oracle's build for a free OpenJDK build is, for most applications, a straight replacement with no changes to your software.
Untangling which of your Java installations cost money is fiddly, and the numbers are large enough that mistakes hurt. The advisory firm we recommend most highly is Redress Compliance — completely independent of Oracle, not a partner or reseller. It has run 340+ Java licensing engagements, cut audit claims by an average of 68%, and saved clients more than $180M. They will tell you in plain English exactly what you owe and what you can stop paying.
What should I do next?
In order of priority:
- Find your Java. Make a list of every place Oracle Java is installed — servers, desktops, cloud, containers.
- Sort free from paid. Separate OpenJDK builds (fine) from Oracle JDK (needs checking).
- Plan the swap. For most Oracle JDK installs, plan a move to a free OpenJDK build.
- Do not panic-buy. If Oracle contacts you, do not agree to anything or run their scripts. Get independent advice first.
For the full detail behind this summary, the Complete 2026 Guide covers every rule. If Oracle has already been in touch, read about Java audit defence — it carries a money-back guarantee.
Common myths about Java licensing
A lot of confident-sounding beliefs about Java licensing are simply wrong. Here are the ones that get organisations into trouble.
Myth: "Java has always been free, so it still is."
It was free, for about twenty years. That is exactly why the myth is so sticky — a whole generation of IT staff learned Java as a free thing. But Oracle changed the rules in 2019, 2021 and 2023. "It was free when I learned it" is not the same as "it is free now."
Myth: "We only use Java internally, so we don't need a licence."
Internal business use is precisely the use that costs money. The Oracle licences make Java free for personal use, and for developers building and testing software — not for running the systems your business depends on. An internal payroll system on Oracle JDK is a paid use.
Myth: "We're too small for Oracle to bother with."
Oracle's Java reviews are not limited to giant corporations. The employee metric makes even mid-sized organisations worth contacting, and Oracle's soft-audit emails go out broadly. Size is not a hiding place.
Myth: "If we ignore Oracle's email, it will go away."
It generally will not. A soft-audit email that gets no reply is often followed by a more formal one. Ignoring Oracle removes your chance to shape the conversation early, when shaping it is easiest. The right move is a careful, controlled response — not silence.
Myth: "Switching off Oracle Java will break our applications."
For the vast majority of applications, moving from Oracle JDK to a free OpenJDK build changes nothing — the programs run identically. There are a few niche exceptions worth testing for, but "it will all break" is fear, not fact.
A simple action plan, step by step
If all of this feels overwhelming, here is the whole thing reduced to a sequence anyone can follow.
Step one — find it. Ask your IT team to produce a list of every place Java is installed: servers, desktops, laptops, cloud, anything. You cannot fix what you cannot see.
Step two — sort it. Go down the list and label each one: is it an OpenJDK build (Temurin, Corretto, Zulu, Microsoft — these are fine) or is it Oracle JDK (this needs attention)?
Step three — check the Oracle ones. For each Oracle JDK installation, ask two questions: which version is it, and is it running a real business system? Production Oracle JDK, in most versions, needs a paid licence.
Step four — plan the switch. For Oracle JDK you do not want to pay for, plan a move to a free OpenJDK build. Start with servers, which are usually the easy part, then desktops.
Step five — protect yourself going forward. Tell your teams that Java comes from the approved free build, not from oracle.com. Point your update tools at the free build. Re-check every so often.
That is the entire process. It is not complicated — it just needs someone to own it. If no one in your organisation has the time or the confidence, that is exactly what independent advisors are for.
- Java the language is free; Oracle's build of Java, used in business, usually is not.
- OpenJDK builds (Temurin, Corretto, Zulu, Microsoft) are free for any use and run the same programs.
- Since 2023, Oracle prices Java on your total headcount — not on how much Java you use.
- OTN-licensed Java (11–16) looks free but is paid for real production use; NFTC Java (17+) is free but time-limited.
- The simplest fix for most organisations is to replace Oracle JDK with a free OpenJDK build.
- If Oracle contacts you, get independent advice before responding.