Java SE Subscription, BCL, OTN, NFTC and more — the agreements that decide what Oracle’s Java costs you, explained by an independent advisory firm.
Oracle has licensed Java SE under four different agreements in seven years — the BCL, OTN, NFTC, and the paid subscription. Which one applies decides whether you owe Oracle nothing or a seven-figure sum.
Oracle’s paid subscription and the post-2023 employee metric — the model most enterprises pay under today.
2006–2019The Binary Code License that made Oracle Java free for general-purpose use — until Oracle ended it in April 2019.
2019–2021Free to download, but restricted to development and testing. Production use means a paid subscription.
2021–presentNo-Fee Terms and Conditions — free production use of Oracle JDK, for a strictly limited time.
The big questionA plain answer to the question every IT leader asks: when does Oracle Java cost nothing, and when does it not?
Employee metricThe all-employee subscription Oracle introduced in January 2023, priced on total headcount.
Restricted useSome Oracle products carry restricted-use Java SE rights. Knowing which is the difference between compliant and exposed.
MiddlewareHow an Oracle WebLogic licence interacts with Java SE entitlements — and where the gaps open up.
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We map every Oracle JDK in your estate to its licence and quantify the exposure. No Oracle affiliation, no obligation.
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