---
title: Licensing & Billing
description: How Sencho Pro licensing works - trials, activation, and subscription management.
---

Sencho uses an open-core model. The **Community** tier is free forever with unlimited nodes. **Pro** unlocks advanced features like fleet management, RBAC, webhooks, atomic deployments, and fleet-wide backups.

<Tip>
  *Our tier names are inspired by the meaning of Sencho (船長) — because you're the captain of your container fleet.*
</Tip>

## Plans

| Tier | Price | Accounts |
|------|-------|----------|
| **Community** | Free | 1 admin |
| **Skipper** | $7.99/month, $69.99/year, or $249 lifetime | 1 admin + 3 viewers |
| **Admiral** | $49.99/month, $499.99/year, or $1,499 lifetime | Unlimited |

Lifetime pricing is an early-adopter offer available for a limited time only.

## Free trial

Every new Sencho installation starts with a **14-day Skipper trial** - no license key or credit card required. Skipper features like fleet management, RBAC viewer accounts, webhooks, and atomic deployments are unlocked during the trial so you can evaluate them with your real infrastructure. Admiral features (SSO, audit log, unlimited accounts) require an Admiral license.

When the trial expires, Sencho automatically reverts to the Community tier. No data is lost.

## Upgrading your plan

You can upgrade directly from **Settings > License** in your Sencho dashboard. The upgrade cards shown depend on your current tier:

- **Community users** see both **Skipper** and **Admiral** options with feature highlights and direct checkout links.
- **Skipper users** see an **Admiral** upgrade card for when you need unlimited accounts.
- **Admiral users** are on the highest tier - no upgrade cards are shown.

Clicking an upgrade button opens the Lemon Squeezy checkout in a new tab. After completing the purchase, you'll receive a license key by email.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/license-settings.png" alt="License settings showing upgrade cards for Skipper and Admiral" />
</Frame>

## Activating your license

1. Go to **Settings > License** in your Sencho dashboard.
2. Paste your key into the **License Key** field at the bottom of the page.
3. Click **Activate**.

Sencho validates the key against Lemon Squeezy and activates Pro features immediately.

## License validation

Active licenses are re-validated every **72 hours** against the Lemon Squeezy API. If your instance goes offline, there is a **30-day grace period** before it degrades to the Community tier.

## Managing your subscription

To manage your subscription (update payment method, view invoices, cancel, or switch plans), visit the [Lemon Squeezy customer portal](https://app.lemonsqueezy.com/my-orders) or use the link in your purchase confirmation email.

## Deactivating a license

To transfer your license to a different instance:

1. Go to **Settings > License**.
2. Click **Deactivate License**.
3. On your new instance, activate the same license key.

Deactivation reverts the current instance to the Community tier immediately.
