“Isn’t 7-PDF freeware and free of charge?” In general, most of our programs are indeed available as freeware or at least as free-to-use shareware. If the functionality of these free editions is not sufficient for you, or you would like to use our PDF solutions commercially, then the paid premium versions may come into focus – and these are available as advantageous so-called “Lifetime Licenses” (with exceptions; see below).
Because the topic of “Lifetime License” keeps raising the question in your support requests what exactly that means, we would like to use this page to explain in detail what your advantage is!
When users and companies consider purchasing a license from 7-PDF, Germany, they often stumble over the term “Lifetime License”. In essence, you purchase from us a time-unlimited and functionally unrestricted license per user (NamedUser) for one of the premium PDF editions. After purchase, you will receive a license key by email to activate this license. With this key, you activate the license within the already installed 7-PDF freeware or shareware version, and can then use our PDF program you have licensed without restrictions and, above all, permanently in the corresponding premium version. The great advantage of our “Lifetime Licenses” is that new release versions can also be used with your one-time purchased license key, with exceptions (see below) – for “a lifetime”, so to speak. Our license fee awarded for a program is only due once! This means that with our lifetime licenses, the constant purchase of a fresh license after, for example, a major new release is no longer necessary. Moreover, we do not have anything like software subscriptions that would have to be renewed annually with recurring licensing costs, as is common practice with other software vendors. You may know this from paid antivirus programs.
We believe that software – as was common in the 1990s or even in the early 2000s – should be purchased once, and that’s it. We are not fans of software subscriptions or an annual or monthly fee. Cloud-based PDF providers often use this payment method for corresponding PDF functionality.
1) 7-PDF Printer (technology & driver architectures):
For almost all 7-PDF desktop products (e.g., 7-PDF Split & Merge, 7-PDF2Word, PDF Mailer PlugIn, etc.) we stick to the proven lifetime licensing model – including new release versions.
With the 7-PDF Printer, however, this is only realistic to a limited extent: a PDF printer driver must constantly adapt to new Windows versions, new driver architectures, security requirements, code-signing certifications at ever shorter intervals, as well as increasingly comprehensive system policy requirements and, in the future, new platforms (e.g., ARM). These deep, ongoing adaptations have become significantly more complex and costly in recent years than with classic desktop tools. Therefore, the following applies to the 7-PDF Printer: No subscription obligation, but new major versions are an optional upgrade. At the same time, we reserve the right to further evolve the licensing model for the 7-PDF Printer as needed, so that we can continue to reliably support new platforms, driver architectures, and security requirements in an economically sustainable way (e.g., in addition to the perpetual purchase license, also offering alternative licensing options).
Important: Even with the 7-PDF Printer there is no subscription and no expiration date for the purchased version. You buy a license once and can use the purchased version for an unlimited time. Very old licenses, however, do not automatically entitle you to use new major versions of the Printer.
2) 7-PDF Invoice Extractor (AI service / infrastructure):
For our 7-PDF Invoice Extractor – a self-developed, complex AI-powered online data analysis and extraction service for automated e-invoice conversion – a classic lifetime license is unfortunately not possible. Since each individual invoice processing requires significant computing power on our server infrastructure and runs through very compute-intensive AI processes, unlimited flat-rate access would not be technically or economically feasible.
For this reason, we offer the 7-PDF Invoice Extractor as a fairly calculated subscription model, cancellable monthly or yearly after the term ends, starting at only €3.90 (net) per month. This ensures that we can reliably provide the required computing capacity while keeping operations secure and GDPR-compliant.
It is precisely this licensing model of “Lifetime Licenses” that sets our software products apart from other PDF vendors. For more than 15 years, lifetime licenses have been our successful model. This model is cost-effective and absolutely clear for licensees to plan financially. A real advantage for you as a future license owner who knows exactly what the one-time payment will be. We will not deviate from this successful model in the future – with the transparently named, technically justified exceptions above.
*We generally license according to the NamedUser principle (one license per Windows user), which also has the advantage that you can usually use our licenses in parallel on your PC and on your laptop, as long as the NamedUser / Windows login name is identical on both systems.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to answer your questions!
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