Yet another question about licensing. Big company and PRO license

Support Billing and Subscriptions
1

I went trough the forums looking for the exact answer but no success.

My question. If there is a big company of >250 employees and only single employee wants to use docker desktop, will it be enough for him to buy PRO license and still to be able to work? Or would it violate terms and conditions.

On pricing page there is information that

*Docker Desktop is free to use as part of the Docker Personal subscription for individuals, non-commercial open source developers, students and educators, and small businesses of fewer than than 250 employees AND less than $10 million in revenue. Commercial use of Docker Desktop at a company of more than 250 employees OR more than $10 million in annual revenue requires a paid subscription (Pro, Team, or Business).

But I want to make sure that single employee can use docker desktop while having only PRO license without violating any terms.

2

As far as I know, yes. The requirement is a subscription and as the description you quoted says, it can be a Pro subscription. Pro subscriptions belong to the user so it couldn’t be purchased .by the company.

Now let’s see what the Docker docs says about it. The pricing page says what you quoted. When you check the documentation of a specific platform:

https://docs.docker.com/desktop/install/ubuntu/

Docker Desktop terms

Commercial use of Docker Desktop in larger enterprises (more than 250 employees OR more than $10 million USD in annual revenue) requires a paid subscription

Currently it says “paid subscription” which should include “PRO”.

Now let’s check the Docker Pricing FAQ

Who’s required to pay for Docker Desktop?

Docker Desktop requires a paid, per-user subscription for organizations with more than 250 employees or more than $10 million in annual revenue per our terms of service.

Organizations can purchase Team, or Business subscriptions to stay compliant with our terms. Examples that require licensure include:

So it requires a per-user subscription like PRO, but it starts to be confusing when saying organizations can purchase Team or Business. I guess it only means an organization can do that too, while a single person cannot.

Under another question you can read the following again:

Our developers don’t actually use the Docker Desktop UI. Do they still need a subscription?

Yes. The user interface is one of many components that make up Docker Desktop. Even if you prefer to use the command line, Docker Desktop requires a paid, per-user subscription such as Pro, Team, or Business for professional use in larger companies. Learn more about the components that make up Docker Desktop in our Docker Desktop documentation.

I realize you could interpret it this way: “requires a paid, per-user subscription such as Pro or Team” and that “for professional use in large companies it requires Business subscription”, but that would contradict the previous statements where they say organizations can purchase Team or Business and when they say Docker Desktop for large companies just require a paid subscription.

So I’m not authorized to talk on behalf of Docker Inc, but I can only interpret it that a PRO license paid by the user is enough. You just can’t share that subscription with anyone.

3

I wish there would someone who is official to confirm


But man, I owe you a beer. Thank you 1000 times for your input!!

4

I found the topic I remembered and where there was a Docker Staff member (the CTO of Docker Inc) confirming what I wrote

The question in the FAQ I reffered to disappeared since then, but I guess they can’t just add more and more frequently asked questions forever without removing another.

Since that confirmation happened more than two years ago, that’s a long time, but I don’t think it changed.

5

Hello, coming back with an update. Had a talk with docker support team. It all is fine. Pro license is enough for one individual. Hopefully this thread will help someone else. Thank you man for your help.

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