As of Platform version 2025.1, the Pimcore Community Edition is no longer licensed under GPLv3 but under the Pimcore Open Core License (POCL). Version 2024.4 was the last GPLv3 release. The Community Edition remains free for organizations with annual revenue below €5M, non-profits, and educational institutions – those above that threshold who upgrade to a POCL version will need a commercial license. Here is what this means for your installation and which three options you have now.
The change is here: POCL replaces GPLv3
Pimcore has made it official: as of Platform version 2025.1, the Community Edition is licensed under the Pimcore Open Core License (POCL) – version 2024.4 was the last release under GPLv3. The reason: the "viral" copyleft logic of GPLv3 could require companies to disclose their own extensions – a significant compliance risk whenever proprietary code is built on top of the open-source core. The POCL keeps the source code open and modifiable, while your own extensions remain private.
But – and this is a point many summaries leave out – the POCL is not a free license for everyone. The Community Edition remains free for organizations with annual revenue below €5M, as well as for non-profits, educational institutions, and non-production environments. Organizations above that threshold that move to a POCL version (2025.1 or later) in production will need a commercial Professional or Enterprise license. Existing customers with a commercial contract are not affected by the change.
Your three options – an honest look
For organizations above the €5M threshold, there are exactly three positions to take, each with a cost:
- Freeze at 2024.4 (GPLv3). You stay on the last GPLv3 release. Free in the short term – but without new features, with security patches winding down, and growing upgrade debt as PHP and Symfony reach end of life. This buys time, not a future.
- Upgrade and license. You stay on the current platform line, compliant and supported – at the cost of a license position in your budget.
- Re-evaluate the platform. If licensing costs raise the question, this is the right moment to assess whether Pimcore is still the right fit. For serious PIM/MDM/DAM use cases, the answer is usually yes – but the question deserves an honest answer rather than a renewal driven by inertia.
The fourth option, which teams sometimes stumble into by accident, is the only wrong one: upgrading without licensing. That is not a saving – it is a compliance gap.
How to find out where you stand in an afternoon
Four questions are enough for a quick assessment: Which platform version are you running (2025.1+ = POCL, 2024.4 and below = GPLv3)? Which edition (Community or commercial contract)? Is your annual revenue above or below €5M? And what is driving your next upgrade – a security requirement, a PHP/Symfony end-of-life, or a feature you need? The answers will place you clearly in one of the three options.
We get your Pimcore platform POCL-ready – efficiently and with legal certainty
As a Pimcore agency, we guide you through the process step by step – lean and focused on delivery rather than drawn-out consulting cycles:
- License and code audit: We review the version, edition, and extensions of your installation, identify GPLv3 components, and assess your POCL exposure.
- Option assessment with cost model: Freeze, upgrade + license, or re-evaluation – you receive a clear recommendation including effort and cost estimates, ready for a budget meeting.
- Technical implementation: We migrate your extensions, restructure repositories, and ensure compatibility with future versions. Pimcore also provides an official migration whitepaper – we translate it into the specifics of your system landscape.
- Documentation & communication: Audit-proof documentation – for stakeholders, compliance reviews, and legal transparency.
Act now – before the next upgrade forces the decision
Many organizations put off the decision until a security patch or a framework end-of-life forces their hand – at which point they are acting under time pressure and on worse terms. The better time to act is now, while the options are still open. To understand why a solid platform foundation is ultimately what determines success or failure for your data initiatives, read our analyses Why AI initiatives fail and Data stewardship as a success factor.