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Hillock is dual-licensed — published as free and open-source software under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0), and available under a proprietary AGPL-Exempt Commercial License for organizations that need to keep their application code private. Which license you need depends entirely on how you ship your product.

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License Comparison

AGPL-3.0 (Free)

Full source access — clone, modify, and self-host Hillock with no upfront cost.
  • Derivative works must be released publicly under AGPL-3.0
  • Network use triggers copyleft: if you run Hillock as a service accessible to others, you must release your full application source under AGPL-3.0
  • Redistribution requires preserving license notices
Suitable for: personal projects, academic research, internal tooling (not exposed as a service), open-source applications that also adopt AGPL-3.0

Commercial License

Proprietary use — embed Hillock in closed-source products with no copyleft obligations.
  • No requirement to open-source your application code
  • Use in closed-source products and SaaS backends
  • Full legal indemnity for proprietary distribution
  • 49/month∗∗or∗∗49/month** or **499/year
Suitable for: commercial products, startups, enterprises, private AI agents, on-premise deployments

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When You Need a Commercial License

The AGPL-3.0 is a strong copyleft license. You need a commercial license if any of the following apply to your situation:
  • You are embedding Hillock in a closed-source product — any application, desktop tool, mobile app, or SDK that ships to end users without publishing your full source code
  • You are running Hillock as a service — operating an API, SaaS platform, or hosted product backed by Hillock without releasing your application source under AGPL-3.0
  • You want to redistribute Hillock in a proprietary product — bundling Hillock into an installer, container image, or commercial distribution that you do not open-source
  • You need the freedom to keep your application code private — if your business model, IP, or contractual obligations require confidentiality over your codebase
If you are uncertain whether your use case requires a commercial license, reach out directly at contact.roandejager@gmail.com before shipping.

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AGPL-3.0 Compliance

Understanding the AGPL-3.0 is critical before you build on Hillock commercially. What AGPL-3.0 requires: If you modify Hillock and provide access to it — either by distributing binaries or by running it as a network service — you must make the complete corresponding source code of your modified version available under AGPL-3.0. This includes your application code that links against or wraps Hillock. The “network use” clause: This is the key distinction between AGPL and the standard GPL. Under the GPL, running modified software privately on a server (without distributing binaries) does not trigger copyleft. AGPL closes that loophole: if users interact with your software over a network — even without receiving a copy — you must still offer them the source. Running Hillock behind an API endpoint counts as network use. Safe uses under AGPL-3.0:
  • Personal projects and experimentation — no distribution, no service
  • Internal tooling used only within your organization that is not exposed as a network service to external parties
  • Open-source applications and research projects that adopt AGPL-3.0 themselves
If you ship a SaaS product, hosted API, or any user-facing service backed by Hillock without a commercial license, AGPL-3.0 requires you to publish your entire application source. Evaluate your obligations carefully before going to production.

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Getting a Commercial License

The commercial license grants you an AGPL-3.0 exemption, letting you keep your product, custom integrations, and all intellectual property completely closed-source and proprietary. It also includes direct integration support — priority email access to the maintainer for architecture design, performance tuning, and hardware pipeline questions. For custom SLA terms, bespoke enterprise deployments, or custom relation extraction schemas, contact contact.roandejager@gmail.com or open a GitHub Discussion.
The commercial license covers a single organization or team. If you are acquiring a license on behalf of a company, the license applies to all developers within that organization working on the same product.
Researchers and academics: AGPL-3.0 is fully suitable for academic research, university projects, and published experiments. You do not need a commercial license for non-commercial research use. Hillock is an independent open-source research project and actively welcomes academic collaboration.