Agisoft Metashape Educational License: Who Is Eligible?

The Agisoft Metashape Educational License provides students, universities, schools and academic researchers with access to Metashape at a significantly reduced price.

However, educational pricing is not simply a discounted license available to every non-commercial organization. Agisoft defines specific eligibility requirements, and the license can only be used for educational and research purposes.

This distinction is particularly important for universities, training centers, museums, research organizations, non-profit institutions and professionals who may be unsure whether their activities qualify for educational licensing.

In this guide, we explain who is eligible for an Agisoft Metashape Educational License, what type of work is permitted, how node-locked and floating educational licenses work and when a regular commercial license is required instead.

What Is an Agisoft Metashape Educational License?

An Agisoft Metashape Educational License is a discounted license intended to support education and academic research in photogrammetry and related fields.

Agisoft offers educational licensing for both:

• Metashape Standard Edition
• Metashape Professional Edition

Educational licenses are technically identical to their corresponding regular editions. In other words, buying Metashape Professional Educational does not provide a reduced or limited version of Metashape Professional.

The difference is legal rather than technical: an educational license is restricted to qualifying users and cannot be used for commercial purposes.

Who Is Eligible for an Agisoft Metashape Educational License?

According to Agisoft’s licensing policy, educational licenses are available exclusively to officially accredited educational institutions, their employees and students.

Eligible educational institutions can include:

• Universities
• Colleges
• Junior colleges
• Scientific and technical schools
• Vocational schools
• Correspondence schools
• Other officially accredited educational institutions

The key requirement is official educational accreditation.

Simply providing training, courses or educational activities does not automatically make an organization eligible for educational pricing.

Can University Students Buy Metashape Educational?

Yes. Students enrolled at an officially accredited educational institution can purchase an Agisoft Metashape Educational License.

The software can be used for activities such as:

• University coursework
• Student projects
• Thesis and dissertation research
• Photogrammetry training
• Academic experiments
• Laboratory exercises
• Non-commercial research

Agisoft reserves the right to request documentation demonstrating eligibility, so students should be prepared to provide appropriate proof of their current academic status if requested.

Can Professors and Researchers Buy an Educational License?

Yes. Officially employed teaching and research staff at accredited educational institutions are eligible to purchase educational licenses.

This can include university professors, lecturers, academic researchers and other qualifying staff whose employment is connected to the accredited institution.

However, eligibility does not remove the restriction on commercial use.

For example, a university professor may use an Educational License for teaching or academic research, but the same license should not be used to provide commercial photogrammetry processing services to external clients.

Can a University Purchase Licenses for a Computer Lab?

Yes. Accredited universities and other qualifying educational institutions can purchase licenses for teaching laboratories and academic workstations.

There are two main deployment approaches.

Educational Node-Locked License

A node-locked educational license is activated on one computer at a time.

The license is rehostable, which means it can be deactivated and transferred to another computer when necessary.

This option is suitable when each license is associated with a specific laboratory workstation or academic computer.

Educational Floating License

For laboratories containing multiple computers, Educational Floating licenses are also available for Metashape Professional.

Metashape can be installed on multiple client computers while a central Agisoft License Server manages the available licenses.

The number of computers that can run Metashape simultaneously corresponds to the number of floating seats purchased.

This can be particularly convenient for universities where different students use different workstations throughout the academic year.

Can Schools Purchase Metashape Educational?

A school may qualify if it is an officially accredited educational institution.

Agisoft specifically identifies scientific and technical schools, vocational schools and correspondence schools among eligible institution types.

Because accreditation systems differ between countries, an institution should be prepared to demonstrate its official educational status if Agisoft requests proof of eligibility.

The important factor is therefore not simply whether the organization calls itself a school or provides instruction, but whether it qualifies as an officially accredited educational institution.

Are Training Centers Eligible?

Not automatically.

A private training company, commercial training center or organization providing professional courses does not necessarily qualify for an Agisoft Educational License.

If the organization is not an officially accredited educational institution, a regular commercial license may be required.

This distinction is important because the educational license is based on the legal status and accreditation of the institution, not simply on whether Metashape is being used to teach someone how to perform photogrammetry.

Are Museums Eligible for Metashape Educational?

A museum is not automatically eligible simply because it performs educational, archaeological, cultural heritage or research activities.

Agisoft’s regular Node-Locked licensing is explicitly available to organizations such as museums, research institutions and governmental institutions.

Educational pricing, however, is reserved for officially accredited educational institutions and eligible students or staff associated with them.

A museum that is part of or legally operated by a qualifying accredited university may have a different situation from an independent museum, but eligibility should be based on the accredited institution rather than on the museum’s educational mission alone.

Are Independent Research Institutes Eligible?

Research activity alone does not automatically qualify an organization for educational licensing.

Agisoft allows educational licenses to be used for research, but eligibility is still connected to an accredited educational institution, its students or officially employed teaching and research staff.

An independent commercial or governmental research institute that is not an accredited educational institution may therefore require a regular Metashape license.

Are Non-Profit Organizations and Charities Eligible?

Non-profit status does not automatically provide eligibility for an Educational License.

A charity, NGO, heritage organization or environmental association may conduct valuable educational or research projects, but the relevant question remains whether it qualifies as an officially accredited educational institution.

If it does not, the normal Node-Locked or Floating commercial licensing options should generally be considered instead.

Can an Educational License Be Used for Commercial Work?

No.

This is one of the most important restrictions of the Agisoft Metashape Educational License.

Educational licenses may be used for educational and research purposes, but the software and materials created with it must not be used for commercial purposes.

Examples of activities that can create licensing concerns include:

• Processing drone surveys for paying external clients
• Selling photogrammetric models
• Commercial surveying services
• Paid mapping services
• Commercial construction documentation
• Commercial inspection services
• Producing deliverables as part of a commercial contract

If Metashape will be used for commercial projects, the appropriate regular commercial license should be purchased.

Can University Research Be Commercial?

This requires particular attention.

Not every project carried out inside a university is automatically educational.

A university may conduct academic teaching and research, but it can also participate in commercial consulting, contracted services or projects where outputs are produced for paying external organizations.

If a specific activity is commercial in nature, an Educational License may not be appropriate even though the user works at a university.

When academic and commercial activities overlap, the safest approach is to confirm the licensing requirements before using an educational license for that project.

Educational vs Commercial Metashape: Is the Software Different?

No. Agisoft states that Educational and regular licenses are technically identical.

The main differences are therefore eligibility, permitted use and price, not processing functionality.

How Much Does Metashape Educational Cost?

At the time of writing, Agisoft lists the following educational node-locked prices:

• Metashape Professional Educational: USD 549
• Metashape Standard Educational: USD 59

Pricing can change, so users should always check the current price when placing an order.

Educational Floating licenses for Metashape Professional are also available and are generally handled through a quotation process.

What Proof of Eligibility May Be Required?

Agisoft reserves the right to request written proof of educational eligibility.

The documentation needs to demonstrate that the institution or employer qualifies as an officially accredited educational institution, or that the purchaser has the necessary connection to such an institution.

Depending on the situation, appropriate documentation may include institutional records or other official evidence demonstrating accreditation, enrollment or qualifying employment.

Agisoft states that if eligibility cannot be demonstrated when requested, the purchaser can be charged the difference between the educational price and the corresponding regular Node-Locked license.

Is the Metashape Educational License Perpetual?

Agisoft Metashape licenses are not normally time-limited.

The Educational Node-Locked License is therefore not simply an annual student subscription.

However, the restrictions attached to the educational license remain important: software operated under the educational license must be used according to its permitted educational and research scope.

Which License Should You Choose?

Choose an Educational License if:

• You are an eligible student at an accredited educational institution.
• You are officially employed teaching or research staff at an accredited institution.
• Your accredited university, college or qualifying school needs Metashape for teaching.
• The software will be used exclusively for eligible educational or research purposes.

Choose a regular commercial license if:

• You will process projects for paying clients.
• Your company provides professional photogrammetry services.
• Your organization is not an accredited educational institution.
• You operate a museum, charity or research organization that does not independently satisfy the educational eligibility requirement.
• The outputs will be used commercially.

Agisoft Metashape Educational License: Final Recommendations

The Agisoft Metashape Educational License provides a major pricing advantage for legitimate academic teaching and research, while offering the same technical functionality as the corresponding regular edition.

However, three rules should always be kept in mind:

1. The institution must qualify. Educational licensing is intended for officially accredited educational institutions and eligible students and staff.
2. The use must qualify. Educational licenses cannot be used for commercial purposes.
3. Eligibility may need to be proven. Agisoft may request written documentation confirming educational status.

If your university or laboratory needs multiple workstations, an Educational Floating License for Metashape Professional can also provide centralized license management while allowing the software to be installed across multiple computers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a student buy Agisoft Metashape Educational?

Yes. Students of officially accredited educational institutions are eligible to purchase educational licenses, subject to Agisoft’s eligibility requirements.

Can a university buy Metashape Educational licenses?

Yes. Officially accredited universities can purchase educational licenses for qualifying teaching and research use.

Can professors buy Metashape Educational?

Yes. Officially employed teaching and research staff of accredited educational institutions can be eligible for educational licensing.

Can an Educational License be used commercially?

No. Agisoft Educational licenses prohibit commercial use of the software and materials created with it.

Is a museum eligible for Metashape Educational?

Not automatically. Museums are not listed simply by virtue of their educational mission as accredited educational institutions. An independent museum will generally need to consider regular licensing unless it qualifies through an accredited educational institution.

Is Metashape Educational less powerful than the regular version?

No. Educational and regular licenses of the same Metashape edition are technically identical. The differences concern eligibility and permitted use.

Can a university use floating educational licenses?

Yes. Educational Floating licensing is available for Metashape Professional and can be useful for universities and computer laboratories with multiple workstations.

Does Agisoft require proof of student or university status?

Agisoft reserves the right to request written proof of eligibility. Buyers should therefore be prepared to demonstrate that they or their institution meet the educational licensing requirements.