Licensing & FAQ

Yes. CobaltPDF (the Chromium engine) and CobaltPDF.WebKit (the lightweight WebKit engine) are two separate libraries, but they validate the same product key. One license — Developer or Corporate — activates both, and renewals cover both automatically.

There is no separate "WebKit license" and no extra cost. Existing customers can install CobaltPdf.WebKit today and activate it with their current key. You can run one library, the other, or both side by side in the same application.

Developer is a per-seat license for a single named developer working inside one organization. It permits use in internal tools and customer-facing applications, but not in SaaS products or OEM scenarios where CobaltPDF is part of a product you redistribute.

Corporate covers unlimited developers in your organization and explicitly permits SaaS deployment and OEM/embedded use — i.e. you can build a product that includes CobaltPDF and sell it to your end users.

If you're a single developer building tools used only inside your own company, Developer is the right tier. If you're shipping CobaltPDF as part of a product to external customers, you need Corporate.

Only with a Corporate license. The Developer tier is for internal use within the licensee's own organization. Corporate explicitly permits SaaS and OEM deployment.

The Developer license is tied to a named individual developer, not to a specific machine. That developer can install and use CobaltPDF on any machines they personally work from — typically a laptop, desktop, and one CI/build machine. There is no per-deployment server limit; the license applies to development, not to the number of production servers running your app.

Anyone who actively writes, modifies or compiles code that calls CobaltPDF. QA testers, designers, and operations/DevOps staff who only run pre-built artefacts do not need a license. If you're unsure whether a specific role counts, reply to your purchase email and we'll clarify in writing for your records.

Our unlimited free evaluation mode runs every feature with no time limit — output is watermarked. If a watermarked build is acceptable in your project, you can ship it to production at no cost. For non-profit or open-source projects that require a clean unwatermarked build, please email us with details of the project and we'll respond with the best fit.

Rolling Updates is the optional subscription that extends two things for another year: your access to new releases, and your email support window. The first 12 months of both are included free with every paid license; after that the subscription renews annually.

Your license itself is perpetual — you own every version of CobaltPDF released during your subscription year forever. Rolling Updates only controls access to newer versions and continued email support after your subscription window ends.

Your existing license keeps working — the version of CobaltPDF you've installed continues running indefinitely with no change. You won't be able to upgrade to versions released after your subscription window ended, and email support pauses until you re-subscribe.

You can re-subscribe at any time later if you decide you want access to newer releases or want to reopen the support channel.

Yes. We send a reminder email a few days before each automatic renewal so you can review or cancel beforehand if you don't want to continue.

Three options:

• Self-service portal — your purchase confirmation email contains a "Manage Subscription" link. Clicking it opens a secure billing portal where you can cancel renewal immediately. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current subscription year, and your license remains valid for everything released up to that date.
• Reminder email — every renewal reminder we send also includes the same management link.
• Email support — write to support@cobaltpdf.com any time and we'll cancel it on your behalf.

Yes — each renewal generates a new key, sent to your registered email automatically. But you do not need to swap it right away. Your existing key keeps working for the CobaltPDF version you currently have installed. You only need the new key when you upgrade to a CobaltPDF NuGet release that came out after your previous key's support window.

There is no time limit. You can use CobaltPDF in evaluation mode for as long as you want — including in production.

No feature is locked. Every option, every render mode, and every API is available. The only difference is that every generated PDF carries a visible watermark.

Yes — there is no restriction on where you run unlicensed CobaltPDF, including commercial and production environments. The only thing the paid license removes is the watermark on generated PDFs. Many teams ship watermarked output internally (reports, dashboards, drafts, admin previews) without ever buying a license. When you're ready to remove the watermark from customer-facing PDFs, activate a license key.

All major credit and debit cards, plus regional payment methods (Apple Pay, Google Pay, BACS for UK customers, SEPA for EU customers) — handled by our payment processor, Stripe. Card details never touch our servers.

Yes. Every purchase automatically generates a Stripe-issued invoice with our VAT details, your VAT number (if you provided one at checkout), and itemised line items. The invoice is emailed to you and is also accessible from the management portal at any time.

For most purchases we use Stripe's online checkout. For larger orders or where your procurement process requires a wire transfer or PO, email us with your requirements and we'll arrange it.

If you encounter a technical issue that prevents CobaltPDF from working for your use case within 14 days of purchase, contact support@cobaltpdf.com and we'll refund the purchase in full. The unlimited free evaluation mode exists so you can evaluate fit before paying — please use it.

Yes to all. CobaltPDF bundles a headless Chromium browser pool and includes presets for cloud deployments — see the Deployment guide for Docker, Azure, AWS, and Linux step-by-step instructions.

If memory is tight on Linux containers, consider CobaltPDF.WebKit — it self-provisions a portable WebKit engine on first use (no Docker image changes, no apt packages) and runs in up to 96% less idle memory. Your license covers it.

Yes. The license key is loaded at runtime via CobaltEngine.SetLicense(key) — it works wherever your code runs, including GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, GitLab CI, and similar. The license is not tied to a specific machine fingerprint, so CI agents starting fresh each build are fine. Store the key as a secret in your pipeline's secret store.

Once per application start, when you call SetLicense(key), the library performs a single quick check against our license server to confirm the key hasn't been revoked. The check has a 3-second timeout, fails open (if our server is unreachable for any reason, the key still works), and the only data sent is the license key itself — no telemetry, no render content, no usage metrics, no machine identifiers.

It does not run on every PDF render — only once at startup. The library is fully usable offline once the key is set.

Email support (Developer tier) — reply within two business days for technical questions, bug reports, and licensing queries.

Priority email support (Corporate tier) — same channel, with faster turnaround (typically same business day) and prioritized handling for production-blocking issues.

Both tiers reach the same engineering team — there is no outsourced first-line tier.

Email support@cobaltpdf.com with:

• A short description of what you expected to happen vs what did happen
• The CobaltPDF version (visible in your .csproj or via NuGet)
• If reproducible, a minimal HTML snippet or URL that triggers it

We aim to acknowledge bug reports within one business day even on the Developer tier.

Reply to your original purchase email or write to support@cobaltpdf.com from the email address you bought with. We'll re-send the most recent key for your account.