How do I obtain a free academic license?

The most common academic Gurobi license is a Named-User Academic license. This is a Gurobi Optimizer license for a single person on a single machine.

• You can request multiple licenses if you have multiple machines, such as one at home and one at your university.
• This license will be valid for up to one year; when it expires, you can request a new academic license, as long as you are still eligible.
• You only need an internet connection for activation (via a university network), afterwards you can run your optimization jobs offline.
• This license may only be used for research, teaching, or coursework purposes.

Requesting a Named-User Academic license

To request a free Named-User Academic license file for your computer, please:

1. Register as an "Academic user" on the Gurobi website and log into your account.
2. Connect your computer to the university network.
   • You can connect your computer either directly or via a VPN that tunnels all traffic through the university network.
   • Once the license file is set up, your computer does not need to be connected to the university network in order to use Gurobi.
3. Visit the License Request section of your User Portal, and select "GENERATE NOW" in the Named-User Academic block. 
   • If you don't see this block, be sure to have "ACADEMIC" (not "COMMERCIAL") selected in the slider.
   • If you receive the error "[USER_NOT_ACADEMIC] User account type is not academic", please refer to How do I resolve the error 'User account type is not academic'?
   • If you receive the error "Academic Domain Error. Your network address is not recognized as belonging to an academic domain.", please make sure you are connected to your university network. Please refer to How do I resolve an "Academic Domain Error"? for more information.
4. You can repeat this process to obtain licenses for additional computers or for new Gurobi versions.

Requesting other types of free academic licenses

• WLS licenses. Available via the License Request section of your User Portal.
  • With this license you are not restricted to a single machine, you can run Gurobi Optimizer wherever you like, also in containers.
  • You need Gurobi version 10 or later, and a permanent internet connection to the Gurobi license servers when running your optimization jobs.
  • Your WLS license will be valid for 90 days, but you can extend it if you are still eligible.
  • For more information, see What is an Academic WLS license?
• Academic cloud. Get on-demand access to Gurobi Instant Cloud. Although the license is free, you’ll be responsible for the cost of cloud resource usage. More information is available here on the Gurobi website.
• Educational institution site licenses. Share Gurobi with multiple users in your academic departments, schools, and classrooms by running Gurobi on your university’s local-area network, at no cost to you or your institution. More information is available
  • in the article How do I obtain a free academic license for a cluster or a shared computer lab? and 
  • on the Gurobi website.

Further information

• How do I get started with Gurobi for academic users?
• How do I resolve an "ERROR 303" from grbgetkey?
• How do I resolve an "Academic Domain Error"?
• How do I resolve the error "Communication failed" from grbgetkey?
• Academic Program and Licenses
• Gurobi Quick Start Guides