FAQ

Is PySimpleGUI a subscription product?

No. It's true that PySimpleGUI was a subscription product when it soft launched in 2024. Based on helpful feedback from our users, PySimpleSoft has moved PySimpleGUI away from the recurring annual subscription model. Instead, PySimpleGUI is now a traditionally licensed software product. Commercial Developers pay $99 for a perpetual license to the current version of PySimpleGUI. The perpetual license includes one year of free upgrades and priority support.

Hobbyist Developers continue to use PySimpleGUI at no cost but must refresh their Hobbyist Developer License annually.

Do I have to pay for PySimpleGUI?

According to the PySimpleGUI License Agreement, if you are a Hobbyist Developer, then you may use PySimpleGUI for non-commercial purposes at no cost.

"Hobbyist Developer" means any individual who uses PySimpleGUI for development purposes solely for either or both of the following: (1) personal (e.g., not on behalf of an employer or other third party), Non-Commercial purposes; or (2) Non-Commercial educational or learning purposes (1 and 2 together, the "Permitted No-cost Purposes"). "Commercial Developer" means any individual who uses PySimpleGUI for development purposes who is not a Hobbyist Developer.

If you are not a Hobbyist Developer, then you are a Commercial Developer, and you or your company must buy a license on your behalf for a one-time fee of $99.

How do I ship a PySimpleGUI application?

Commercial Developers embed a distribution key in your code, and your users will be able to run your application transparently: there will be no indication that PySimpleGUI powers the user interface.

Hobbyist Developers share your application without a distribution key. At first run, your users will be prompted to sign up at PySimpleGUI.com or to start a 30-day free trial period. At the end of the free trial period, users will have to sign up to obtain their own Hobbyist Developer Key. (Commercial users must purchase a Commercial Developer Key for $99.)

Stay tuned for our Educational license option.

Are educational developers treated differently?

Developers at educational institutions fall into one of the existing categories. Students who use PySimpleGUI for their personal work or for coursework are considered Hobbyist Developers and register at PySimpleGUI.com as a Hobbyist Developer (at no cost). They are free to share projects with their colleagues, who will themselves register as Hobbyist or Commercial Developers (as appropriate) in order to use the projects beyond the free trial period.

Developers at educational institutions who use PySimpleGUI for administrative or research purposes are considered Commercial Developers and register as Commercial Developers and pay the corresponding $99 license fee. Such developers can distribute applications to colleagues (or more broadly) using Distribution Keys.

In some circumstances, policies prevent students (at K12 levels) from subscribing. Stay tuned for our Educational license option.

What is PySimpleSoft?

PySimpleGUI is provided by PySimpleSoft, Inc., a Delaware corporation created to be the parent company for PySimpleGUI. PySimpleSoft creates and maintains PySimpleGUI 5 and unannounced future products. Stay tuned!

Why is PySimpleGUI moving away from a free model?

For the last 5 years, PySimpleGUI offered free software with the hope of sustaining the project with donations. We appreciate the support we received, but the amount has been too small to support the project. For this reason, PySimpleGUI 5 is switching to a licensed model where Commercial Developers are expected to pay a nominal one-time license fee.

The $99 fee helps the PySimpleGUI team provide secure, high quality, and supported products for use by its commercial customers.

PySimpleGUI will remain no cost for Hobbyist Developers.

How is PySimpleGUI licensed?

PySimpleGUI 5 provides source code, but the License Agreement is not open-source. PySimpleGUI continues to offer Hobbyist Developers access to PySimpleGUI at no cost. Commercial Developers must register and pay the $99 license fee.

What are the restrictions?

PySimpleGUI is copyrighted software, and you usage is bound by the License Agreement. The full document explains the details, but there are six main areas:

You cannot post the PySimpleGUI Library publicly or make it available for download publicly, even if you have made changes. The official PySimpleGUI Library is available for download only from the PyPI. By downloading from PyPi, you can rest assured you have an authentic copy of PySimpleGUI because all releases are signed digitally, so you can verify authenticity.
Code that is marked "free to use with restrictions" can be used in your projects. You cannot make these programs available to other in their unchanged original form or with changes (i.e., you cannot repackage or resell PySimpleGUI).
Copyrighted material, such as the documentation, may not be republished.
Reverse engineering or tampering with the licensing and security code is not allowed.
Sharing your Developer Key with others is not allowed and may lead to your Developer Key being revoked.
No portion of the 5.x code can be used in combination with the (deprecated) 4.x code.

How do I get support for PySimpleGUI?

Support is offered through GitHub Issues. To submit an issue, follow these instructions. If you prefer, there is a GUI built right into PySimpleGUI for posting issues: Type psgissue at the command line.

Commercial Developers have access to priority support by including your Support Key with your issue. Your Support Key can be found in the My Profile section of your PySimpleGUI Account page.

If I ship a product that uses PySimpleGUI do I have to pay royalties to PySimpleGUI?

No. To ship a product, Commercial Developers embed Distribution Keys (at no cost) into each application shipped.

Hobbyist Developers may share their projects. Each recipient will be able to run the project during a trial period. After the trial period, the recipient must sign up at PySimpleGUI.com (as a Hobbyist Developer, at no cost) to obtain their own Developer Key.

Developer Keys and Distribution Keys can be found by logging into your PySimpleGUI account page.

How often do I have to renew my license?

Hobbyist Developer Keys are active for one year. Each year Hobbyist Developers must renew the license at no cost.

Commercial Developer Keys do not expire but are limited to versions of PySimpleGUI released within one year after the license was paid.

What are the benefits to Commercial Developers?

PySimpleGUI 5 may be used by Commercial Developers, as defined in the License Agreement.

Commercial Developers receive numerous benefits: * Easy, powerful GUI interfaces for Python projects, * Digital signing and verification, to ease compliance requirements, * Priority support via GitHub Issues, and * Free Udemy PySimpleGUI course.

How do I get access to the PySimpleGUI Udemy course?

Python GUIs - "The Official PySimpleGUI Course" provides everything you need to master making GUIs in Python, including 11 1/2 hours of on-demand video lessons. Commercial Developers receive the PySimpleGUI Udemy class for free.

After you have registered, send email to [email protected]

If I am a Hobbyist Developer, can I just keep using PySimpleGUI for free?

Yes. PySimpleGUI is free for Hobbyist Developers. However, all Developers (Hobbyist and Commercial) must sign up at PySimpleGUI.com to obtain a License Key.

Does PySimpleGUI sell my name to advertisers and marketers?

No. PySimpleGUI does not sell your information to third parties.

How is the License Agreement structured?

The PySimpleGUI License Agreement entitles a single developer to use and incorporate PySimpleGUI in their products under development. To obtain a Developer License, Commercial Developers must pay a $99 license fee, while Hobbyist Developers register at no cost. Details at PySimpleGUI.com.

How do I ship my product?

Each shipped product must contain a Distribution Key, which Commercial Developers obtain at no cost.

Hobbyist Developers have limitations on commercial use. See the License Agreement for more information.

How does the digital signing help my company meet its compliance needs?

Digital signing assures the source code is the authentic, unmodified PySimpleGUI product. When your program starts, PySimpleGUI checks to see if it has been altered. If detection occurs, the program will terminate immediately and display a message saying that the software image is potentially compromised.

Can I change the PySimpleGUI code?

Yes, you have the source code. As a security measure, any changes will trigger a security warning dialog, asking you to approve the changes. A checkbox allows you to optionally suppress future warnings.

You may incorporate modifications to the library into your product for external distribution, as long as you comply with the License Agreement and do not publicly publish or make available the source code (modified or unmodified).

What are Distribution Keys?

Developer Keys: activate all versions of PySimpleGUI 5 and have a 1-year expiration date.

Distribution Keys: activate a single version of PySimpleGUI 5 and do not expire. Each Distribution Keys enable you to ship a single version of your product that will run for many years. You may create as many Distribution Keys as you need by logging into your PySimpleGUI account.

How do I install my License Keys into the PySimpleGUI software?

Developer Keys: When you install PySimpleGUI, or when your Trial Period expires, (or when your Hobbyist Developer Key expires after one year), PySimpleGUI 5 will display a window where you paste your new key. See License Keys section of the documentation.

Distribution Keys: To install a Distribution Key, add this code fragment product (before the PySimpleGUI import):

PySimpleGUI_License = 'your_license_key_goes_here'
import PySimpleGUI as sg

"remainder
of your
code"

How do I verify that my copy of PySimpleGUI 5 is authentic?

Each time you run a program that uses PySimpleGUI, the PySimpleGUI code performs a self-check to ensure that the code is authentic. If your PySimpleGUI code has been modified, you will see a red warning dialog, and you will be asked if you want to continue running.

This verification step is a self-check, and is implemented in PySimpleGUI itself. The verification code is tamper-resistant, but it could still, in theory, be tampered with given enough time and skill. Therefore, you might want to independently confirm that the PySimpleGUI verification code is in tact using the verification tool on the website where you obtained your License Key. Look for "Security Verification Tool". You'll be prompted to copy and paste the contents of your PySimpleGUI.py file (or you can drag and drop the file onto the web page). The tool will analyze the file and inform you as to the validity of the code.