Is Ansible free for commercial use?

Yes, Ansible is free to use for both personal and commercial purposes. Ansible follows an open-source model, and its source code is available to the public. Users can download, install, and use Ansible without incurring any licensing fees.

As an open-source automation tool, Ansible is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL), specifically the GNU GPL version 3. This license grants users the freedom to use, modify, and distribute Ansible's source code, subject to the conditions outlined in the GPL.

Key points regarding Ansible's licensing:

1. Free and Open Source: Ansible is freely available, and users can access its source code, contribute to its development, and customize it to meet their specific needs.

2. No Licensing Fees: There are no licensing fees associated with the core Ansible software. Users can use Ansible without having to pay for a commercial license.

3. Community and Enterprise Offerings: While the core Ansible software is free, there are also additional offerings for users who require additional features and support. Red Hat, the company behind Ansible, provides Ansible Tower, an enterprise version of Ansible that includes additional capabilities such as a web-based interface, role-based access control, and job scheduling. Ansible Tower is a commercial product with subscription-based pricing.

It's important to note that while Ansible Tower has commercial offerings, the core Ansible automation tool, which is widely used for configuration management, application deployment, and automation, remains open source and free for use in commercial environments. Users can choose the version that best fits their requirements and budget.