Licensing Options

Essentially, there are three licensing options available for getting started with Caribou CMS.

Don’t think too hard about licensing options if you’re just getting started. The free trial is automatically given to all users simply by installing the product. And, if you want to continue using Caribou after 30 days, upgrading is automatic. You won’t even need to upload a license file – Caribou will do that for you.

First, the 30-day free trial option is available without any strings attached. You can either download the latest release of Caribou CMS as a .zip archive and install on your own web server or shared hosting space or create a simple hosted free trial at http://www.cariboucms.com/trial. The hosted free trial is best for non-technical users who want to try the control panel without worrying about breaking anything. Furthermore, you can see how managing your website’s content, members, products, and settings is reflected in a default site design.

Second, the monthly paid license to Caribou is offered for a $29.95 per month (USD) subscription. This option grants the licensee a single-domain license for as long as the license fee is paid. If cancelled, the license will expire 30 days after the last payment date. There are no license restrictions other than the single-domain access. Users are able to install multiple sites on one domain (does not include sub-domains). Monthly license holders are given free phone, email, and web support for as long as they remain subscribers.

Third, the lifetime paid license, is the most popular license for Caribou. A one-time fee of $299 grants the licensee a single-domain license without any other restrictions. Support is available via phone, email, and the web for free for up to one-year after the purchase. After that, Caribou may charge for professional support though bug fixes will always be provided free-of-charge.

If you are experiencing a license error and the license error does not include the text,"ERROR-", but rather a code that looks like a license key, the problem may be a file permissions error. Delete /misc/.license and ensure that PHP has permissions to write to /misc. Reload your Caribou page (not the license error page) and see if it has been fixed. This problem often occurs after server migration.