Yes, Anaconda is free for individuals and smaller organisations: the Anaconda Core Free plan includes commercial use of over 40,000 packages. The big exception is size. Anaconda's pricing page says users within organisations with 200 or more employees or contractors, including affiliates, need a paid Business licence.
Anaconda is the Python distribution many people install when they start with data science, machine learning or Jupyter notebooks. For years it felt like a free download for everyone. That's changed for larger organisations, and it's caught out plenty of companies. Here's what Anaconda's own pricing page says, as of October 2026.
Anaconda Core plans
Anaconda now sells several products. The one most people mean by "Anaconda" is Anaconda Core, its Python package management. These are the plans and prices shown as of October 2026, in US dollars.
| Plan | Price shown | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Commercial use of over 40,000 packages, notebooks with 5GB cloud storage, Anaconda Assistant code help, intro courses |
| Starter | $15 per user/month | 10GB storage per user, professional development environment, team workspace controls |
| Business | $50 per user/month | Vulnerability scanning, audit trails, centralised access management and SSO |
| Custom | Quote | Self-hosting, advanced multi-team governance, custom SLAs |
The 200-employee rule
This is the line that matters most. Anaconda's licensing note says users within organisations with 200 or more employees or contractors, including affiliates, require a paid Business licence. Three things in that sentence often get missed:
- It counts contractors, not just employees.
- It counts affiliates, so a small subsidiary of a large group may be caught.
- It's about the organisation's size, not how many people use Anaconda. One data analyst in a 300-person company still needs a paid licence.
The note adds that academic and non-profit research institutions may qualify for exemptions, and points to Anaconda's Terms of Service for the details.
Who can use Anaconda for free
| You are | Free plan? |
|---|---|
| A student or hobbyist learning Python | Yes |
| A freelancer or solo consultant | Yes, including commercial use of the packages |
| A small business under 200 employees and contractors | Yes |
| A company with 200 or more employees or contractors | No, a Business licence is required |
| A university or non-profit research body | Possibly exempt; check the Terms of Service |
Free or Starter: when a small team should pay
For a small business under the size threshold, the free plan is allowed, so paying is about features, not licence. The Starter plan is pitched at moving AI prototypes into shared, reproducible team environments, with 10GB storage per user, a professional development environment, on-demand training and team workspace controls.
| Your situation | Plan I'd look at |
|---|---|
| One person learning or doing client analysis | Free |
| A few analysts sharing environments and notebooks | Starter |
| A team that needs security scanning, audit trails and SSO | Business |
| A company self-hosting with several teams | Custom |
Questions to ask before installing it at work
- How many employees and contractors does the organisation have, including affiliates?
- Is the organisation an academic or non-profit research institution that may qualify for an exemption?
- Does IT already hold an Anaconda Business licence you can join?
- Do you need the commercial package rights at all, or only a basic Python setup?
Anaconda's other products
The pricing page also lists newer products alongside Core. Kilo, an agentic coding tool for your editor and command line, has a free tier with Teams from $15 per user a month. Enkrypt AI, for AI security and compliance, has a free tier with a Launch plan from $149 a month. The Anaconda Platform is priced through sales. You don't need any of these to use Anaconda's Python packages.
How to use Anaconda for free
- Check your organisation's size first, counting employees, contractors and affiliates.
- If you're under 200, create a free Anaconda account and download Anaconda Core.
- Install it and use the included packages and notebooks for your projects.
- Keep an eye on the 5GB cloud storage for notebooks on the free plan.
- If your organisation is 200 or more, talk to your IT team about a Business licence before installing it.
What if your company is too big for the free plan?
You've got two honest options. Buy the Business licence, which also brings security scanning, audit trails and SSO that a larger company will want anyway. Or ask your IT team whether a different, open source way of installing Python and its packages suits your work. What I wouldn't do is install the free version on a work laptop in a large company and hope nobody notices. Licence audits are exactly how companies discover this rule.
If you're starting out with Python, my guide on where to learn Python for free lists good courses, and many learners pair Anaconda with an editor; I've covered whether PyCharm is free too.
My verdict
Anaconda is free for students, freelancers and smaller organisations, and the free plan even allows commercial use of its packages. It isn't free inside organisations with 200 or more employees or contractors, including affiliates. That one sentence on the pricing page is what decides it. If you're in a bigger company, check with IT before you download it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Anaconda free for commercial use?
For smaller organisations, yes. Anaconda Core's free plan includes commercial use of over 40,000 packages. Organisations with 200 or more employees or contractors need a paid Business licence.
Who has to pay for Anaconda?
Anaconda's pricing page says users within organisations with 200 or more employees or contractors, including affiliates, require a paid Business licence.
Is Anaconda free for students?
Yes. The free Anaconda Core plan is aimed at learning Python and building first projects. Academic and non-profit research institutions may also qualify for exemptions.
How much is Anaconda Business?
As of October 2026, Anaconda's pricing page shows Business at $50 per user per month, with a Starter plan at $15 per user per month.
Do contractors count toward Anaconda's 200 limit?
Yes. Anaconda's licensing note counts employees and contractors, including affiliates, when deciding whether an organisation needs a paid Business licence.
Can a university use Anaconda for free?
Possibly. Anaconda says academic and non-profit research institutions may qualify for exemptions, and its Terms of Service set out the details.
How much storage does Anaconda's free plan include?
The free Anaconda Core plan includes notebooks with 5GB of cloud storage. The Starter plan includes 10GB per user.
