Designer Licensing FAQs
I. New Licensing Model Overview
What is changing with Designer licensing, and why is this happening?
Designer is transitioning to a tiered licensing model starting April 1st, 2025, which includes a free Starter plan and a paid Pro plan, billed at $159/month or $1500/year. This change allows us to reinvest in the platform, delivering advanced features, including new AI capabilities, and ensuring greater stability and support for our users.
How much has the price of Designer increased relative to 2020, was it adjusted for inflation?
In January 2020, Designer was $125 per month. Adjusted for inflation (2020-2024 Consumer Price Index), the 2025 pricing of $159 is a lift of 4%. Note that the annual subscription price is equivalent to $125/month which is the same as the price was in 2020.
II. Pricing and Discounts
Are there any incentives for signing up early?
Yes, there will be a launch discount of 50% off the first three months for anyone subscribing before May 31st to a monthly license. Subscribers to the annual plan will get 50% off the annual price (so $750 for the year) if you subscribe before May 31st.
I’m already paying for Disguise Cloud, will there be a Disguise Cloud plus Designer Pro package?
We will be announcing Disguise Cloud and Designer Pro bundles later this year. In the meantime, check out the launch discount which will run until May 31st, offering 50% of the Designer Pro annual price or 50% off for three months if subscribing monthly.
III. Transition for Existing Users
How will the transition process work for existing users?
Your current free Designer license will expire on April 1st, 2025. You will have to activate a new license (either Starter or Pro) via your Disguise Cloud account. You can do this from March 17th. From this date, all Designer licenses will be managed and activated through the Disguise Cloud dashboard so if you don’t already have a Cloud account, you’ll need to create one to continue using Designer. We’ll provide clear instructions ahead of time on how to activate your chosen plan through your Disguise Cloud account. These instructions will also be accessible on Disguise Cloud.
Why do I need to activate a new Designer license if I already have one?
Previously, Designer licenses required renewal every six months. The current licenses will expire on April 1st, 2025, marking the transition to our new licensing model. All users will need to activate a new license to continue using Designer. You will be able to activate your new license from March 17th With the new model, you’ll have enhanced flexibility in choosing and managing your desired license plan and billing. This change ensures users can select the plan that best meets their needs while enabling us to continue enhancing Designer’s capabilities.
Why do I need a Disguise Cloud account to access and activate my Designer license?
Managing licenses through Disguise Cloud allows for easier access, streamlined renewals, and better integration with other tools and services within the Disguise ecosystem, including Mapping Matter.
IV. License Types and Features
What is the difference between a Starter and a Pro plan?
The Starter plan is designed for training and learning purposes and includes the current functionality of our Designer software with the exception of joining a session with Disguise server licenses or Pro license instances. Starter is a different installer to the full release. It can also run on Disguise servers, thereby enabling sessions with other Starter machines (with an intermittent blue flash on output).
The Pro plan will also cover the full functionality of the software but with the ability to program live projects, as well as edit them in real-time in a session with other Disguise servers or Pro license instances. The Pro plan will also include AI enhancements and a plugin framework for extending and enhancing Designer that will be released later this year.
For more info on the difference between the license types, you can check out the Starter vs Pro license comparison
If I have a Disguise server, will my server license be impacted by these new pricing changes?
This new licensing model applies strictly to the Designer instance running on a laptop or PC. It will not impact the versions of Designer running directly on your Disguise servers.
What license do I need to join a session as an editor with a Disguise media server that has reached end of support and/or end of life i.e. the 4x4 or the solo?
As outlined in the Product Lifecycle page on our user guide here, we will move hardware products that are no longer produced to end of support and/or end of life. This involves moving a product to a long term release model where we only fix show-critical issues that do not require large changes for 1 year.
Users will need to use a Pro license instance on a Disguise media server that has reached end of support and/or end of life in order to join a session as an editor when running a Designer software version later than the last supported version for that product. A table that outlines the compatibility on Disguise hardware and software products can be found here.
Will I lose access to my existing projects if I don’t purchase a Pro license?
No, your existing projects will remain accessible. If you switch to the Starter plan, you’ll still be able to open and work on your projects using the plan’s core features, however once saved in Starter, the project cannot be opened in Pro.
If I mistakenly open up a Designer project in Designer Starter, is there a way to recover it so it can be used on a server or in Designer Pro?
Designer will automatically take a backup of a non-Designer Starter project when it is first opened in Designer Starter, so you can easily revert to your previous project as it was.
V. Education Use Cases
I work in Education and own Disguise products, has my license changed?
This new licensing model applies strictly to the Designer instance running on a laptop or PC. It will not impact the versions of Designer running directly on your Disguise servers. For licenses running on a laptop or PC please speak to your Account Manager about your change or email support@disguise.one.
I run Disguise training courses, what options do I have with this new scheme?
If your training course does not include use of a Disguise server then Designer Starter is ideal, as there is no restriction on core functionality. Students should sign up to Disguise Cloud, install Designer Starter, and then log in to d3Manager with their Disguise Cloud account.
If your training course includes the use of a Disguise server then there are two options:
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Install Designer Starter on the Disguise server and log in to d3Manager on the server with a Disguise Cloud account. All other Starter instances can then join a d3 session with the server. Note that an intermittent blue flash will be present on outputs.
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Students use Designer Pro. This will be required if you have a Disguise server which is an integral part of the teaching and watermarked output is not practical, for example because of use in assessments, productions, coursework, etc. In this case please contact your account manager so we can issue the appropriate licenses.
I’m a Certified Disguise Trainer and run courses on Disguise, am I expected to pay for Designer Pro?
All Disguise Certified Trainers will be given a Designer Pro subscription free of charge.
VI. Managing Your License
Does Designer Pro require a dongle?
Designer Pro works with both a hardware dongle or software deployment for the license. There are pros and cons for each deployment method.
The software-based license has the benefit of not needing to manage physical keys, but transferring a license between machines requires checking a license in and out of the license depot. The physical dongle is easier to move between machines if they are co-located but can make sharing licenses more difficult across multiple locations.
If you deploy a license as software, it can be moved to a dongle later and vice versa.
USB license dongles can be purchased at the Disguise Store.
Will my existing dongle still work?
The Designer Pro license can be either loaded onto a dongle or used as a software license. In other words, your existing dongle is compatible to load on a Designer Pro license. If you have an existing dongle with a license that has been activated through the current free Disguise Cloud mechanism then this will expire on April 1st. If you have a pre-existing license on your dongle then it depends on the type of license which is loaded on. You can reach out to support@disguise.one to check this, giving the name of the license as listed in Codemeter webadmin.
Note that Codemeter dongles with serial numbers starting with 2- are no longer supported, those starting with 3- are compatible for loading on the Designer license.
If I buy several licenses for my company, does everyone using the licenses need to be signed up to Disguise Cloud and in my Disguise Cloud organisation?
Once the licenses have been purchased, they can be managed in the Subscriptions section of Disguise Cloud by those with Admin, Owner, or Billing roles.
Admin, Owner, or Billing roles can share the Activation Code with a user outside their Cloud organisation via another method, this is not restricted.
There is a convenient "Assign" button in this tab to indicate which users in the Disguise Cloud organisation the license is for. However, this functionality is strictly for labelling purposes and does not enforce that only the assigned user can use the license.
Do I need to manage the license keys myself or will Disguise Cloud help me do this?
Disguise Cloud helps management of the license keys with the Notes and Assign features in the Subscriptions tab; however it is not mandatory to use these features.
Does the Assign function in Disguise Cloud lock that license to the user it has been assigned to?
No, the Assign feature is only available to Admin, Owner, and Billing roles for labelling and tracking purposes. It therefore does not restrict the license to only that user.
I was given a perpetual license in the past, will that still work?
It is highly unlikely that you had a perpetual license. The old licensing system displayed two product codes in Codemeter:
- One with a Product Code of 400. This had no expiry date, however the 400 license on its own does not enable Designer to run. It was used as an identifier for Designer to differentiate it from other license types.
- One with a Product code of 100. This is the license which enables Designer to run, and usually has a time limit, displayed in the Valid Until field in Codemeter. Older Disguise servers also have this code, but without a time-limit.
Going forwards, Designer Pro will have only one license entry in Codemeter.
VII. Software Version Compatibility
What versions of Designer support the Designer Pro license?
The following Designer versions support the Designer Pro license: r29.3, r30.5, r31 and later.
I need to use a version of Designer between r19 and r29.2, what do I do?
When subscribing to Designer Pro your Designer Pro license activation codes will be available in your Disguise Cloud account. In addition, you will automatically receive an email with a second license which is valid for Designer versions between r19 and r29.2. At launch this license will be valid until June 30th; we will later send out a legacy license with an expiry to match the duration of your Pro subscription.
I need to use Designer r18 or earlier, what do I do??
Designer r18 and earlier releases use the older Designer Legacy license structure. This is not compatible with any license issued via Disguise Cloud. In this case, you will need to continue to use the Legacy license on a physical Codemeter dongle. This process remains unchanged.
Please contact Disguise Support if you need to request or extend a Legacy license. These are on request.
VIII. Support
Where can I find support if I have questions during the transition?
Our team is here to help! You can reply to any of our communications, reach out to your account manager, or contact our support team at support@disguise.one for assistance with licensing, activation, or understanding the plans.