The employee metric
In January 2023, Oracle replaced per-processor and per-user Java pricing with the Java SE Universal Subscription, priced per employee. The count includes full-time, part-time and temporary staff, and contractors and agents who support internal operations, whether or not they use Java.
List pricing starts at $15 per employee per month and steps down with volume to $5.25 at the largest bands. Customers on legacy Named User Plus or Processor subscriptions are typically moved to the employee metric at renewal.
What changes in October 2026
Oracle JDK 21 has been free to use in production under Oracle's No-Fee Terms and Conditions (NFTC). All JDK 21 updates through September 2026 stay under those terms. Beginning with the October 2026 Critical Patch Update, further Oracle JDK 21 updates are planned under the Java SE OTN license, the same terms that already apply to Java 8, 11 and 17, which require a subscription for most production use.
Oracle's guidance is that users who want to stay on no-fee terms should move to Oracle JDK 25, which Oracle plans to keep under the NFTC until September 2028. The other routes are a subscription or an OpenJDK distribution from another provider.
Oracle has also started shipping Java security updates monthly, alongside the quarterly patch updates, which makes staying current a more frequent job.
What it means for your organization
Organizations running Oracle JDK 21 in production need a plan before the October 2026 change: subscribe, move to Oracle JDK 25, or move to another OpenJDK distribution. Each has a cost and a timeline. Where a subscription is the answer, the employee count and the rate in Oracle's first proposal are a starting point, not a fixed price.
Where Deal IQ comes in
This page covers what has changed and where the cost sits. Turning that into a better price on your contract is the negotiation itself. Deal IQ has run 190+ Oracle negotiations covering $1.2B+ in contract value, with a network of 350+ former vendor sales, pricing and deal desk leaders that includes people who sold Oracle, and an Oracle licensing practice for audits and optimization. We negotiate directly with Oracle or behind the scenes with your team, and our fee comes from the savings.
Frequently asked questions
How is Oracle Java licensed in 2026?
Through the Java SE Universal Subscription, priced per employee per month. List pricing runs from $15 down to $5.25 per employee depending on volume.
Is Oracle JDK 21 still free?
Updates through September 2026 are under Oracle's no-fee terms. Beginning with the October 2026 Critical Patch Update, Oracle plans to offer JDK 21 updates under the Java SE OTN license, which requires a subscription for most production use.
Who counts as an employee for Oracle Java?
Full-time, part-time and temporary employees, plus contractors and agents who support internal operations, whether or not they use Java.
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