Updated Jul 2025
License Details
The FreeRTOS kernel and other FreeRTOS libraries are distributed for free under
the MIT open source license (SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT).
The FreeRTOS kernel license comparison table below contains answers to common license
questions. Some demo projects also include third-party libraries that may use an open sourcelicense other
than MIT.
MIT open source license text
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
Optional FreeRTOS commercial licensing
From our strategic partner WITTENSTEIN high integrity systems.
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OPENRTOS™
is a commercially licensed version of the FreeRTOS kernel that includes indemnification and dedicated support. FreeRTOS and OPENRTOS share the same code base. OPENRTOS is provided under license from AWS by WITTENSTEIN high integrity systems - an AWS strategic partner.
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SAFERTOS™
is a derivative version of the FreeRTOS kernel that has been analyzed, documented and tested to meet the stringent requirements of industrial (IEC 61508 SIL 3), medical (IEC 62304 and FDA 510(K)) automotive (ISO 26262) and other international safety standards. SAFERTOS includes independently audited safety life cycle documentation artifacts. SAFERTOS is provided by WITTENSTEIN high integrity systems - an AWS strategic partner.
FreeRTOS kernel license comparison
FreeRTOS kernel MIT license | OPENRTOS | |
---|---|---|
Is it free? | Yes | No |
Can I use it in a commercial application? | Yes | Yes |
Is it royalty free? | Yes | Yes |
Is a warranty provided? | No | Yes |
Can I receive professional technical support on a commercial basis? | Yes | Yes |
Is legal protection provided? | No | Yes, IP infringement protection is provided |
Do I have to open source my application code that makes use of the FreeRTOS services? | No | No |
Do I have to open source my changes to the FreeRTOS kernel? | No | No |
Do I have to document that my product uses FreeRTOS? | No | No |
Do I have to offer to provide the FreeRTOS code to users of my application? | No | No |