Blender’s GPL: What You Can Do With the Software and With Your Files
The license page draws a line between Blender itself and the files you make in it. This page only repeats that line.
Quoted from blender.org/about/license and the license section of blender.org/support/faq, checked 2026-10-22. This is not legal advice.
What the license page says about the software
Blender is released under the GNU GPL. The page lists four freedoms: use Blender for any purpose, distribute it, study how it works and change it, and distribute changed versions.
The same page says the GPL requires everyone to share their modifications when they also share the software in public. It calls that copyleft. The FAQ restates the last freedom as an obligation: if you distribute a changed version, you publish the changed source as GPL.
Source code developed at blender.org is by default GNU GPL Version 2 or later. The page says some modules use more permissive licenses, and names Cycles as Apache 2.0. It then says every component that makes up Blender is compatible under GNU GPL Version 3 or later, and that Version 3 or later is the license for any distribution of Blender binaries.
What it says about files you make
The artwork section says what you create with Blender is your sole property. Images, movie files, .blend files and other data files Blender can write are free for you to use as you like.
It says Blender can be used commercially by artists, by studios to make animation films or VFX, by game artists to work on commercial games, by scientists for research, and by students in educational institutions.
The FAQ answers “Can I license .blend files myself?” with yes. It calls .blend files program output and the sole copyright of the user, and says the format only stores data definitions. It adds a limit: if you embed Python scripts in the .blend file, and those scripts bind to other libraries, the add-on rules apply.
The line the page draws
The license page treats the program and your output as different things. The program is GPL. The output, including .blend files, is yours.
Add-ons sit on the program side of that line. The page says Blender’s Python API is part of the software, so a script that uses the API must be shared under a GPL-compliant license if you publish it. You may sell the script, but the sale is only the download service. The customer receives the script under the GPL, with the same free conditions as Blender.
The FAQ says you may sell your own version of Blender only if the client receives that version and its source under the same GPL. It also says an organization may change Blender and keep those changes inside the organization without publishing them. Sharing that build outside the organization means the source has to be available as GPL.
Questions and the page that answers them
| Question | What blender.org says | URL |
|---|---|---|
| May I use Blender for commercial work? | Yes. What you create is your sole property, and commercial use by artists, studios, game artists and students is allowed. | License: your artwork |
| Who owns a .blend file? | You do. The FAQ calls a .blend file program output and the user’s copyright. Embedded Python scripts can fall under the add-on rules. | FAQ: .blend files |
| What license covers a published add-on that calls the Python API? | A GPL-compliant license. You may sell the download. The buyer receives the script under the GPL. | License: add-ons |
| May a company keep a modified Blender private? | Yes, while that build stays inside the organization. Sharing it outside means the source must be available as GPL. | FAQ: internal changes |
| Does the official install need an account or the internet? | No. The license page says no registration is needed and a standard install makes no internet connection. That note applies to the official blender.org release. | License: privacy |
What this page will not add
The FAQ opens with a disclaimer: the text is accurate to the best of their knowledge, the pages are provided as is, volunteers wrote them, and the Blender Foundation is not liable for them. It points readers to the Free Software Foundation for a more precise account and says to consult a lawyer for legal advice about the GPL. We stop at that. Nothing here is a reading of what a court would do.
For the practical cost of using the software, see Is Blender worth it?. For which job to move to another tool, see how to choose a Blender alternative. License and platform notes for one paid tool are in Blender vs Cinema 4D. Every post is on the Front blog index.
Keep reading on Front
Every post, newest first, is on the Front blog index.
- Is Blender worth it?: the costs of using free 3D software.
- Blender vs Cinema 4D: license, platforms, and the public price page.
- How to choose a Blender alternative: the full decision guide for 3D tools.
- How we rank Blender alternatives: the ranking method behind the guides.
FAQ
Is Blender’s GPL the same thing as owning the software?
No. The license page says you may use, study, change and share Blender under the GPL. A separate section says artwork you create is your sole property.
Can I sell a render I made in Blender?
The artwork section says images and movie files are yours to use as you like, and that artists and studios may use Blender commercially.
Can I sell a Blender add-on?
Yes, if you publish it. The license page and the FAQ both say the buyer must receive it under the GPL, not under terms that only you control.