Use of krpano without a valid license for commercial purposes constitutes copyright infringement. krpano GmbH actively monitors public tours for license compliance and reserves the right to issue takedown notices or pursue legal action.
krpano offers a free "trial" version that is surprisingly powerful. However, it adds two deal-breaking restrictions for commercial work:
Once you need to remove the watermark or host tours for clients, you must buy a license.
You cannot include the krpano Tools (the droplet icons, the MAKE PANO droplet, the krpanotools command line) in a download package for your clients. Your clients must download the tools themselves from krpano.com. You may only distribute the output files (the HTML/JS/XML). krpano license
Visit your tour. Right-click the viewer. If there is no "krpano" watermark, you are compliant.
Many real estate agents and trade show exhibitors want to run tours without an internet connection (e.g., on an iPad in a sales center or a USB drive given to a client).
Warning: Attempting to "crack" the offline check in a Basic license is a violation of the krpano EULA and can result in a permanent ban. Use of krpano without a valid license for
krpano is a lightweight, high-performance panorama viewer and toolkit widely used for creating interactive 360° panoramas, virtual tours, and tiled gigapixel images. Its licensing model balances flexibility for developers and studios with protection for the creators of the software. This essay outlines krpano’s license types, key terms, practical implications for users, comparison with common alternatives, and recommended best practices when selecting and using a krpano license.
“I need one license per virtual tour.”
False. One Commercial license covers unlimited tours on one domain. If you haveclientA.yourdomain.comandclientB.yourdomain.com, that’s still one domain. If you use completely separate domains likeclientA.comandclientB.com, you need two licenses.
“The license is yearly.”
False. krpando licenses are perpetual – pay once, use forever. You get one year of free updates, but you can keep using the last version you downloaded indefinitely. After one year, updates cost ~30% of the license price. Once you need to remove the watermark or
“I can develop on localhost and then buy a license later.”
True, but careful. The free version’s localhost restriction means your client can’t preview the tour on their own device unless you use a workaround (like ngrok). Most pros buy the license upfront for smooth client approvals.
krpano GmbH offers a tiered licensing model. Unlike subscription-based competitors, krpano offers perpetual licenses (pay once, use forever), though maintenance is separate.