Perpetual License Software You Own Forever

Buy your software once and own it. With m-Power's perpetual license, you get unlimited users, applications, and data for a single one-time fee, with no per-user costs that climb every year. The longer you use it, the more it saves.

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1,500+
Customers worldwide
Since 1981
45+ years in business
4.7/5
Rating on G2

What Is a Perpetual License?

Buy the software once and own it for good, instead of renting access by the month. Here is what that means, and how it compares to a subscription.

The definition

Perpetual license, defined

A perpetual license is a software licensing model where you pay once and own the right to use the software indefinitely, with no recurring subscription fee. The software keeps running whether or not you keep paying. You buy it once and it is yours.

For most of the last decade, software moved the other way. Nearly everything became a subscription, billed by the user, by the month, forever. The upfront cost looks small, but the meter never stops, and the bill grows every time you add a person or a feature.

A perpetual license flips that. You make one purchase and the software is yours to use for as long as you want. m-Power is a low-code development platform sold this way: Buy it once, build unlimited applications over your existing databases, and roll them out to your whole business without per-user fees.

Cost over time: A perpetual license stays flat after a one-time purchase, while a subscription keeps climbing Cost Time Break-even Subscription Perpetual Pay once

Perpetual License vs. Subscription

The two models differ in what you actually get for your money: Ownership versus access, a flat cost versus a growing one. Here is how a perpetual license compares to a subscription.

Subscription Perpetual License
Cost modelRecurring monthly or annual feeOne-time license fee
Cost over timeClimbs with users, features, and renewalsFlat. You pay once
What you getAccess while you keep payingOwnership of the software
Users and scalingPer-user or per-app fees that growUnlimited users and apps included
UpdatesBundled into the fee, not optionalOptional maintenance, your choice
BudgetingA variable cost that trends upwardPredictable, a one-time purchase
If you stop payingYou lose access to the software and your dataYou keep using the software

Why Choose m-Power's Perpetual License?

m-Power is one of the few low-code platforms still sold on a perpetual license. You own it, you control it, and it scales across your business without the fees that compound on most other platforms.

You own the software

Buy m-Power once and it is yours to use indefinitely. The applications you build belong to you and keep running on your terms.

Unlimited users

Roll m-Power out to your entire organization without per-user fees. Adding people never raises the price.

Unlimited applications

Build as many web applications, reports, and tools as you need. One license covers everything you create.

Predictable cost

No renewal increases and no surprise fees. Your cost is a one-time purchase you can budget for and forget.

Updates on your terms

An optional maintenance plan keeps you current with updates and support. It is a choice, not a requirement to keep using m-Power.

Own it end to end

Pair a perpetual license with on-premise software and you own both the platform and the environment it runs in.

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“

Easily the best technology investment I've made in my 20+ year career.

John Perrin, CIO, Farner-Bocken

“

I can now do five projects in the time that I would have done one.

Roisin Bowen, Autochair

“

Now, we can actually build applications in hours instead of weeks.

Hayes Howard, CEO, ComPair Data

The Case for Owning Your Software

Three reasons IT leaders choose a perpetual license over one more subscription.

01 · Cost

The bill stops climbing

A subscription looks reasonable on day one. Then headcount grows, premium features get added, and the renewal climbs every year. The software you depend on quietly becomes one of your largest recurring costs.

A perpetual license ends that cycle. You pay once, and the cost stays the same as you grow. As an example, Sunstar replaced canned software with a custom m-Power application and saved around $120,000 a year in the process.

Users252,500
License costUnchanged
Sunstar saved ~$120,000/yearCustom app
02 · Ownership

You own what you build

With a subscription, you are renting access. Stop paying and the software stops, taking the applications and data you built with it. That is a hard dependency to carry on something this central to the business.

A perpetual license makes the software an asset you own. The applications you create with m-Power belong to you and keep running, on your schedule, under your control.

  • Keep using the software if you stop paying maintenance
  • Own the applications and the code you generate
  • No vendor can pull the software out from under you at renewal
The software is an asset you ownOwned
You keep the generated codeYours
Updates are your choiceOptional
03 · Budget

Budget once, not forever

Recurring fees turn software into an operating cost that trends up and competes for budget every single year. You end up justifying the same tool year after year.

A one-time license is a purchase you make once and plan around. Behind it is a real services team that can help with a project, or build it for you, when you need more than a support call.

One purchase to budget aroundOne-time
No annual renewal creepFlat
Services team behind the licenseIncluded path

Software You Buy Once and Keep

mrc has sold m-Power on a perpetual license since 1981. More than 1,500 companies worldwide own their m-Power platform outright, build on it for years, and never face a renewal increase. When you buy m-Power, you own it, and a team stands behind you.

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Perpetual license software: Common questions

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What is a perpetual license?

A perpetual license is a software licensing model where you pay once and own the right to use the software indefinitely, with no recurring subscription fee. The software keeps running whether or not you keep paying. You buy it once and it is yours.

A perpetual license is a one-time purchase that you own forever. A subscription is a recurring fee that grants access only while you keep paying, and that fee typically grows as you add users and features. With m-Power's perpetual license, you get unlimited users and applications for a single one-time fee.

Most low-code platforms are sold as subscriptions priced per user or per application, so the bill grows as adoption grows. m-Power is one of the few sold on a perpetual license: One purchase covers unlimited users, unlimited applications, and unlimited data, and you keep using what you bought whether or not you renew the optional maintenance plan. A subscription option is available, though most customers choose the perpetual license.

Over a short period a subscription can look cheaper because the upfront cost is lower. Over time a perpetual license usually costs less, because you pay once instead of every year. The longer you use the software, the more a perpetual license saves.

Yes. With m-Power you own the version you buy and can use it indefinitely. An optional annual maintenance plan provides updates and support, but it is your choice, not a requirement to keep using the software.

With a perpetual license you keep using the software you bought even if you stop paying for optional maintenance. With a subscription, access to the software and your data ends when payment stops.

Last updated: July 2026

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Software you buy once and own

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