Open Source License Comparison — Permissions, Conditions, Limitations

Permissions, conditions and limitations are classified using data from choosealicense.com (GitHub, MIT License).

License	Permissions	Conditions	Limitations
MIT	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Apache-2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
GPL-3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
GPL-2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
LGPL-3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
LGPL-2.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
AGPL-3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
MPL-2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
EPL-2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
BSD-3-Clause	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
BSD-2-Clause	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
ISC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
0BSD	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
BSL-1.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Unlicense	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
CC0-1.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Legend

Commercial use (Permissions): The software and derivatives may be used for commercial purposes.
Modification (Permissions): The software may be modified.
Distribution (Permissions): The software may be distributed.
Private use (Permissions): The software may be used and modified privately without publishing it.
Patent use (Permissions): Contributors expressly grant patent rights.
License and copyright notice (Conditions): A copy of the license and the copyright notice must be included when distributing.
Notice for source distribution (Conditions): The notice is only required when distributing in source form, not for binaries.
State changes (Conditions): Changes made to the original must be indicated.
Disclose source (Conditions): Source code must be made available when distributing.
Network use is distribution (Conditions): Users who interact with the software over a network are also entitled to receive the source.
Same license (Conditions): Modifications and derivatives must be distributed under the same (or a compatible) license.
Same license (file) (Conditions): Modifications to existing files must be distributed under the same license.
Same license (library) (Conditions): Modifications to the library must use the same license, but this may not apply to programs that use it.
Trademark use (Limitations): Expressly states that no trademark rights are granted.
Liability (Limitations): Expressly states that there is no liability for damages.
Patent use (Limitations): Expressly states that contributors' patent rights are not granted.
Warranty (Limitations): Expressly states that no warranty is provided.

How to read the table

A ● in the Permissions column means the license expressly permits that action. Licenses without a patent clause, such as MIT and BSD, leave 'Patent use' empty, but that does not mean you will be sued for patent infringement. Some argue an implied license may be recognized; an express clause is simply clearer.

The Conditions column lists obligations that apply when you distribute. If you only use the code inside your company and do not distribute it, most conditions never apply. The exception is AGPL-3.0's 'network use' condition: if you run a modified version on a server that others access, you must provide the source.

The Limitations column lists what the license does not guarantee. Almost every open source license is provided 'as is' with no warranty or liability. Even a license without a trademark clause is unlikely to be read as granting trademark rights.

Common points of confusion

The difference between 'GPL-2.0' and 'GPL-3.0' is not just the patent clause. Version 3.0 added the installation information requirement (so-called anti-tivoization), a 30-day cure period for violations, and compatibility with Apache-2.0.
Licenses with a 'same license' condition differ in scope. The GPL applies to the whole program, the LGPL to the library, the MPL to files and the EPL to modules.
Differences among permissive licenses are mainly in how notices are given (MIT and ISC use one short paragraph; Apache uses NOTICE and change markings) and whether there is a patent clause.

This table follows the classification of choosealicense.com. Actual obligations are defined by the license text.

License	Permissions					Conditions								Limitations
License	Commercial use	Modification	Distribution	Private use	Patent use	License and copyright notice	Notice for source distribution	State changes	Disclose source	Network use is distribution	Same license	Same license (file)	Same license (library)	Trademark use	Liability	Patent use	Warranty
MIT	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Apache-2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
GPL-3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
GPL-2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
LGPL-3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
LGPL-2.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
AGPL-3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
MPL-2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
EPL-2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
BSD-3-Clause	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
BSD-2-Clause	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
ISC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
0BSD	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
BSL-1.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Unlicense	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
CC0-1.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes