Last updated: 2026-10-22

Pro License

Q: What is a license key?

A code in the form JAM-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX that turns Pro on for one computer without an account. Each key belongs to one seat, which is for one person, and works on up to 3 computers at a time. Enter it in Settings → Account → License key and choose Activate.

Jam SQL Studio is free for personal, non-commercial use, such as hobby projects, study and learning. Using it for work needs a Pro license, which costs $99 a year or $9.99 a month per person. This page covers the one question Jam asks about how you use it, the two ways to turn Pro on (signing in, or a license key), how many computers a key covers, and what to do when Pro doesn't turn on.

Personal or Pro

Personal is free forever and needs no account. It has every core feature, with size caps on a handful of bulk operations; Pricing lists them. While you are on Personal, the bottom bar reads For personal, non-commercial use only.

Pro is the license for work: commercial, business or professional use, including work for clients. It also removes the Personal caps and adds Pro features such as multiple named sessions. Work use needs Pro even when the free features cover everything you do: the license depends on how you use Jam, not on which features you use.

The question: How are you using Jam?

Jam asks once. After a query or a Table Explorer load succeeds on one of your own connections (the bundled sample database doesn't count), a small card appears in the bottom-right corner, above the result tabs and the status bar, at a quiet moment: no query is running, no connection is opening, no dialog is open, the window is at least 900 pixels wide and the workspace above the terminal and the status bar is at least 360 pixels high. It reads Jam SQL Studio is free for hobby and study. Work use needs a Pro license. and offers two answers:

Hobby or study: Jam says thanks and never asks again. Nothing else changes.
At work: the card shows what Pro costs, with Buy Pro, Not now and, while the trial is still available, Try it 14 days first (see The 14-day trial).

The × on the card (Don't ask again) closes it for good. If the window or the workspace gets too small while the card shows (for example, you open a tall terminal), the card hides and comes back as it was once there is room. If the card was shown but you neither answered nor closed it, Jam shows it one more time later. Jam never asks while you have Pro, a trial or a license key on the computer. Already have Pro on another computer? Use Sign in or Enter license key under Already have Pro? on the card (see New computer?).

If you answered At work and haven't bought Pro, Jam reminds you at most once every 90 days with a Using Jam at work? card: Buy Pro, Not now, or I don't use it for work, which switches your answer to hobby and ends the reminders.

To change your answer, open Settings → Account → How are you using Jam?. The section is there while you are on Personal; with Pro, a trial or a license key it is hidden. While the answer is At work, chosen there or on the card, the section shows what Pro costs; to buy, use Subscribe to Pro in the Upgrade to Pro section of the same tab. While the trial is still available it also offers Try it 14 days first when you are signed out; signed in, the trial is Start 14-Day Trial in Upgrade to Pro. The answer is saved on this computer. With Send Anonymous Usage Data on (Settings → Privacy), Jam also counts which answer was picked, without anything that identifies you.

Buying Pro

Buy Pro inside the app: open Settings → Account and choose Subscribe to Pro (the bottom bar's Upgrade and the work card's Buy Pro open the same dialog). Pick monthly or yearly, sign in if you aren't signed in yet, and pay with Stripe in your browser. Pro turns on for your account once the payment goes through.

Turning Pro on

Sign in. Sign in to Jam with the account you bought Pro with. Pro is on wherever you sign in with it.
Enter a license key. Paste it in Settings → Account → License key and choose Activate. No account needed. See License keys.

Settings → Account → Current Plan shows which one applies: Through your subscription, or License key with the key's last four characters and on this computer.

New computer?

On a new computer, or after Jam lost its settings, Jam starts on Personal until you sign in or enter your key. You don't have to look for Settings first:

The bottom bar shows Sign in next to Upgrade. Sign in with the account or email you bought Pro with, and Jam shows Your purchase is linked to this account. Pro is on. If it finds no purchase for that email, it says so and points you to the license key.
The How are you using Jam? card, the work card, the 90-day reminder and the buy dialog (Upgrade) end with Already have Pro? and two links: Sign in (Check for my purchase when you are already signed in) and Enter license key, which opens Settings → Account with the key field ready. Using one of these links doesn't count as an answer to the question.

License keys

A license key looks like JAM-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX and turns Pro on for one computer without an account. Each key belongs to one seat, and a seat is for one person. Upper or lower case doesn't matter, and neither do the dashes.

Entering a key

Open Settings → Account. Under License key, paste the key and choose Activate. The field appears while the computer has no Pro, or only the trial. Once the key is active, the section shows its last four characters and a line such as Active on this computer · 1 of 3 computers · Seat 2.

Where keys come from

Whoever bought Pro sees the keys in Settings → Account → License keys while signed in with the buying account: one key per paid seat, each with Copy, plus Copy all when there are several. Seat 1 is marked yours if you use Jam yourself. Signing in with the buying account uses that same seat, so keep key 1 for your own computers, for example one where you'd rather not sign in.

What the key status means

Settings shows	Why	What to do
Active on this computer	Pro is on.	Nothing.
This key's subscription isn't paid up.	A payment for the subscription failed, or the subscription is paused.	The person who bought it updates the payment. Pro comes back at the next check.
This key's license has ended.	The subscription was cancelled.	Ask the person who bought it, or choose Remove key from this computer.
This key was revoked.	The key's seat was removed, or support replaced the key.	Ask the person who bought it for a new key.
Jam needs to check this key online.	The computer has been offline too long.	Connect to the internet. Jam checks again by itself.

Computers: up to 3 per key

One key works on up to 3 computers at a time. Signed in with the buying account, Pro has no computer limit; the limit applies to keys only.

Moving a key: on the old computer, choose Deactivate on this computer under Settings → Account → License key. That frees a slot. To turn Pro on there again, you need the key.
A key that is already on 3 computers: when you activate it, Jam lists the computers it is on, with each one's name, operating system and the day it was last used. Choose Deactivate next to one you no longer use, then Try again. Jam keeps the key in memory for 10 minutes for this and stores nothing on the computer until the activation succeeds.
Signing out doesn't touch the key: it stays on the computer and keeps Pro on.
Offline: Jam checks the key with jamsql.com when it starts (if the last check is more than a day old) and every 12 hours while it runs. Without a connection, Pro stays on for up to 30 days after the last successful check, or less when the billing period ends sooner.

So you can tell computers apart in that list, activating a key sends the computer's name, its operating system and the Jam SQL Studio version along with an anonymous device ID. It never sends your connections or queries.

Pro follows the purchase, not whichever account happens to be signed in. Open Settings → Account → Already bought Jam Pro? and choose Check for my purchase. Jam looks for a purchase made with your account's email and tells you what it found:

Your purchase is linked to this account. Pro is on.
No Jam Pro license found for your email: if you paid with another email, sign out and sign in with that one, or enter a license key.
A Jam Pro purchase for this email belongs to another Jam account. Write to [email protected] to move it to the account you use.
This account's email isn't verified: sign in with a verified email, or enter a license key.

Signed out, the same section offers Sign in with your purchase email.

Changing or cancelling the subscription

Signed in with the buying account, open Settings → Account → Manage Subscription to change the payment method, see invoices or cancel. Cancelling stops the renewal; the current paid period is not refunded. Once the subscription has ended, Jam returns to Personal on the buyer's computers and the subscription's license keys stop turning Pro on.

The 14-day trial

Pro has a 14-day free trial, and no card is needed. It is tied to an account: sign in inside the app, then choose Start 14-Day Trial in Settings → Account, or Try it 14 days first on the work card, which asks you to sign in first if you aren't signed in. Each account gets one trial, and when it ends you can extend it once by 14 more days by answering the app's one-question feedback prompt. After the trial, Jam returns to Personal and offers to buy Pro.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Pro to use Jam SQL Studio at work?

Yes. Personal is free for personal, non-commercial use such as hobby projects, study and learning. Any work use, including commercial, business or professional use and work for clients, needs a Pro license, even when the free features cover everything you do. Pro costs $99 a year or $9.99 a month per person.

Why does Jam SQL Studio ask how I use it?

So the license can follow how you use Jam without adding limits to the free tier. After your first successful query, Jam asks once: Hobby or study, or At work. Hobby or study ends the question for good and changes nothing else. At work shows what Pro costs, with Buy Pro and Not now. Jam never asks while you have Pro, a trial or a license key, and you can change the answer in Settings → Account.

What is a license key?

A code in the form JAM-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX that turns Pro on for one computer without an account. Each key belongs to one seat, which is for one person, and works on up to 3 computers at a time. Enter it in Settings → Account → License key and choose Activate.

How do I move a license key to another computer?

On the old computer, open Settings → Account and choose Deactivate on this computer, then activate the key on the new one. If the old computer is gone, activate the key on the new one anyway: when the key is already on 3 computers, Jam lists them, so you can deactivate one from the list and try again.

Does signing out remove my license key?

No. A license key stays on the computer and keeps Pro on after you sign out. To remove it, choose Deactivate on this computer in Settings → Account.

Do I need an account for Pro?

To buy Pro in the app you sign in first, and the purchase belongs to that account. After that, a license key turns Pro on without signing in: the buyer finds it in Settings → Account → License keys. The free trial also needs an account.

I already have Pro. How do I turn it on on a new computer?

Sign in to Jam with the account or email you bought Pro with, or enter your license key. You don't have to look for Settings first: the bottom bar shows Sign in next to Upgrade, and the How are you using Jam? card, the work card, the 90-day reminder and the buy dialog end with Already have Pro? and the links Sign in and Enter license key. Enter license key opens Settings → Account with the key field ready.

I paid, but Jam still shows Personal. What now?

Open Settings → Account → Already bought Jam Pro? and choose Check for my purchase. Jam looks for a purchase made with your account's email and says what it found. If you bought with another email or account, sign out and sign in with that one, or enter a license key.

What happens to license keys when the subscription ends?

They stop turning Pro on. Each computer drops Pro at its next online check, and a computer that stays offline keeps Pro for at most 30 days after its last check. A key whose subscription has a payment problem works again once the payment goes through.

Pricing: what Personal includes, the exact caps, and what Pro adds.
Getting Started: install Jam, connect, and run a first query.
End User License Agreement: the full license terms.