[NFBCS] New 2025 Jaws Licensing and Pricing Explained

Tue Jul 22 19:37:54 UTC 2025

New 2025 Jaws Licensing and Pricing Explained

by Jim Barbour <mailto:JBar at barcore.com>  and Curtis Chong
<mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com> 

Vispero has introduced new licensing options and prices for its JAWS,
ZoomText, and Fusion software. Many people have found that the new licensing
and pricing options are more than a little difficult to understand. In this
article, we endeavor to provide a concise, clear explanation of the new
licensing and pricing structure, using JAWS as an example. We believe that
once people understand how the licensing and pricing for JAWS works, they
will be better able to understand the new pricing and licensing for ZoomText
and Fusion.

While we include specific pricing information in this article, we always
recommend checking with Vispero to obtain the most current pricing
information that is in effect. The Vispero eStore can be found at this URL:

https://store.freedomscientific.com/search?q=jaws

Perhaps the most noticeable change in the JAWS licensing structure is the
introduction of a subscription license. A subscription license will stop
working (i.e., JAWS will run in 40-minute demo mode) when it expires.

Types of Licenses

Shown below is information about the two primary license types that Vispero
is now offering for JAWS. There may be other license types offered to
students, developers, IT professionals, and support organizations that are
not discussed here.

1. JAWS Perpetual License

The perpetual license for JAWS is one with which most users of JAWS are
quite familiar. Historically, when a perpetual license was purchased, users
were entitled to receive two annual major upgrades for JAWS (usually
released in the fall) before having to pay a service maintenance agreement
(SMA) fee to become eligible to receive the next two major upgrades .

The new perpetual license comes with a two-year service maintenance
agreement (SMA) which starts as soon as the license is purchased. The
maintenance agreement no longer relates to any major upgrade releases of
JAWS. Customers purchase software maintenance agreements (SMAs) to extend
the life of the license by an additional 2 years. SMAs must be purchased
regularly (now every two years) to keep the perpetual license active. SMAs
are significantly less expensive than the initial cost of the perpetual
license. SMAs must be purchased before the license expires. If the license
expires, JAWS will continue to function normally, but no new releases will
be authorized to run. So, JAWS will begin to age noticeably as bug fixes and
features are released that can't be taken advantage of. The only way to
bring an expired  JAWS perpetual license up to date is to purchase a new
license. In other words, to keep a perpetual license active, an SMA must be
purchased every 2 years, before the current SMA expires.

2. JAWS Subscription License

The subscription license is a new type of license that is being introduced
by Vispero. This type of license acts more like a software rental. A
subscription license is purchased for a 1, 2, or 3 year period. The longer
the period, the lower the annual payment. When the subscription license
expires, instead of only refusing new upgrades, JAWS reverts to running in
demo mode. However, the expired license can be reactivated at any time by
paying for a new 1, 2, or 3 year license. Once paid, the license becomes
active, the software will function, and all new releases are authorized to
run. What we don't know is whether or not the reactivated or new license
would need to be paid at the same annual cost as the original license or
whether something similar to a service maintenance agreement could be
purchased to continue a license that has already been subscribed to.

The two versions of JAWS

JAWS comes in two versions: Home and Professional. JAWS Home is intended for
use by end-users for personal, non-commercial use only and runs on all
supported versions of the WindowsR operating system.

JAWS Professional is intended for use by organizations and end-users for any
purpose--whether commercial, educational, or personal. JAWS runs on all
supported versions of the WindowsR operating system. Additional options for
JAWS Professional include Multi-user, Enterprise, and District licenses as
well as features like Remote Access, which allows you to establish remote
sessions from your computer to terminal servers using Microsoft Remote
Desktop Services or Citrix XenAppR and XenDesktopR.

If the above paragraphs challenged your understanding of the universe, just
think of JAWS Home as something you would use for yourself personally while
JAWS Professional would be used in an employment or self-employment
situation.

Pricing for JAWS licenses

The type of license, version of JAWS, and the length of the license combine
to set the price of the license.

The professional version of JAWS costs more than the home version. The extra
cost includes free remote access to terminal servers.

In the long run, the subscription license costs more than the perpetual
license but results in the buyer having to spend a lot less up front.

Longer licensing periods have a less expensive per year cost. Shorter
periods allow for more payment flexibility.

Here are a few examples of JAWS pricing.

.           A three-year subscription license for JAWS professional totals
$2,778 ($926 paid per year). We are not sure what needs to be paid beyond
the third year--whether it would be a service maintenance agreement or a
continuation of the $926 annual payment, but we are sure that something will
need to be paid to keep the license active..

.           A perpetual license for JAWS professional with a two-year SMA
costs a total of $2,267.50. Beyond the second year, a service maintenance
agreement fee would need to be paid, probably on a biennial basis.

.           A three-year subscription license for JAWS home totals $1,869
($623 per year). We are not sure what needs to be paid beyond the third
year--whether it would be a service maintenance agreement or a continuation
of the $623 annual payment.

.           A three year perpetual license for JAWS home with a 2 year SMA
costs $1,548. Beyond the second year, a service maintenance agreement fee
would need to be paid, probably on a biennial basis.

Vispero offers a discounted subscription license if the user is a blind
person using JAWS at home. This license (currently called a Home Annual
License) is $104.50 per year and is available only to people living in the
United States. Acquisition of this type of license is initiated by calling
Vispero at 1-800-444-4443.

The JAWS Home Annual subscription license includes:

.           One-year automatic renewal managed from the user portal,

.           Noncommercial use on your personal computers at home,

.           Installation on up to three of your computers, and

.           Technical support and all upgrades and updates during the
license term.

This type of license is ideal for people who are short on cash and need JAWS
on computers they would use exclusively at home for non-commercial purposes.

Conclusion

We hope that this article has helped to clarify what Vispero is doing with
regards to licenses and pricing for its software--in particular, for JAWS.
Interested persons can contact Vispero directly when the time comes actually
to make a purchase of JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion.

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