Licence and trial¶
For a personal licence: no subscription. No app account. One purchase, and the app is yours.
The trial (direct download)¶
Seven days, everything unlocked, no card required. The trial is only in the direct build from simplediagrams.com. The Mac App Store build is paid for up front, so it has no trial and is ready to use as soon as it's installed.
For an unmanaged direct copy, the trial starts when you accept the licence agreement on first launch. No payment is required, and nothing is charged automatically. If your organisation deploys a licence key through device management, no new personal trial starts. See Organisation licences below.
If a direct trial could not be recorded on your Mac, open SimpleDiagrams ▸ Get SimpleDiagrams… or click the status button at the bottom of the window to retry.
The status bar shows where you are: Trial · N days left, then Trial · Less than a day left, then Trial ended · View only.
When the trial ends¶
The direct build becomes view only until you enter a licence key. You can still open, view, copy, save, export and print everything. You can't create a new diagram or edit an existing one.
You will never be locked out of your own work. That's a promise, not a setting.
Two ways to buy¶
SimpleDiagrams comes in two builds. They're the same app; only how you pay, and how you get updates, differs.
You get a licence key by email. Open Get SimpleDiagrams…, click Enter Licence Key…, paste the key, and click Unlock.
The key is verified on your Mac using cryptography built into the app. There's no activation server to call and no app account to log into. A personal key has no expiry date and works offline.
This build also has SimpleDiagrams ▸ Check for Updates…, which opens the updates page in your browser and tells you whether you're on the newest build. It's not an auto-updater — it just checks and points you at the download. Your IT team can hide this command on a managed Mac.
You pay up front in the Mac App Store, through your Apple Account, like any other paid app. There's no trial, no in-app purchase and no licence key: the app is ready to use as soon as it's installed.
On another Mac, install it from the App Store with the same Apple Account.
This build has no Check for Updates… — the App Store handles that.
The direct price is shown in the purchase window and on simplediagrams.com; the App Store shows its own price. Either way it's a one-time purchase.
What a personal direct licence covers¶
One licence is for one person, on every Mac they use. Desktop, laptop, the machine at the office — all of them, as long as it's you using them.
It's the same model Panic, Bare Bones and Rogue Amoeba use, and it's built on trust rather than enforcement. An organisation should buy one per person, and can reassign a licence when someone leaves.
Personal licences are permanent. There's nothing to renew and nothing that expires.
Organisation licences¶
An organisation licence is a different arrangement: one key names the organisation and the number of people it covers. Its agreed terms may include an expiry date. The app shows those details in Help ▸ Licence Information…. It does not count seats or contact a licence server.
In the direct build from 5.0.13, your IT team can install that key using a configuration profile. With a valid managed organisation key, the app opens ready to use, with no trial, licence agreement window or purchase prompt. The organisation accepts the agreement for its people as part of its purchase.
If a managed key expires or is not accepted, the app tells you to contact your IT team. It is view only unless a personal key or an existing trial already unlocks it. There is no key-entry or removal control while a key is managed by your organisation.
The Mac App Store build ignores managed licence keys. For the installer package, profile and purchasing enquiries, see the deployment guide.
The licence agreement¶
The unmanaged direct build shows the agreement on first launch — you'll need to tick the box and click Continue before the app opens. A valid managed organisation key answers that question on behalf of the organisation. The App Store build uses Apple's standard terms instead.
You can read it any time under Help ▸ Licenses…, which also has the shape licence, the privacy policy and third-party notices.
Checking your licence¶
Help ▸ Licence Information… tells you exactly what state you're in.
For a key you entered yourself in the direct build, it also offers Remove Licence…, which takes the key off this Mac, useful when you're selling a machine. This control is not available while a licence key is managed by your organisation. It's entirely local — there's no server that knows which Macs hold your key, because the app has no network access at all.
Keep your key safe; it's the same key you'd re-enter later.
Refunds¶
Personal direct purchases have a 30-day refund policy — see simplediagrams.com. App Store purchases are refunded through Apple.
System requirements¶
- macOS 15.0 or later
- Apple silicon or Intel
- English only, for now
The direct build is signed with a Developer ID, uses the hardened runtime, and is notarized by Apple.
Upgrading from version 3 or 4¶
Version 5 is a separate product, not an update, so an older licence doesn't unlock it. In the direct build, the purchase window has an Upgrading from an earlier version? section — and if you've been with SimpleDiagrams a long time, email me and we'll sort something out.