Simple, Transparent Licensing

Open-source core. Free-to-use extensions. No hidden fees.

Apache 2.0

Core

Free & Open Source

SQL engine, REPL, Elasticsearch client abstractions, and cross-version GatewayApi.

  • ✓ Full SQL parser (DDL + DML + DQL)
  • ✓ Interactive REPL client
  • ✓ GatewayApi (ES 6, 7, 8, 9)
  • ✓ COPY INTO FROM
  • ✓ Scala 2.12 / 2.13 cross-compiled
  • ✓ Community support
Get Started on GitHub
Elastic v2

Extensions

Free to Use

Enterprise integrations — JDBC driver, Arrow Flight SQL, ADBC, and Materialized Views.

  • ✓ JDBC Type 4 Driver
  • ✓ Arrow Flight SQL Server
  • ✓ ADBC Driver
  • ✓ Materialized Views
  • ✓ SPI Extensions
  • ✓ BI tool integration support
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Pricing — pay for scale, not for features

Every tier includes every feature: full SQL, all client drivers (JDBC · ADBC · REPL), Arrow Flight SQL, Materialized Views, and Federation. Quotas — clusters, JOIN depth, Materialized Views, throughput — meter scale.

Community

Free

  • ✓ All client drivers (JDBC, ADBC, REPL) — unmetered
  • ✓ Arrow Flight SQL server
  • ✓ Up to 2 cross-index JOINs per query
  • ✓ Federation — single ES cluster (1)
  • ✓ 1 Materialized View
  • ✓ 10,000 max query results · Community support

Pro

€119/mo

€1,190/yr (2 months free) · $129/mo · $1,290/yr

  • ✓ Everything in Community, metered higher
  • ✓ Up to 5 cross-index JOINs per query
  • ✓ Federation across up to 5 ES clusters
  • ✓ 50 Materialized Views · 1,000,000 max results
  • ✓ 30-day trial, no card · Email support (48h)
Start 30-day trial Buy Pro

Enterprise

from €12,000/year

  • ✓ Unlimited ES clusters, JOINs, Materialized Views, results
  • ✓ SSO · air-gapped / offline licensing · custom quotas
  • ✓ Priority support, 4h SLA, named contact
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How the meter works

Every tier has every feature. The meter — not a feature toggle — sets the price. The two things Elasticsearch cannot do natively (and DIY can't either) are on every tier: query-time cross-index JOIN on every surface (REPL · JDBC · ADBC · Arrow Flight SQL · Federation), and persisted Materialized Views. Client drivers are the free delivery channel; scale is what you pay for.

The scale ladder runs along three meters: query-time depth (maxJoins) → cross-cluster reach (maxClusters) → persisted views (maxMaterializedViews). Community gives you a free taste of each — up to a 3-table JOIN (2 JOINs), one federated ES cluster, and one Materialized View — then you scale up by raising the meters, never by unlocking a feature.

Federation meters across Elasticsearch clusters. In this release, "clusters" means ES clusters specifically. Non-ES backends are a future-release concern; the cluster meter today counts the ES clusters you federate across.

What happens when you hit a cap

Every published number is enforced, not aspirational. The four meters fail in three different, predictable ways — so a 402, a CrashLoop, or a truncation is never a surprise.

Meter When you exceed it What you see
maxJoins The query is rejected before execution by the JOIN planner. An error naming how many JOINs the query has, your tier's limit, and the next tier — with an upgrade link (default portal.softclient4es.com/pricing, operator-overridable).
maxClusters The federation sidecar fails to start (CrashLoop) by design — a 2nd ES cluster on Community, a 6th on Pro. A pod that won't come up at deploy time (CrashLoopBackOff), not a query error.
maxMaterializedViews The Nth+1 CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW returns HTTP 402. 402 Payment Required with an upgrade message.
maxQueryResults No LIMIT → results are truncated with a warning at the tier quota (never silently dropped). An explicit LIMIT over quota → HTTP 402. No-LIMIT: a SQLWarning 01004 (JDBC/ADBC) or x-result-truncated (Flight). Explicit-LIMIT: a 402 telling you the limit exceeds your quota.

The maxQueryResults cap applies to the joined output only — JOIN inputs are never capped. Capping an input would truncate a join leg and produce silently wrong results, so the system never does it. A wide JOIN can therefore hit the output cap (a truncation warning) without its inputs being touched.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an Elasticsearch license to use SoftClient4ES?
No. The core SQL engine and REPL work with any ES deployment, including the free/basic tier. Materialized Views use enrich policies internally — automatic refresh requires an ES license, but manual REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW does not.
What does the Elastic v2 license mean for extensions?
The Elastic v2 license allows free use, including in production. The sources are not publicly available. The main restriction is that you cannot offer the extensions as a managed service (SaaS) to third parties.
Can I use SoftClient4ES in production?
Yes. Both the core (Apache 2.0) and extensions (Elastic v2) are production-ready. The project supports ES 6.x, 7.x, 8.x, and 9.x.
Which client drivers are free?
All of them. JDBC, ADBC, and the interactive REPL are free in every tier, including Community. You only pay when you scale — more clusters to federate, deeper JOINs, more Materialized Views, higher throughput.
What is the 30-day trial?
A user-initiated 30-day trial of Pro (or Enterprise) — no card required. It raises your meters so you can test deeper JOINs, more clusters, and more Materialized Views. Community is permanently free, so there is nothing to trial there — you already have it.

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