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Is Aseprite free?
Short version: Aseprite is paid, its source code is public, and you may build it yourself for free, but only for yourself. LibreSprite is the one you can download free and share. Below: the actual licence text, what compiling it took on our machine, and the free alternatives.
On this page 7 sections
Short answer
Is Aseprite free?
No, not to download. Aseprite is a one-time purchase: Steam listed it at $19.99 on 1 November 2026, and it is also sold on aseprite.org and itch.io. The free trial cannot save files. Aseprite’s source code is public, though, and its licence (clause 2(g)) allows you to compile it yourself for your own personal use, free of charge. You may not give that build to anyone else. If you want a free editor you can download and share, use LibreSprite, the open-source fork of Aseprite’s 2016 code.
What Aseprite costs and where to buy it
| Where | What you get |
|---|---|
| Steam | $19.99 (price shown on 1 Nov 2026), one-time purchase, updates through Steam. On Steam since 22 February 2016. |
| aseprite.org | An Aseprite key with downloads for Windows, macOS and Ubuntu, plus a Steam key. Payment through Paddle, with itch.io as an alternative. |
| Trial (aseprite.org/trial) | Free download of the current version. The page warns: “You CANNOT SAVE files with the trial version”. |
Prices change and vary by country and sales. Check the store before you buy; we only report what we saw on the date above. There is no subscription.
Is Aseprite open source?
Not any more. Aseprite was free, open-source software under the GNU GPL from 2001 until 26 August 2016, when it switched to a proprietary licence (commit 5ecc356). Its code is still published on GitHub, so it is source-available: anyone can read it, but the licence limits what you may do with it. LibreSprite was created on 31 August 2016 from the last GPL version, which is why LibreSprite can be free and shared. The full timeline.
What the Aseprite licence actually says
From the EULA.txt in Aseprite’s repository at tag v1.3.18.6 (quoted exactly):
2(g) Source code. “You may only compile and modify the source code of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT for your own personal purpose or to propose a contribution to the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.”
2(b) Distribution. “You may not distribute copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT to third parties. Evaluation versions available for download from the Licensor’s websites may be freely distributed.”
In plain words:
- allowed Downloading the source and compiling Aseprite for your own use, free.
- allowed Changing the code for yourself, or to send a contribution to Aseprite.
- allowed Sharing the official trial.
- not allowed Giving your compiled copy to a friend, a classroom or a team, or uploading it anywhere.
- not allowed Downloading someone else’s “free Aseprite” build. That copy was distributed against 2(b), and you cannot know what was changed in it.
Not legal advice: read the full EULA yourself if your situation is unusual (for example, a company or school).
Compiling Aseprite yourself: what it takes
We compiled Aseprite 1.3.18.6 on Linux, macOS and Windows, following Aseprite’s own INSTALL.md, to report real numbers. Each build ran on a throwaway machine and was deleted afterwards; none was ever shared.
| System | Command | Build steps | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 (container, 4 cores) | ./build.sh --auto | 1,529 | 665 s build, ~13 min total |
| macOS 15, Apple Silicon (Xcode) | ./build.sh --auto | 1,566 | 665 s build, 709 s total |
| Windows Server 2025 (Visual Studio, MSVC 14.51) | bash build.sh --auto in a VS developer shell | 1,575 | 1,184 s build, 1,249 s total |
All three reported Aseprite 1.3.18.6-dev. On Windows the result was aseprite.exe (21.6 MB) plus a 148 MB debug-symbols file. The first Windows attempt, from a normal Git Bash, stopped because the compiler (cl.exe) was not found; it worked from the Visual Studio developer environment.
The Linux run in detail:
| Step | Result on our 4-core machine |
|---|---|
| Install build packages (the Ubuntu line from INSTALL.md) | 59 s |
| Clone the source with submodules (tag v1.3.18.6) | 47 s, 309 MB on disk |
./build.sh --auto (downloads a prebuilt Skia, configures, compiles) | 665 s, 1,529 build steps |
| Total | about 13 minutes |
| Result | Runs, and reports itself as Aseprite 1.3.18.6-dev |
sudo apt-get install -y g++ clang cmake ninja-build unzip libx11-dev libxcursor-dev libxi-dev libxrandr-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libfontconfig1-dev git
git clone --recursive --branch v1.3.18.6 https://github.com/aseprite/aseprite.git
cd aseprite
./build.shbuild.sh asks a few questions, downloads the matching Skia library and builds. The program ends up in build/bin/aseprite.
Aseprite’s INSTALL.md asks for Visual Studio Community 2022 with the “Desktop development with C++” workload and the Windows 10.0.26100.0 SDK, plus CMake and Ninja. MinGW is not supported. Then open the Developer Command Prompt (or PowerShell) for VS, so cl.exe is found, and run the build script from the source folder. We ran bash build.sh --auto that way (Git Bash inside the developer environment) on Windows Server 2025: 1,575 build steps, about 21 minutes. From a plain shell it stops because the C++ compiler (cl.exe) is not found.
INSTALL.md lists Xcode 16.3 with the macOS 15.4 SDK (older may work), plus CMake and Ninja, then ./build.sh. We ran ./build.sh --auto on macOS 15 (Apple Silicon) with Homebrew’s CMake and Ninja: 1,566 build steps, under 12 minutes in total, and it reported Aseprite 1.3.18.6-dev.
The catch
A self-built copy does not update itself. For every new Aseprite version you pull the source and rebuild. You also get no Steam integration. That is the trade-off for $19.99, and why many people simply buy it once they know they like it.
Free alternatives
| Editor | Licence | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| LibreSprite | GPLv2, free | The closest thing to Aseprite: same roots, same file format, mostly the same keys. Windows, macOS, Linux, plus an older Android build. No layer groups, tilemaps or slices. Compared in detail. |
| Pixelorama | MIT, free | Built with the Godot engine; runs on desktop and in the browser. |
| Piskel | Apache 2.0, free | Simple, runs in the browser; good for small sprites and quick GIFs. |
More options and how they compare: best free pixel-art software.
What to avoid
- Sites offering “Aseprite free download”, “Aseprite full version” or a pre-built “compiled Aseprite”. Redistributing it breaks the EULA, and such files are a common way to spread malware.
- “Aseprite” on app stores from unknown publishers. There is no official Aseprite for Android or iOS.
- Confusing the two names: LibreSprite is a separate, legal, free program, not a cracked Aseprite. Download it only from its official GitHub releases.
FAQ
Is Aseprite a one-time purchase or a subscription?
A one-time purchase. There is no subscription.
Is Aseprite free on Steam?
No. It is a paid app on Steam ($19.99 on 1 November 2026). We don’t track sale prices.
Is it legal to compile Aseprite for free?
Yes, for your own personal use: clause 2(g) of its EULA allows it. Sharing the result is not allowed (clause 2(b)).
Can I use a compiled Aseprite for commercial work?
The EULA says “for your own personal purpose”. Whether selling art you made counts is for you to judge from the full licence; if in doubt, buy a licence, or use LibreSprite, whose GPL licence puts no limits on what you make with it.
Can I compile Aseprite for my students or my team?
Not as one build shared by everyone: that is distribution. Each person may compile their own copy, or the school or team can buy licences. LibreSprite can be installed everywhere for free.
Is LibreSprite a free version of Aseprite?
It is a free program that grew from Aseprite’s 2016 open-source code. It is legal and safe to use, but it lacks most of what Aseprite added since 2016.
Keep going
Found something wrong or out of date? Tell us: hello@libresprite.dev. We fix mistakes within a day.