IDA Free vs IDA Home — non-commercial Hex-Rays options
IDA Free and IDA Home are Hex-Rays' non-commercial offerings. Free costs $0 with an x86/x64 focus; Home is listed starting from $365 per year on hex-rays.com/pricing (checked 2026-10-24 UTC) and lets you choose a processor family. Neither replaces IDA Pro for commercial work.
- Free: Named license, x86/x64 disassembly + cloud x86 decompilers, non-commercial.
- Home: From $365/year, one disassembler family + two cloud decompilers from the same family, non-commercial.
Official comparison (Hex-Rays pages, 2026-10-24 UTC)
| Plan | Price shown | Commercial use | Architectures (as published) |
|---|---|---|---|
| IDA Free | Free | Non-commercial only | PC (x86 32/64) + cloud x86 decompilers |
| IDA Home | Starting from $365 per year | Individual, non-commercial | 1 disassembler family of your choice + 2 matching cloud decompilers |
| IDA Pro Essential | Starting from €1 099 per year | Under Pro terms | 60+ families for disassembly; 2 cloud decompilers from one family |
What Free is good for
IDA Free is a way to learn Hex-Rays' UI on authorized x86/x64 samples without paying. Limits that matter in practice:
- Non-commercial license only.
- PC (x86/x64) focus, not the full Pro architecture set.
- Named license on macOS, Linux and Windows (per Free page).
What Home adds
Home is still non-commercial, but you pick a disassembler family (PC, ARM, MIPS, PPC or RISC-V as listed) and get two cloud decompilers from that family, plus scripting (IDAPython / IDC / C++ SDK) and local/GDB remote debugging options as published on the pricing page.
When to look elsewhere
- Stay on IDA Free if you only need x86/x64 learning on non-commercial targets.
- Pay IDA Home if you need another architecture family under Hex-Rays' non-commercial terms.
- For commercial work, evaluate IDA Pro or free/open tools such as Ghidra.
- Open-source shortlist: open-source IDA alternatives.
BinBench does not sell licenses and does not discuss cracks or key sharing.
FAQ
Can I use IDA Free at work?
No. Hex-Rays states IDA Free is for non-commercial use only. Commercial work needs a paid Pro plan (or another tool under its own license).
How much is IDA Home?
On the Hex-Rays pricing page checked 2026-10-24 (UTC), IDA Home is listed starting from $365 per year for individual, non-commercial use. Re-check before purchase.
Does IDA Home allow commercial use?
No. Hex-Rays positions Home for individual, non-commercial use. Commercial use requires Pro editions.
What architectures does IDA Free cover?
The Free page lists PC disassemblers (x86 32/64) and cloud-based x86 decompilers. Home lets you pick one disassembler family (for example PC, ARM, MIPS, PPC or RISC-V) with matching cloud decompilers.
Is there a monthly plan?
Hex-Rays FAQ states payments are annual only (minimum one year).