Library & Archives · pricing
FOLIO pricing
FOLIO publishes 2 tiers. Below is each one, what it adds over the tier beneath it, and where the ladder stops being worth climbing for most people.
- Entry price
- Free
- Model
- Open-source
- Tiers
- 2
- Free tier
- Yes
FOLIO plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Edition | Free | 6 | Entry tier |
| Hosted (via EBSCO/Index Data) | On request | 6 | Priced on request |
What each tier adds
The set difference between each tier's feature list and the one beneath it. Where a tier lists nothing new, the vendor has either stopped repeating the inherited list or the tier raises limits rather than adding capability, the record does not distinguish the two, so this page does not either.
Community Edition
FreeThe entry tier. It covers modular app ecosystem, circulation management, cataloging, acquisitions, erm, community support.
Hosted (via EBSCO/Index Data)
On requestOver Community Edition, this tier adds:
- Everything in Community
- Managed hosting
- Professional support
- Implementation services
- Training
- Custom development
Where FOLIO stops being free
Community Edition, Free
- Modular app ecosystem
- Circulation management
- Cataloging
- Acquisitions
- ERM
- Community support
No paid tier on record
FOLIO lists a free tier and no priced tier above it in the record we hold.
What the product covers
The full FOLIO feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Core
- Modular app architecture
- Circulation and check-out
- Inventory and cataloging
- Acquisitions and invoicing
- Electronic resource management
- User management
- Agreements and licenses
- Course reserves
- Custom app development
Integrations
- EBSCO Discovery
- VuFind
- ReShare
- OCLC
- SIP2
- NCIP
Security
- LDAP
- SSO
- OAuth2
- Role-based access
Deployment
- Self-hosted deployment
- Cloud deployment
Platform
- Web support
- Api support
Localization
- English language support
- German language support
- Chinese language support
People bring FOLIO in for academic library management, custom library applications, consortial systems, electronic resource management. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to FOLIO are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in Library & Archives
Too few library & archives tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOLIO (this page) | Free | open-source | - | |
| Ex Libris Alma | On request | subscription | - | vs FOLIO |
| CONTENTdm | $1495/year | subscription | - | vs FOLIO |
| ArchivesSpace | Free | open-source | - | vs FOLIO |
| CollectiveAccess | Free | - | - | vs FOLIO |
| DSpace | Free | open-source | - | vs FOLIO |
| Archivematica | Free | - | - | vs FOLIO |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the FOLIO badges page.
Before you pay for FOLIO
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: 2 tiers between Free and On request, with the jump itemised above. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
FOLIO runs on web, api, and is published by Open Library Foundation of Global (Community-driven). The full record is on the FOLIO review, and the rest of the category is under best library & archives tools.
FOLIO pricing questions
- How much does FOLIO cost?
- FOLIO publishes 2 tiers, from Free for Community Edition up to On request for Hosted (via EBSCO/Index Data). The entry tier costs nothing.
- Does FOLIO have a free plan?
- Yes. The Community Edition tier costs nothing and covers modular app ecosystem, circulation management, cataloging.
- What is the difference between Community Edition and Hosted (via EBSCO/Index Data) on FOLIO?
- Hosted (via EBSCO/Index Data) costs On request against Free, and adds everything in community, managed hosting, professional support, implementation services.
- Which library & archives tools can I use without paying?
- 5 of the 8 library & archives tools listed alongside FOLIO have a free tier: ArchivesSpace, CollectiveAccess, DSpace, Archivematica, Evergreen ILS.
- What am I actually paying for with FOLIO?
- The record lists 26 features across 6 areas: core, integrations, security, deployment, platform, localization. In practice it is brought in for academic library management, custom library applications, consortial systems.
- Does FOLIO charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 2 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these FOLIO prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare FOLIO against before paying?
- The closest library & archives tools in this directory are Ex Libris Alma, CONTENTdm, ArchivesSpace, CollectiveAccess. Each has a side-by-side comparison with FOLIO covering price, platforms and features.