Industry customers build on Unity to reduce costs, accelerate time-to-market, and deploy across platforms at scale. IDAO lets us align pricing with the value applications deliver as they grow across your organization, so we can keep investing in the performance, reliability, and multi-platform compatibility you rely on. It keeps costs down for small teams and early pilots while ensuring broader deployments are priced in line with their reach.
Why we're updating pricing
We know how important predictable pricing is to your business. At the same time, we must ensure that Unity can continue to invest in and deliver the best possible solutions to Industry customers. We aim to deliver a pricing framework that is clear, predictable, and built to last. We know there has been a lot of change; our goal with this latest update is to minimize structural changes.
| Four components of Unity Industry pricing | |||
|
Licenses Fee per user/seat to create applications in Unity (which includes allowances for consumption, deployment, and support). |
Consumption Usage-based pricing of cloud services & AI credits beyond what’s included in a license. |
Deployment & Distribution Application-based charge to deploy (internal audience) or distribute (external audience) Unity-built applications. |
Support Services Support and training from Unity beyond what’s included in a license. |
Internal Deployment Add-On (IDAO)
On August 3, 2026, Unity is introducing the Internal Deployment Add-On (IDAO): a framework for licensing the deployment of made-with-Unity applications to internal users. IDAO covers applications you deploy to users within your organization, such as a training tool for new employees, a factory digital twin for floor operators, or a product configurator for sales staff. This does not impact existing applications.
With an Industry license, every new Unity application includes an allowance of 100 internal monthly active users (MAUs); Unity Industry license holders do not count toward this allowance. This supports smaller teams, pilots, and limited rollouts for internal programs, and means that most applications will not be charged for deployment.
| IDAO effective dates for existing Unity Industry applications | |
| Built and deployed before August 3, 2026 | Applications launching on or after August 3, 2026 |
|
Permanently exempt (Must register by March 31, 2027) |
Effective August 1, 2027 |
How IDAO works
When internal usage of an application grows beyond 100 internal MAUs, you select a prepaid annual tier that fits your deployment. There are no mid-year adjustments or retroactive charges. Periodic check-ins help us stay aligned on how your deployment is evolving so we can plan renewals together. If usage grows beyond your tier, we'll discuss the right tier at your next renewal.
| IDAO prepaid annual tiers applied per Unity application | ||
| Tier | Internal MAUs (beyond license holders) | Annual price |
| Included | 0-100 | Free |
| Starter | 101 – 500 | $7,500 USD |
| Scale 1 | 501 – 5,000 | $40,000 USD |
| Scale 2 | 5,001 – 15,000 | $75,000 USD |
| Scale 3 | 15,001+ | Custom |
If your usage lands just above a tier's ceiling, MAU packs let you add capacity in increments of 100 MAUs for $1,000 so you can extend your current tier without moving up to the next one. MAU packs require an active base tier (Starter or above) and are not sold standalone.
Note that applications built with Unity Studio are subject to a consumption-based pricing model, where each organization receives 10 GB of bandwidth per month at no cost, and usage beyond that threshold is billed at $0.50 per GB. This ensures you only pay for what you actually use. Applications built with Unity Studio in a self-hosted deployment environment are subject to the IDAO prepaid annual tiers.
What this means for current customers
- Your existing internal applications will be permanently exempt. Any live application that has already been deployed before August 3, 2026, is not subject to IDAO.
- We will be reaching out in the coming months to register your existing applications; please plan to share details of all live applications (even those under the 100 MAU threshold) to be sure your programs are permanently covered.
- New applications have a full year grace period. Any new application you deploy between August 3, 2026, and July 31, 2027, will not be subject to IDAO until August 1, 2027.
Need further support?
Please feel free to contact our sales team with any additional questions.
FAQ
What is Unity’s definition of Monthly Active User (MAU) for IDAO?
An MAU is any unique person within the account who uses the internally deployed app at least once in a given month — no matter how many times they log in, what device they use, or how they access it.
Each person counts once, and once only, per calendar month.
Those who have an Industry or Studio license do not count towards that.
Is MAU calculated per Unity application, or combined across my whole organization?
MAU is calculated per Unity application, not per org.
The free allowance is 100 MAUs per Unity application.
A customer with multiple applications each gets a separate 100-MAU free allowance per application.
How does MAU counting work for offline or anonymous usage?(e.g. a kiosk or anonymous WebGL app)?
IDAO uses a customer self-reporting model.
Customers are responsible for reporting the number of Monthly Active Users (MAUs) consuming their deployed application, regardless of whether users authenticate individually, access anonymously (such as kiosks or public WebGL experiences), or use the application offline.
The applicable MAU count is determined by the customer using reasonable usage metrics consistent with their deployment.
Does a WebGL page load or session count as a MAU? What about usage delivered via third-party streaming platforms, and who is responsible for reporting it?
Applications delivered through WebGL, browser-based experiences, pixel streaming, or third-party streaming services are all subject to the same MAU mode, regardless of how the application is delivered.
The customer deploying the application is responsible for reporting MAU usage, even when delivery occurs through a third-party platform.
Are applications used during development and internal testing subject to IDAO?
No. Applications used exclusively for development, testing, QA, or validation are not subject to IDAO.
IDAO applies once an application is deployed for production use and consumed by its intended audience (for example employees, operators, trainees, or external users). At that point, any user that does not hold an Industry License is counted towards the MAU allowance.
What is the definition of ‘internal deployment'?
The customer deploys a made-with-Unity application to its employees and /or contractors only, and the application is primarily used by users within the customer organization for internal business purposes only.
How does Unity define ‘consistent usage’?
MAUs (as defined above) are agreed up front as a forecast, based on consistent month-over-month usage rather than occasional spikes.
You won't be charged extra for a temporary spike. Your account team will check in regularly to review how the application is growing, so your forecast stays accurate, and there are no surprises at renewal.
Does IDAO apply to temporary external use, such as trade shows, showrooms, or exhibitions?
Temporary demonstrations, exhibitions, and trade shows for external users are not considered Internal Deployments. For more information, please contact Sales.
How does IDAO apply if the same app is used both internally and externally; for example, an app available on the app store that employees also use?
Contact your sales lead to discuss the details.
If I update or add features to an app deployed before August 3, will it still qualify for the grandfathering exemption?
Yes. Adding code, assets, new features, or new modules to an existing deployed application does not affect the grandfathering exemption. Those applications are never subject to IDAO.
What creates a new application: a new Unity application created from scratch in the Unity Hub targeting a different use case.
How does IDAO apply to apps with occasional high-traffic spikes, but regular monthly usage is below 100 MAUs?
MAUs are agreed up front as a forecast, based on consistent month-over-month usage rather than occasional spikes.
You won't be charged extra for a temporary spike. Your account team will check in regularly to review how the application is growing, so your forecast stays accurate and there are no surprises at renewal.
Are floating license holders counted as MAU or are they exempt?
They are exempt.
Editor/industry license holders who also consume the deployed app are NOT counted as additional IDAO MAUs — they are already paying customers.
Only users without a Unity editor licence who access the deployed app count as MAUs.
What counts as a single application for licensing purposes when one codebase produces multiple executables or builds?
The unit is the Project you designate. One designated Project is one Internal Application with one MAU allowance, however many builds it produces (e.g., Windows, Android, iOS, WebGL).
[Additional clarity answered in other questions:] MAU counts people, not builds. Anyone using any build counts once per calendar month. Industry and Studio licence holders don't count.
Does a WebGL page load or session count as a MAU? How is usage delivered through third-party streaming platforms counted and reported?
No.
A page load, session, or streamed instance does not by itself constitute a Monthly Active User (MAU).
An MAU is a unique individual (person) who accesses or uses an Internal Application at least once during a calendar month.
A person is counted only once per month, regardless of the number of page loads, sessions, devices, platforms, or deployment methods used.
If you sell something made in Unity on Fiverr, and the customer is a large company, how does that work?
This would be an ICLA(Industry Custom License Agreement) and not IDAO
Contact your sales lead to discuss the details.