Rent-to-own FAQ
Learn how the Ableton Live rent-to-own program works: monthly payments toward full ownership of Live, eligibility rules, cancellation and pause policies, and offline use.
What is rent-to-own?
Payment and terms
Editions and features
Authorizing and offline use
Upgrading and transferring
Pausing and cancellation
What is rent-to-own?
Rent-to-own lets you rent a new Ableton Live Suite license on a monthly basis. Once you’ve made enough payments to cover the full license price, you’ll own it in full. You’ll have full access to Live while you’re renting it, and in total you’ll pay the same amount as you would for a one-time purchase.
Payment and terms
Is rent-to-own a subscription?
Rent-to-own is not a subscription service. A subscription is an indefinite monthly fee for using a program. Rent-to-own is a monthly payment applied towards owning a Live Suite license. It ends after 12 monthly payments for EDU licenses / 24 months for regular licenses, at which point your license belongs to you permanently and there are no further charges.
Can I pay up the remaining charges earlier if I want to?
You can pay off the remaining amount at any time. You will then simply own the license ahead of the conclusion of your payment plan.
Are there any additional costs when using rent-to-own?
There are no hidden costs or fees: the full cost of a Live Suite EDU license bought with rent-to-own is the same as buying a Live Suite EDU license directly.
Where is rent-to-own available?
Rent-to-own is available globally for all countries in which Live can be bought through the Ableton webshop or educational webshop.
Editions and features
Which edition is available for rent-to-own?
Rent-to-own plans are available for all new Live Suite licenses, as of Live 12. This also includes Live Suite educational licenses to those who meet EDU eligibility requirements. Head to the educational webshop for more details.
Can I get Live Intro or Live Standard with a rent-to-own plan?
Rent-to-own plans are only available for Live Suite and Live Suite EDU.
Are the features in Live Suite when paying with a rent-to-own plan the same as the features in Live Suite when purchased in full?
All of Live Suite's features are exactly the same. Paying for Live Suite with a rent-to-own plan simply lets you spread the cost of the license over more affordable monthly payments.
Authorizing and offline use
Can I activate my rent-to-own licenses using offline authorization?
Rent-to-Own licenses must be authorized online, and are not compatible with offline authorization.
Does my rent-to-own license require an internet connection to run Live?
Live needs an internet connection the first time you launch in order to activate your rent-to-own plan. After that, Live will periodically verify that your plan is active. You can use Live offline for up to 3 days between verification checks. If Live can’t authorize after the 3 days, it will deactivate the saving and exporting functions. Your rent-to-own license will not be affected by this, and you can use Live again as soon as it can reconnect to verify your plan is still active.
Can I authorize Push 3 (standalone) with rent-to-own?
It’s possible to authorize Push 3 (standalone) with a rent-to-own license. Push needs to be connected to the internet to authorize your rent-to-own copy of Live. After that, Push will periodically verify that your plan is active.
Can I authorize older versions of Live with a rent-to-own license?
Downgrade licenses for older versions of Live can only be provided for fully paid Live 12 licenses, not for rent-to-own.
Upgrading and transferring
Can I upgrade from Live Intro or Live Standard to Live Suite using a rent-to-own plan?
Rent-to-own plans are not available to purchase edition upgrades. Rent-to-own is only available for new Live Suite and Live Suite EDU licenses.
Can I upgrade from an older version of Live Suite using a rent-to-own plan?
Rent-to-own plans are currently not available to purchase version upgrades. Rent-to-own is only available for new Live Suite and Live Suite EDU licenses.
Can I transfer my rent-to-own payments to purchase any other Ableton product?
You can only purchase the product that you’re renting (Live 12 Suite or Live 12 Suite EDU) by paying the remaining balance. You cannot transfer your rent-to-own payments to purchase other products (e.g. Live 12 Intro or Standard).
Can I transfer my license to somebody else?
You can only transfer your license once you've completed all payments and the license belongs to you. You can't transfer your rent-to-own license while your plan is still running.
Pausing and cancellation
Can I pause my plan and continue at a later time?
You can indefinitely pause and resume the rent-to-own plan at any time. If you pause your plan, you'll retain access to your license until the end of your current payment cycle. During the pause, you won’t have access to your license. Your progress towards owning the license will not be affected or reset by pausing: if you continue your plan again, your payments toward the full license will simply continue where they left off.
Can I cancel my payment plan?
You can cancel your Ableton rent-to-own plan anytime; there's no obligation to pay off the entire amount. Please note that if you cancel your plan, after your current billing period ends you'll no longer have access to your license.