The plans
Baryon Desktop — Free
Download and run the app with no account. Free covers exploring the app and personal, non-commercial use:- the full real-time cymatic visualizer and core visual controls
- live audio from a file, a microphone, or system audio
- a starter set of presets
Baryon Pro trial — 10 days, included
Every install includes one 10-day Baryon Pro trial. Start it from the License panel (in the app menu) or from any Pro gate — no account, no credit card required. Starting the trial requires a network connection so Baryon can apply machine and network issuance controls before signing the trial. After that first activation, the signed trial works offline. While it runs, Performer Mode, program output, OSC/MIDI controls, and professional live-performance rights are unlocked. That includes paid shows, festivals, and client performances. When the trial ends, the app returns to Free; nothing is taken away from Listener Mode. If another person has already started a trial on a shared network, contact support for help activating yours.Baryon Pro rent-to-own — paid
Unlocks professional, live-use capability:- Performer Mode with show-safe controls
- program output to another display on macOS or Windows, through Syphon on macOS, or through Spout on Windows
- local OSC and MIDI parameter automation for show-control and hardware control-surface workflows
- commercial performance rights — use Baryon in paid shows, festivals, and client gigs
- two active devices per license
Founder License — perpetual
The Founder License provides lifetime Baryon Pro desktop access on two active devices. It includes one year of feature updates from activation. After that window, you can keep using the newest eligible build or renew updates for another year. Baryon also offers the newest eligible archived installer when a newer build falls outside the license’s update window.Commercial / OEM — separate
A separate license, not the Baryon Pro license, is required to embed or redistribute Baryon — shipping it inside another product, an installation, hardware, a hosted service, or a redistributed app. Contact licensing@baryon.live. This is the same boundary that governs the open engine; see the engine licensing for how the source-available license and commercial use fit together.Free versus Pro at a glance
An active Baryon Pro trial includes commercial live-performance rights for its
10-day term. After the trial ends, continued professional use requires a
subscription or Founder License.
How licensing works
The Baryon Pro license is designed to stay out of your way during a show:- No account required. Your purchase creates an entitlement on our side; the app holds a signed, locally verifiable proof of it. Activation is a link or a token — never a login.
- Verified locally. The app checks the signed proof on your own machine, so a network outage at a venue never blocks a preflighted performance.
- Exact offline readiness. Subscription customers see the exact date through which the device is authorized offline: the paid-through date plus a 14-day operational buffer. Trial customers see the fixed trial end date. Perpetual customers see No check-in required.
- Online only when it helps. Connectivity is used for activation, moving your license between machines, revocation, and updates — never to run a set.
- Subscriptions refresh, they don’t reissue. While billing is active the entitlement stays active and the app quietly refreshes its local proof. Your license is not replaced every month, and a short outage never interrupts a show.
- Perpetual licenses retain eligible builds. Founder and converted subscription licenses keep Performer access for builds inside their update window without recurring runtime check-ins. Update renewal remains $100 and extends that window by one year.
- Shows fail safely. If a subscription passes its offline deadline during an already-running show, Baryon can preserve only that exact output and Control I/O session for up to 24 hours. New outputs and configuration changes stay locked. Trials and build-ineligible installs do not receive continuity.
- Devices are transferable. On-device deactivation is unrestricted. The passwordless Manage Devices page can release a lost device; self-service lost- device release is limited to two per rolling 30 days, with support recovery after that.