You installed Proxmox VE, clicked around the web interface, and then it showed up: a pop-up telling you that you have "No valid subscription." Maybe you also noticed a Subscription tab sitting quietly in the node menu, or a link to a shop on proxmox.com with four different price tiers. So now you're wondering: do you actually have to pay for this thing? Is the free version crippled somehow? What are you even buying if you do?
None of this is explained anywhere during the install wizard, which is a little annoying given how often the question comes up. So let's clear it up properly, tier by tier, euro by euro, so you can decide with actual information instead of guessing.
What You Will Learn
- What a Proxmox VE subscription actually buys you, and what it doesn't
- Why the software itself stays free whether you pay or not
- A side-by-side look at Community, Basic, Standard, and Premium
- How the price is calculated (it's not per VM and it's not per core)
- What a "CPU socket" means if you've never had to count them before
- How to check your current status, buy a key, and apply it — from the GUI and from the shell
What Is This Feature?
A Proxmox VE subscription is a paid support contract. That's really it. Proxmox VE the software is released under the AGPLv3 open source license, and every feature — clustering, live migration, backups, the firewall, all of it — works exactly the same whether you've paid a cent or not. Nothing is locked behind a key.
What you're actually buying, depending on the tier, is access to the Enterprise repository (a package repository that gets updates after they've had extra testing), a set number of support tickets straight to Proxmox's team in Vienna, and a guaranteed response time. Homelabbers usually never touch any of that and run happily on the free, no-cost repository instead. Businesses running production workloads tend to want the guaranteed response time a lot more than they want the slightly-more-tested packages.
One thing worth saying clearly: that "No valid subscription" pop-up is not an error. It's a nag screen. Nothing stops working because of it.
There's also a third repository worth knowing about, called pvetest. It carries the newest, least-tested packages and exists mainly for people who want to help catch bugs before they reach anyone else. Don't run it on anything you care about — it's not part of the subscription conversation, but it's easy to stumble onto in the Repositories tab and confuse with the other two.
Why Would You Use It?
If you're running a couple of VMs in a spare tower under your desk, you almost certainly don't need this. Stick with the no-subscription repository, which is stable, free forever, and used by a huge share of the Proxmox community without issue.
It starts making sense once downtime actually costs you something. A small business running its file server and a couple of line-of-business VMs on one box, an MSP managing client infrastructure, or a team that needs someone on the phone within a few hours when a node won't boot — that's the audience the paid tiers are built for. I'd say the deciding question isn't "can I afford it," it's "would I actually call support if something broke at 2 a.m., and can I live without that option if I don't buy it."
Prerequisites
You'll need a working Proxmox VE installation (8.x or 9.x, the process is identical on both), root or administrator access to the web GUI and the shell, and if you're actually buying a key, a payment method and a few minutes to create an account on the Proxmox customer portal.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Check your current subscription status
Log into the web GUI, click your node in the left-hand tree, then open the Subscription tab. If you've never touched this, it will say "No valid subscription" in red. That's the default state for every fresh install — nothing is wrong.
You can check the same thing from the shell, which is faster once you're used to it:
pvesubscription getThis prints your current status, including the key (if any) and its expiration date.
Step 2: Figure out how many CPU sockets you actually have
This trips people up constantly. Pricing is per physical CPU socket, not per core and not per virtual CPU. A single 16-core Ryzen desktop CPU counts as one socket. A dual-Xeon server with two physical chips counts as two sockets, even if you never assign more than 4 vCPUs to any VM.
Check it with:
lscpu | grep "Socket(s)"Or look at the Summary panel for your node in the GUI — it lists CPU sockets right next to the core count. Most homelab and small-business setups are running a single socket, which keeps the math simple.
Step 3: Compare the four tiers
Here's what each tier actually includes, priced per CPU socket, per year, as of 2026:
| Tier | Price (per socket/year) | Support Tickets | Response Time | Repository Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community | €120 | None | No SLA | Enterprise repo |
| Basic | €370 | 3 per year | 1 business day | Enterprise repo |
| Standard | €550 | 10 per year | 4 business hours | Enterprise repo + remote SSH support |
| Premium | €1,100 | Unlimited | 2 business hours | Enterprise repo + remote SSH support |
Community is a bit of an odd one — you're paying, but you get zero support tickets and no SLA. What you're really buying at that tier is just early access to the more heavily tested repository, plus the satisfaction of funding the project directly. Standard is the one most paying businesses actually land on; it's the point where support stops being "email and hope" and starts being "someone responds today."
Step 4: Decide which tier fits your situation
If you're a homelab user, skip all four and use the free no-subscription repository — there's a separate guide on this site that walks through switching to it if the pop-up is bothering you. If you're running client infrastructure or anything with an uptime expectation, Standard is the realistic starting point. Premium only earns its price if you genuinely can't tolerate a next-business-day wait, which in practice means larger MSPs or regulated environments more than small shops.
Step 5: Buy and apply a subscription key
Keys are purchased through the shop at proxmox.com, tied to the socket count you select at checkout. Once you have the key string, go back to Node → Subscription in the GUI and click Upload Subscription Key, paste it in, and save.
From the shell, the equivalent is:
pvesubscription set XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXThen force a status refresh so the server checks in with Proxmox's licensing servers immediately instead of waiting for the next scheduled check:
pvesubscription update --forceStep 6: Switch your node to the right repository
Applying a key doesn't automatically flip your package sources. Head to Node → Repositories in the GUI, where you'll see the Enterprise, No-Subscription, and Test repositories listed with simple enable/disable toggles. Enable Enterprise, disable No-Subscription, and you're set. It's a two-click job and far safer for beginners than hand-editing repo files over SSH.
Commands Explained
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
pvesubscription get | Shows your current subscription status and expiration date |
pvesubscription set <key> | Applies a subscription key to this node |
pvesubscription update --force | Forces an immediate check-in with Proxmox's servers instead of waiting for the scheduled refresh |
pvesubscription delete | Removes the key from this node |
lscpu | Lists CPU details for the host, including the physical socket count you need for pricing |
Common Errors
"No valid subscription" still showing after you paid — nine times out of ten this is just a stale cache. You applied the key but never ran pvesubscription update --force or clicked the refresh button in the GUI.
"Subscription key not valid for this server ID" — every key is tied to a specific machine's server ID the first time it's activated. If you're moving a key to new hardware, or you reinstalled the OS on the same box, you may need to reset the activation in the customer portal before it'll bind again.
Socket count mismatch — you bought a Community key sized for one socket, but your server has two physical CPUs installed. The key will report as invalid until you buy the correct quantity.
Mismatched tiers across a cluster — Proxmox expects every node in a cluster to run the same subscription level. Mixing Basic on one node and Standard on another triggers a warning in the GUI, even though nothing actually breaks.
Troubleshooting
Start by re-running pvesubscription get and reading the status line carefully — it usually names the exact problem instead of leaving you guessing. If it mentions the server ID, compare it against what's shown in your customer portal account; a mismatch there means the key needs to be reset before you try again.
Double-check your socket count with lscpu | grep "Socket(s)" before assuming the key itself is broken. It's an easy number to get wrong on unfamiliar hardware, especially rented dedicated servers where you can't physically open the case to check.
If none of that explains it and you're on Basic tier or above, open a support ticket — that's literally what you paid for. Community tier users are on their own here, though the Proxmox forum is active and genuinely helpful for licensing questions.
Support tickets are filed through the customer portal, not by phone. Basic and Standard tiers get email-based responses within their stated window; Premium adds remote SSH access so the support engineer can actually log into your node if a written back-and-forth isn't cutting it. Worth knowing going in, since a few people expect a phone line and don't get one at any tier.
Renewals are another spot people get caught out. A key doesn't auto-renew and doesn't warn you weeks in advance — it just quietly lapses on its expiration date, and the nag pop-up comes back the next time you log in. If you're running a cluster for a client, set your own reminder a month early rather than relying on Proxmox to chase you for the invoice.
Best Practices
If you're a homelab user, don't feel any pressure to buy anything. The no-subscription repository is fully stable and used in production by plenty of people who just don't need a phone number to call.
If uptime actually matters for your workload, don't cheap out on Community — you'd be paying money for zero support, which is a strange spot to be in. Standard is where the value starts making sense for most small businesses.
Buy for your real physical socket count, not your core count and not your VM count. Keep every node in a cluster on the same tier to avoid the mismatch warning. And mark your calendar before renewal — keys are annual and don't auto-renew, so the nag screen will quietly come back a year later if you forget.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Proxmox VE actually free?
Yes. It's released under the AGPLv3 open source license and stays fully functional with or without a subscription. The subscription buys support and repository access, not the software itself.
Do I lose any features by staying on the no-subscription repository?
No. Same codebase, same feature set. The enterprise repo just receives updates after some extra testing, and only subscribers get support tickets.
Can I buy a subscription for just one month?
No, subscriptions are billed annually per CPU socket. There's no monthly option.
What happens when my subscription expires?
The node reverts to the no-subscription behavior and the nag pop-up returns. Nothing stops functioning, and you don't lose any VMs or data.
Can different nodes in the same cluster run different tiers?
Technically the software won't stop you, but Proxmox doesn't support it and the GUI will show a mismatch warning. Keep every node on the same tier.
Does the Community tier include any support?
No support tickets and no SLA. You get enterprise repository access and the community forum, same as everyone else.
Is a subscription tied to the server or to my account?
To the physical server, via its server ID. If you replace the hardware or do a fresh install on a new machine, you'll need to reset the key's activation in the customer portal before it will bind to the new server ID.
Conclusion
The short version: the pop-up is asking you for money you almost certainly don't have to spend, especially if you're running Proxmox at home. Switch to the no-subscription repository and move on with your life. If you're running this in a business where a broken node costs real money, Standard is where most people end up, because it's the first tier where "support" actually means someone responds the same day. Either way, now you know what you're looking at instead of clicking around a shop page trying to guess.