Froala Pricing Explained 2026 — Is $1,899/Year Per Domain Still Worth It?

Froala Pricing Explained 2026 — Is $1,899/Year Per Domain Still Worth It?

Froala pricing is confusing. Most editors charge per user or per month. Froala charges per domain, per year. If you run a modern SaaS with multiple subdomains, the math gets expensive fast.

This guide breaks down Froala pricing in plain English. Every tier. Every add-on. Every hidden cost. Plus the cheaper alternatives.

The short answer: Froala starts at $999/year for Basic (1 domain) and $1,899/year for Pro (1 domain). Enterprise plans start at $6,000/year. Every extra domain costs extra. A typical SaaS with 4 domains pays around $5,800/year. A multi-tenant SaaS with 20 customer subdomains pays $15,000-$22,000/year.

🎥 See a modern alternative: What is Eddyter? Why Developers Are Switching in 2026

Is Froala Free?

No. Froala is not free for commercial use.

TinyMCE has a free MIT version. CKEditor has a free GPL version. Froala doesn't have either.

The only free option is an evaluation license. It shows an "Unlicensed copy" watermark across the editor. You can't ship it to real users.

For any real app, you need a paid license starting at $999/year.

Froala Pricing 2026: The Complete Breakdown

Froala sells four license types in 2026. All are annual. All are per-domain.

Standard Tiers

The catch: Basic and Pro cover exactly one domain each. If your app runs on app.yourproduct.com and admin.yourproduct.com, that's two licenses.

Volume Pricing

For teams needing multiple domains, Froala offers volume tiers:

Real pricing depends on negotiation. Ask their sales team for a quote.

For head-to-head comparisons, see CKEditor 5 Pricing Explained 2026, TinyMCE Pricing Explained 2026, and TipTap Pricing Explained 2026.

The Per-Domain Trap Explained

This is where Froala catches most SaaS teams by surprise.

What Counts as a "Domain"

Froala's license is stricter than most developers assume. Each of these usually needs its own license:

• Main site (yourproduct.com)
• App subdomain (app.yourproduct.com)
• Admin subdomain (admin.yourproduct.com)
• Staging site (staging.yourproduct.com)
• Test site (test.yourproduct.com)
• Preview environments
• Customer subdomains (customer1.yourproduct.com)
• White-label customer domains
• Regional sites (yourproduct.de, yourproduct.fr)

Not counted:

• localhost
• File previews during dev
• Test runners with no public URL

The Math That Hurts SaaS Teams

Multi-tenant SaaS gets hit hardest. Each customer subdomain often needs a license.

Real example: SaaS with 20 customer subdomains, plus staging, admin, and marketing site.

• Main product: 1 Pro license = $1,899/year
• Admin subdomain: separate license = $1,899/year
• Staging: separate license = $999/year
• 20 customer subdomains: Enterprise tier = $12,999-$19,999/year

Total: $17,000-$24,000/year for a 20-customer SaaS.

Compare that to $708/year for Eddyter across unlimited domains.

At 100 customers, you're forced into OEM tier at $25,000+/year.

Why This Model Hurts Modern SaaS

Per-domain licensing was normal in 2005. Web apps ran on one domain back then.

Today's SaaS is different. Multi-tenant apps use per-customer subdomains. White-label products deploy under customer domains. Every deployment breaks the "one domain, one license" rule.

The result? You grow your customer base and your editor bill grows with it, even if editor usage stays the same.

The License Audit Risk

Froala can audit your license usage. If you used one Basic license across 5 subdomains, you owe back fees plus penalties.

Most enterprise teams over-license upfront to avoid audit risk. That pushes the effective cost even higher.

The Real Cost: Add-Ons Priced Separately

Beyond per-domain licensing, Froala has add-ons that stack on top.

Pro Plugin Bundle

Included in Pro ($1,899/year). Missing from Basic ($999/year).

Pro plugins include Image Manager, File Manager, Custom Themes, Word Paste Cleanup, Video Manager, and 20 more. Most teams start on Basic to save money. Then they realize they need Image Manager. They upgrade to Pro. Pattern shows up in 3-6 months.

AI Assistant (Still Beta)

Cost: $299/year per domain

Froala added AI writing features in 2025. Still beta as of Q3 2026. Uses OpenAI only. No Claude, no Gemini.

Less mature than TipTap AI Toolkit or CKEditor AI Assistant.

Real-Time Collaboration

Only on Enterprise tier ($3,999+/year)

Uses Y.js. Available for on-premise deployments only in most cases.

Priority Support

Included in Pro and higher. Basic gets community forum support only.

Pro adds 48-hour email SLA. Enterprise adds 4-hour phone SLA.

Full Add-On Summary

Real Cost Examples by Deployment Type

Numbers help more than tables. Here are four real scenarios.

Scenario 1: Bootstrap SaaS, Single Domain

Startup with one domain. No admin subdomain. No staging. No customer subdomains.

• Pro Plan: $1,899/year
• No add-ons
• Year 1 total: $1,899
• 3-year total: $5,697

This is Froala's cheapest realistic setup. Most SaaS teams outgrow this within 12-18 months.

Scenario 2: Growing SaaS, Multiple Environments

SaaS with production app, admin subdomain, staging environment, marketing site.

• Production app: Pro = $1,899/year
• Admin: Pro = $1,899/year
• Staging: Basic = $999/year
• Marketing: Basic = $999/year
• Year 1 total: $5,796
• 3-year total: $17,388

Enterprise tier can bundle these for less. Ask for a quote.

Scenario 3: Multi-Tenant SaaS With 20 Customer Subdomains

B2B SaaS where each customer gets their own subdomain.

• Enterprise tier for 22 domains: ~$14,999/year
• AI Assistant: $299 × 22 = $6,578/year (if enabled)
• Year 1 total: $14,999-$21,577
• 3-year total: $44,997-$64,731

Growth from 20 to 50 customers usually pushes into OEM tier. Add another 30-50%.

Scenario 4: White-Label SaaS With Custom Customer Domains

Enterprise customers deploy the product under their own branded domains.

• OEM License: $6,000-$15,000/year base
• Per-customer domain fees: $500-$1,500/year each
• 10 white-label customers: $5,000-$15,000/year extra
• Year 1 total: $11,000-$30,000
• 3-year total: $33,000-$90,000

Real-world OEM contracts often land at $15,000-$50,000/year.

Hidden Costs Nobody Warns You About

Beyond per-domain licensing, Froala has hidden costs that catch most teams.

Hidden Cost 1: Subdomain Sprawl

Preview environments count. Per-branch deployments count. Customer sandbox subdomains count. Budget 25-40% more licenses than you first plan for.

Hidden Cost 2: Team Size Restrictions

Some tiers limit how many developers can touch the source code. Teams over 10-15 developers often need extra licensing.

Hidden Cost 3: Version Upgrades Break Plugins

Major version jumps (v4 → v5) can break custom plugins. Budget 1-2 weeks of engineering per major upgrade.

Hidden Cost 4: Custom UI Build

Froala's default UI works. Making it match your brand takes 2-3 weeks of engineering. At $150/hour, that's $12,000-$18,000 one-time.

Hidden Cost 5: Migration Cost If You Leave

Froala's HTML output has Froala-specific classes and styles. Moving to another editor means cleaning up your database. Typical migration for 100K documents: $6,000-$12,000.

Hidden Cost 6: Renewal Price Increases

Froala renewals often add 8-15% each year. A $1,899 license today grows to $2,300-$2,600 within 3 years without adding anything.

Hidden Cost 7: Compliance Gaps

Froala's SOC 2 and HIPAA status is less mature than CKEditor 5's. Enterprise buyers often need custom compliance agreements.

Froala vs Alternatives (Head-to-Head)

If you're pricing Froala, you're comparing alternatives. Here's the real cost comparison for Scenario 2 (growing SaaS with 4 domains).

Full-Stack Cost Comparison (4 Domains, Editor + AI)

Eddyter costs 12x less than Froala for the same features. That's because Eddyter's flat pricing doesn't multiply with domains.

For deeper alternatives, see Best Froala Alternative 2026 and Best Rich Text Editor for Multi-Tenant SaaS 2026.

Why Froala Prices This Way

Understanding the why helps you decide if Froala fits.

Per-domain licensing was standard in 2005. Web apps ran on one domain. Enterprise buyers were fine with one license per deployment.

Froala launched in 2014 using the same model. Their target customer was single-domain enterprise deployments — corporate CMS, on-premise systems, enterprise intranets.

Modern SaaS broke this model. Multi-tenant apps, white-label products, per-customer subdomains — none of it fits "one domain, one license."

Competitors moved on. CKEditor moved to per-project SaaS. TinyMCE moved to per-load SaaS. Froala stayed on per-domain longer than anyone.

Modern editors use different pricing:

• Eddyter — flat monthly, unlimited domains
• Lexical — free MIT (Meta funds it)
• TipTap — per-editor-load Cloud + Pro extensions
• CKEditor 5 — per-feature add-ons + per-project Cloud
• TinyMCE — usage-based Cloud + per-plugin self-hosted
• Froala — per-domain annual (oldest model still in market)

Each has trade-offs. Froala's produces the highest cost for modern SaaS.

When Froala Actually Makes Sense

Froala works well in specific scenarios:

1. Single-Domain Deployment

If your app runs on exactly one domain with no subdomains, no staging, no multi-tenant patterns, Froala at $999-$1,899/year is competitive.

2. Plugin Breadth Without Config Overhead

Froala has 30+ well-maintained plugins. Everything works out of the box. If you value "install and it works" over customization, Froala's ecosystem is strong.

3. On-Premise Enterprise Product

For corporate CMS, government systems, or internal enterprise tools that don't leave the corporate network, Froala's licensing fits traditional procurement patterns.

4. Customer Requires Froala

Some RFPs name specific vendors. If Froala appears in yours, cost isn't the decider.

Outside these scenarios, Froala's per-domain model is hard to justify.

How to Reduce Froala Costs

If you're already on Froala, here are your options:

1. Consolidate Your Architecture

Can admin move from admin.yourproduct.com to yourproduct.com/admin? That's one less license.

2. Negotiate Multi-Year Discounts

Froala offers 10-20% off for 2-3 year prepay commitments. Lock in current pricing before annual increases hit.

3. Evaluate Enterprise Bundling

Three individual Pro licenses cost $5,697. Enterprise tier for the same coverage often costs less. Ask sales for a quote.

4. Downgrade Where Possible

Some teams pay Pro ($1,899) but only use Basic features. If you don't use Image Manager or Custom Themes, downgrade. Save $900/year per domain.

5. Move Internal Tools Off Froala

Admin panels and internal tools don't need Froala's polish. Move these to Lexical or TipTap MIT core. Save the paid license for customer-facing production.

6. Migrate to Flat-Rate Alternative

If your Froala spend crosses $5,000/year, migration typically pays for itself in 4-8 months. Eddyter migration takes 2-4 days. See How to Migrate from Froala to a Modern Editor 2026.

Eddyter: The Modern Alternative

If Froala's per-domain math keeps growing, Eddyter delivers the same features at flat pricing with unlimited domains.

Built on Meta's Lexical framework. Includes AI, slash commands, tables, Word paste, image management. All included.

Froala vs Eddyter Cost Comparison (Scenario 3)

That's 97% lower cost for the same features. Plus better AI (multi-model vs OpenAI-only). Plus unlimited domains for future growth.

10-Minute Eddyter Setup

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"use client";
import {
  ConfigurableEditorWithAuth,
  EditorProvider
} from 'eddyter';
import 'eddyter/style.css';
export default function Editor() {
  const apiKey = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_EDDYTER_API_KEY;
  const handleContentChange = (html) => {
    console.log('Editor content:', html);
  };
  return (
    <EditorProvider>
      <ConfigurableEditorWithAuth
        apiKey={apiKey}
        onChange={handleContentChange}
      />
    </EditorProvider>
  );
}

Get your API key at eddyter.com/user/license-key. Docs at eddyter.com/docs.

🎥 See it in action: Integrate Eddyter in 30 Minutes with Cursor, Claude, Lovable

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does Froala cost in 2026?

Froala starts at $999/year for Basic (1 domain) and $1,899/year for Pro (1 domain with all Pro plugins). Enterprise starts at $3,999/year. OEM licenses for white-label deployments start at $6,000/year. Every extra domain needs a separate license or a tier upgrade. Multi-tenant SaaS with 20+ subdomains typically pays $15,000-$25,000/year. AI Assistant beta adds $299/year per domain. Most real-world SaaS deployments end up paying $5,000-$25,000/year once subdomains and add-ons are counted.

2. Is Froala free?

No. Froala is not free for commercial use. The only free option is an evaluation license that shows an "Unlicensed copy" watermark across the editor. You can't ship it to real users. For any production app, you need a paid license starting at $999/year. Unlike TinyMCE (free MIT self-hosted) or CKEditor (free GPL open-source), Froala has no free permanent commercial tier.

3. Why does Froala charge per domain?

Per-domain licensing was standard when Froala launched in 2014. Their target customer was single-domain enterprise deployments — corporate CMS, on-premise systems, enterprise intranets. That model worked back then. Modern SaaS broke it. Multi-tenant apps and per-customer subdomains don't fit "one domain, one license." Competitors CKEditor and TinyMCE moved to SaaS pricing. Froala stayed on per-domain longer than most.

4. What counts as a "domain" under Froala licensing?

Each of these usually needs a separate license: main site, app subdomain, admin subdomain, staging environment, test environment, preview environments, customer subdomains in multi-tenant SaaS, white-label customer domains, and regional sites. Not counted: localhost, file previews during development, test runners with no public URL. Multi-tenant SaaS almost always triggers Enterprise tier regardless of customer count.

5. Is Froala worth $1,899 per year in 2026?

Froala Pro at $1,899/year works well if you have a single-domain deployment, need plugin breadth without configuration work, run an on-premise enterprise product, or your customer explicitly requires Froala. Outside these scenarios, $1,899/year for one domain is hard to justify. Eddyter delivers the same features at $708/year with unlimited domains. TinyMCE self-hosted MIT is free for basic use. For most modern SaaS teams, Froala costs 5-30x more than alternatives.

6. What are Froala alternatives with better pricing?

Best alternatives in 2026: Eddyter ($12-$59/month flat, unlimited domains, AI + collaboration included, 10-minute setup); Lexical (free MIT, requires 4-6 weeks engineering); TipTap ($49-$999/month editor-load based); CKEditor 5 ($144-$864/month + add-ons); TinyMCE self-hosted (free MIT for basic use). Eddyter's flat pricing specifically solves the per-domain multiplication problem that dominates Froala bills. See Best Froala Alternative 2026.

7. Can I use Froala on multiple subdomains with one license?

Usually no. Froala's Basic and Pro tiers strictly cover one domain each. Enterprise contracts can negotiate subdomain inclusion but it's not automatic. Preview environments, per-branch deployments, and customer sandboxes often trigger additional licensing. Multi-tenant SaaS with per-customer subdomains almost always requires Enterprise or OEM tier. Audit your subdomain count before buying Basic or Pro.

8. How does Froala pricing compare to CKEditor 5 and TinyMCE?

For a SaaS with 4 domains: Froala Pro = $7,596/year base + $1,196 AI = $8,792/year. CKEditor 5 Growth + AI + Collab = $9,960/year (per-project). TinyMCE Pro + AI + PowerPaste = $4,620/year (per-project, editor-load based). Eddyter AI Pro Managed = $708/year flat with unlimited domains. Froala's per-domain model produces higher costs than TinyMCE for multi-domain SaaS. See CKEditor vs TinyMCE 2026.

9. Does Froala have hidden costs?

Yes. Six main hidden costs: (1) Subdomain sprawl — preview environments and per-branch deployments need licenses, budget 25-40% overhead. (2) Team size restrictions — larger dev teams often need extra licensing. (3) Version upgrades break plugins — budget 1-2 weeks per major bump. (4) Custom UI build — 2-3 weeks engineering, $12,000-$18,000 one-time. (5) Migration cost if you leave — content sanitization runs $6,000-$12,000. (6) Renewal increases — annual bumps of 8-15% compound over time.

10. Should I choose Froala for my new SaaS in 2026?

Only if you have single-domain deployment, no planned subdomain growth, on-premise architecture, and budget for $999-$1,899/year per domain. Outside those criteria, pick alternatives with better cost scaling: Eddyter ($708/year flat, unlimited domains, multi-model AI, 10-minute setup), Lexical (free MIT with 4-6 week build), TipTap ($49-$999/month editor-load based), or TinyMCE self-hosted (free for basic use). For multi-tenant SaaS with per-customer subdomains or white-label deployments, Froala's per-domain model creates cost scaling problems that alternatives specifically solve.

The Bottom Line

Froala is a solid product. The plugin ecosystem is mature. The editor itself works well.

The problem is the pricing model. Per-domain licensing worked in 2014. It doesn't fit 2026 SaaS architecture.

Multi-tenant apps, white-label products, per-customer subdomains — all violate the "one domain, one license" rule. Your success in customer growth triggers editor pricing escalation independent of actual editor usage.

Froala still makes sense for specific cases: single-domain deployments, on-premise enterprise products, RFP requirements. For those, it's a defensible choice.

For most 2026 SaaS teams, modern alternatives deliver the same features at 5-30x lower cost. Eddyter specifically ships with multi-model AI, real-time collaboration, native Word paste, tables, and slash commands all included at $12-$59/month flat with unlimited domains — designed to solve the exact per-domain problem that dominates Froala bills.

Know what you're buying. Froala's page shows $999-$1,899/year. A real multi-domain SaaS deployment costs $5,000-$25,000/year once subdomains and add-ons compound. Budget accordingly.

Ready to Escape Per-Domain Licensing?

Stop counting subdomains for editor licensing. Try Eddyter today. AI + Word paste + collaboration + tables. All included. Flat monthly pricing. Unlimited domains.

• 🥇 Eddyter AI Pro Managed — $59/mo flat, unlimited domains, 10-minute setup
• 🥈 Lexical (Meta) — Free MIT, 4-6 weeks engineering to production
• 🥉 TinyMCE Self-Hosted — Free for basic editor without premium plugins
• CKEditor 5 — Per-project (not per-domain) starting $144/mo

For most SaaS teams migrating from Froala, Eddyter delivers $60K+ savings over 3 years plus multi-model AI plus unlimited domains.

👉 Try Eddyter free at eddyter.com
📚 Read the docs
💰 See pricing
🎥 Watch the intro video | Watch the 30-min integration guide