A traditional license or a subscription may make more sense to you, depending on your specific needs, so we're happy to be able to offer you a choice.
We invite you to read our Curio Subscriptions FAQ if you'd like to learn more about subscriptions.
Curio initially launches as a 2-week, fully functioning trial with all features enabled (aka the Professional edition). On the very first launch, the bundled Welcome to Curio project will automatically open with a guided tour and sample gallery showing off Curio's amazing features.
Once the trial expires, if you decide not to purchase a license, you can continue to use Curio with the Standard feature set to explore the bundled Welcome to Curio project and to create and edit your own projects each with up to 5 idea spaces. Larger projects are opened read-only for viewing, exporting, and printing.
At any time before or after the trial expires, you can purchase a license key from our online store to activate your installation.
Curio traditional licenses are only available from the Zengobi website.
If purchasing an upgrade then you can enter your current license key and registered email to see the discounted upgrade pricing.
Curio traditional license keys can only be used by the Curio app downloaded from our website. Curio from the Mac App Store cannot use license keys, it only works with Apple subscriptions.
If you haven't already downloaded Curio then you can click on the the download link on the website. Once downloaded, drag the Curio application from your browser's Downloads folder to your Mac's Applications folder to install. Optionally, to create a shortcut on your Dock, drag Curio from your Applications folder to the Dock to create the shortcut.
While Curio’s license agreement allows an individual to use a single license key on multiple machines, such as a home and work Mac, if you have multiple users that want to use Curio, then a discounted multi-user license should be purchased. These discounts are automatically applied during checkout.
| Quantity | 2-9 | 10-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discount | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% | 30% | 40% |
When you enter a license key into Curio's License dialog (via the Curio > License menu item), or click the instant activation link on the purchase page, Curio activates your installation by confirming your license with Zengobi's server and retrieves the properties associated with your license such as edition (e.g. Pro vs Standard) and free updates end date. It will also send you an email letting you know that a new installation was activated with this license.
On every launch, in the background, Curio tries to check in again with the Zengobi server to see if new updates to Curio are available or if your license has been updated, perhaps giving you access to a different edition of Curio or extending your date for free updates if you've recently purchased an upgrade. If it can't reach the server, it simply uses the results from the last successful query.
Starting with Curio 15, we've shifted from massive major releases that come out every 12-18 months to smaller, more frequent major releases appearing approximately every 1-3 months. With the free year of updates we are able to constantly release new major features.
At the end of this year of free updates your Curio app continues working normally — it does not expire or deactivate! — however, you will no longer receive app updates.
Whenever you wish, you can purchase a discounted upgrade license from the Zengobi website to extend your license with another year of free updates. The next time you launch Curio it will automatically notice the license extension and update itself to the latest release and resume another year of free updates. There's no need to download or install anything or type in a new license key!
This is a change we've long been considering:
No, this is not a subscription!
When your year of free updates ends your Curio app continues to work normally... you just don't get any more free updates.
In contrast, a Curio subscription purchased from the Mac App Store requires an active monthly or yearly subscription to remain active. If the subscription is not renewed then Curio from the Mac App Store goes into a limited functionality mode. There are pros and cons of subscriptions which you can learn more about in our Curio Subscriptions FAQ.
Just to make sure this is clear: you don't have to purchase an upgrade. You're welcome to stay at your current major release as long as you'd like.
But when you are ready to move up simply purchase an upgrade on the Zengobi website.
Once you make your purchase, your license will be updated so you receive another 12 months of free updates from your date of purchase.
The next time you launch Curio it will automatically notice the license extension and update itself to the latest release and resume another year of free updates. There's no need to download or install anything or type in a new license key!
Say you purchased Curio 23 and your year of free updates gets you just through Curio 27. But, the very next day, Curio 27.1 comes out with an emergency fix. Are you able to get it?
Yes, if that hopefully very rare situation happens you have access to any ".x" minor releases that appear for a major release, even after your free updates end date.
The License dialog (via the Curio > License menu):
After entering your license key, Curio's features and functionality may change as appropriate for the entered key. For example if you purchase a Curio Standard license then Professional features will be removed from the interface. You can always purchase a crossgrade license if you wish to upgrade your Curio edition.
If a licensed installation, the License dialog shows your current license details including the last date for free updates and the number of installations using your license (plus the ability to deactivate those installations and retrieve an updated license if something seems amiss).
The License dialog will let you know if your license allows you to freely update to a newer version of Curio on your current macOS or even on a newer macOS.
And, if you're beyond your free updates end date, it will report what Curio versions are available, both on your current macOS and on a more recent macOS, if you were to purchase an upgrade to extend your license.
Curio Core was our least expensive edition of Curio with a greatly simplified feature set. It was originally conceived of as an intro to Curio for customers that didn't need many bells and whistles. However, in the end it sustained a very low and ever-decreasing percentage of overall sales, perhaps due to free or very low-cost competitors that have appeared on the market.
It was discontinued at the end of 2022 which allows us to simplify our offerings, code, and documentation.
Existing Curio Core customers will continue to receive updates and new features during their year of free updates. After that time customers can elect to upgrade to Curio Standard or Pro with special discounted upgrade pricing.