Acquiring your free Libero Silver license takes less than ten minutes. Follow this step-by-step pipeline to activate your software. Step 1: Create a Microchip Account Visit the official Microchip website. Register for a free user profile. Verify your email address to activate the account. Step 2: Retrieve your Host ID
Click the button at the bottom of the window.
Fill out the necessary form to request the Libero Silver license. microchip libero license free
Certain premium intellectual property blocks, such as high-speed PCIe controllers or advanced encryption cores, require separate paid entitlements.
For embedded system designers, the barrier to entry into Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) development has historically been twofold: the cost of the hardware and the cost of the software license. While development boards have become increasingly affordable, proprietary software licenses for high-end FPGAs can run into the thousands of dollars. Acquiring your free Libero Silver license takes less
| Feature | Status in Free License | Details | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Limited | Only PolarFire, IGLOO2, SmartFusion2, RTG4, and ProASIC3 families. (PolarFire SoC with hard RISC-V is excluded from free tier). | | License Type | Perpetual, Node-Locked | Never expires, but tied to one specific computer's MAC address/host ID. | | VHDL/Verilog Synthesis | Full | No logic element limit for supported devices. | | SmartDesign (System Builder) | Full | Graphical block design entry. | | Simulation (ModelSim) | Limited | Includes Microchip's OEM version of ModelSim. Limited to ~100,000 lines of RTL code (not gates). | | Debug (Identify) | Limited | 1 clock domain, 2 probes, 2 triggers. Enough for basic validation. | | FlashPro Programming | Full | Can program devices via FlashPro5/6 or onboard programmers. | | Software IDE (SoftConsole) | Full | Free for SoftConsole (Eclipse/GCC for soft cores like Cortex-M1/M3). |
Designing with FPGAs and SoCs requires high-performance software, and for Microchip’s portfolio, that software is the . While professional EDA tools often come with high price tags, Microchip provides free license options —specifically the Silver and Evaluation tiers—to support students, hobbyists, and professional engineers working on specific device families. Understanding the Free "Silver" License Register for a free user profile
To keep the tier free, Microchip limits the Silver License to specific, lower-density, or mid-range FPGA devices. Fortunately, this covers a massive portion of the devices used by startups and hobbyists. The Silver License generally supports:
The license binds to your specific computer’s network interface card (NIC) ID or MAC address. It supports a single user on a single machine. Supported Device Families
Licensing overview