Comparing editions
What differs between editions is how many of each node a single Node-RED instance may run, plus a few packaging and support differences. Every edition speaks the same OPC UA — there is no protocol feature held back for a higher tier.
The exact caps for your installation are printed by the CLI:
node all.js limits # per-node-type cap for the active licence
node all.js limits --json # machine-readable
node all.js feature # the feature matrix
It prints baseline · override · effective, so a per-contract cap raised on your licence shows up there even when it differs from the table below.
Node capacity per instance
| Node | Free | Trial | Professional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endpoint | 1 | 3 | 20 * |
| Read | 3 | 10 | 1 000 |
| Write | — | 3 | 1 000 |
| Browse | 1 | 5 | 1 000 |
| Explore | 1 | 2 | 1 000 |
| Monitor | 1 | 5 | 1 000 000 |
| Monitor Event | — | 3 | 1 000 |
| Call | — | 3 | 1 000 |
| History Read | — | 3 | 10 000 |
| File Operation | — | 3 | 1 000 |
| Extension Object | — | 3 | 10 000 |
| OPC UA Server | 1 | 1 | 3 * |
— the node is not available in that edition. A flow containing it will report a licence limitation rather than run.
* the Professional figures marked with an asterisk are the off-the-shelf baseline. They can be raised per customer on your licence for high-volume deployments — talk to us rather than splitting an installation in two.
The Monitor cap counts Monitor nodes, not monitored items: a single Monitor node can watch an array or a whole subtree of variables. The same applies to Read and Write.
The Evaluation server
The embedded OPC UA Server runs in every edition, but outside Professional it is an
evaluation: it carries [Evaluation] branding, stops automatically after 2 hours, and is capped
to a small address space. A Professional licence removes all three.
Packaging, protection and support
| Free | Trial | Professional | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licence | freeware | per instance, 30 days | per instance | by batch |
| Locked to the machine | — | yes | yes | yes |
| Floating licence | — | — | yes | yes |
| Docker / Kubernetes | — | — | yes | yes |
| Air-gapped registration | — | yes | yes | yes |
| Sterfive banner hidden | — | — | yes | yes |
| White label | — | — | — | yes |
| Support | community | support@sterfive.com | with a Professional subscription | priority |
Enterprise is a commercial arrangement rather than a separate build: it is Professional, licensed by batch, with per-contract caps, white labelling and priority support.
Where your licence stands
The licence panel in the OPC UA configuration screen shows the active edition, the caps in force, and how many of each node the current flow uses. A node that exceeds its cap does not break the flow silently — it reports a licence limitation on the node itself.