What If My Non-Commercial App Becomes Commercial?

If your app starts generating revenue — through ads, subscriptions, in-app purchases, sponsorships, or any other monetization model — it is no longer considered non-commercial under API.Bible's Terms & Conditions. Continuing to use API.Bible under a non-commercial agreement once your app is generating revenue is a violation of your license terms. You can upgrade your existing app to a commercial plan through your app settings without creating a new app.

1. What Counts as Commercial Use?

Your app is considered commercial if it generates revenue or is monetized through any of the following:

• Website or in-app advertising
• Paid subscriptions or access fees
• In-app purchases
• Sponsorships
• Freemium models
• Any other revenue-generating feature or activity

For more details, see Understanding Commercial Use. Contact support@api.bible if you're unsure whether your use case qualifies as commercial.

2. What You Need to Do

You can upgrade your existing app directly to a commercial plan without creating a new one. The process takes you through four steps.

1. Sign in to your account at api.bible/sign-in and navigate to your dashboard.
2. From your app dashboard, click Plan then Edit Plan
3. In Step 1 of 4 — Let's confirm a few things, locate the Digital License Use section and set Commercial Use to Yes. This selection may change your licensing costs and remove Bible translations that are not available for commercial use.
4. In Step 2 of 4 — Customize Your App, select the Bible translations you need for commercial use from the available list. You can add or change licensed Bible translations later from your app dashboard.
5. In Step 3 of 4 — Terms & Conditions, review and agree to the Commercial Agreement and Statement of Orthodoxy
6. In Step 4 of 4, click Confirm Plan Change in Stripe to complete the upgrade

Important: Upgrading to a commercial plan supersedes your previous non-commercial agreement for that app. However, Only Bible translations that you have licensed for commercial use may be used in your commercial application. Any translations not available for commercial licensing will be automatically removed from your plan during the upgrade process.

3. What Happens after You Upgrade

Your Starter plan app and its non-commercial agreement remain in place until you cancel or it lapses. However, once your app is generating revenue, you must stop using the non-commercial app for that purpose immediately — even if the subscription is still active. Continued commercial use under a non-commercial agreement may result in suspension or termination of your access.

4. Creative Commons Translations

Upgrading to a commercial plan does not automatically permit commercial use of all Creative Commons translations. Some CC licenses prohibit commercial use (e.g. CC-NC).

You are responsible for ensuring that any Creative Commons Bible translation you use permits your intended commercial use under its license terms. License details are available in each translation's metadata via the API.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do  I need to create a new app to switch to commercial use?

No. You can upgrade your existing app directly to a commercial plan without creating a new one.

Do my existing Bible selections carry over to my new commercial plan?

No. You will need to select and license each translation for commercial use during or after checkout. Note that some translations available under your non-commercial plan may not be available for commercial use and will be removed automatically.

What if I only add ads temporarily?

Any period of revenue generation — even temporary — constitutes commercial use. You should upgrade before monetizing, not after.

What if I'm not sure whether my app is commercial?

Contact support@api.bible if you're unsure whether your use case qualifies as commercial.

Still have questions? Contact support@api.bible and include details about your intended monetization model so the team can provide guidance.