Use this table as a quick guide to what can or can’t be done with code and software shared under some of the more popular open source licenses. See also https://opensource.org/licenses for more information.
| License | Protects against endorsement1* | Allows commercial use | Can be distributed | Can be modified | Source code must be shared when redistributing modified versions | Changes made to the licensed materials must be documented and shared | Must include license and copyright notice |
| MIT | x | x | x | x | |||
| BSD-2-Clause | x | x | x | x | |||
| BSD-3-Clause | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| GNU GPL v3 | x | x | x | x | x | x |
- * Prohibits others from using the name of the copyright holder or its contributors to promote derived products without written consent. ↩︎
This table was modified from: Appendix. Choose a License. (2026). https://choosealicense.com/appendix/