Shared restrictions

Both licenses require attribution and limit uses that are primarily intended for commercial advantage or monetary compensation. Both allow adaptations for qualifying noncommercial uses.

The ShareAlike difference

CC BY-NC-SA adds a reciprocal license condition for shared adaptations. CC BY-NC allows more flexibility in the license applied to a reuser’s own contributions, while the original material remains under CC BY-NC.

Check the intended distribution

If a project may later be sold, sponsored, or used by a commercial client, neither license supplies a safe automatic answer. Secure additional permission or select material that permits commercial use.

Put it into practice

Check your planned use

Select the exact license and use case to open a permanent result page.

Open compatibility checker