A few years ago, we announced that Perma.cc was opening up access to our platform for users outside of the academic and legal community. We have loved seeing who was interested in joining our network and using the tool!

As we have broadened access to Perma.cc outside of our core academic users, we have been working to create modest, paid Usage Plans that balance the needs of our users with the ongoing investment Perma.cc makes in long term digital preservation. Here is the current state of affairs for users who are hoping to make Perma Links and don’t have an affiliation with one of our library partners.

Making a Perma Account

Anybody can create a Perma account for free and immediately gain access to 10 trial links. We created this option to give people the chance to try Perma for free to make sure it fits their needs.

Beyond those ten trial links users can continue creating Perma Links in one of two ways:

Option 1: Become associated with a Perma partner institution – we call them Registrars. There is no cost to individual users to user Perma through a Registrar. Types of Registrar accounts include academic libraries, U.S. Courts, nonprofits, newspapers, and commercial companies. 

By the way, there is no charge for academic libraries and US-based courts to become Perma partners. Organizations who don’t qualify for free accounts have the option to pay a subscription fee to maintain a Registrar and provide Perma at no charge to their staff or community. 

Option 2: Pay for an Individual Usage Plan. Paid plans are available to any individual user and can be accessed through their dashboard once a user has created their account.

Usage Plans

Option 1: Individuals not affiliated with a Registrar can sign up for a Personal Subscription that will release a set number of links to be created each month to their Personal Links folder. This count does not roll over month to month. Billing recurs on the first of each month, or annually.

This option works best for individuals who have a consistent need to create Perma Links for their work.

Image of personal subscription options. 10 links per month cost $10 per month. 100 links per month cost $25 per month. 500 links per month cost $100 per month.

Option 1: Personal Subscription

Option 2: A One-Time Purchase of additional links. Users with or without subscriptions can purchase additional links, which can be used at any time, regardless of Personal Subscription status. This link count will roll over month to month. Billing occurs at the moment of purchase and does not recur.

This option works well if a user with a Personal Subscription has the need to create more links than their allotment in a particular month, or a user who has a more sporadic need to create Perma Links.

Image of one time purchase options. 10 additional links cost $15. 100 additional links cost $30. 500 additional links cost $125.

Option 2: One-Time Purchase

 

Please note that subscription status only affects a user’s ability to create new links. If a subscription ends all previously created Perma records will continue to be accessible and preserved as part of our collection.