Thingiverse Licenses Explained
Last checked: Oct 24, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Read the license on the model before you sell. The wider map of license types is STL commercial license types explained.
Quick answer. Can I sell 3D prints from Thingiverse? Sometimes. Can you sell Creative Commons 3D prints? Yes for CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC BY-ND, if you follow credit and no-derivatives rules. No for any license with NC in the name, and no for All Rights Reserved. A free download is not permission to sell.
The license on that model is the whole question. Thingiverse does not add a separate "you may sell this" switch on top of it.
- Can you sell Thingiverse prints?
- How to check a Thingiverse license
- Yes/no by license
- What the Creative Commons words mean
- All Rights Reserved
- Characters and logos
Can you sell 3D prints from Thingiverse?
Sometimes. It depends on the license on that model, not on the download being free. CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC BY-ND can allow selling the physical print, with credit and no-derivatives rules where those licenses require them. CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND, and All Rights Reserved do not. Thingiverse does not add a separate selling switch on top of the license the uploader chose.
How to check a Thingiverse model's license
- Open the model and read the license name on that page. Match it to the table.
- If the name is a Creative Commons license, the deed for that license is what you follow. Credit, share-alike, and no-derivatives are conditions, not optional manners.
- If it says All Rights Reserved, stop. Selling needs a separate yes from the designer.
- Ignore the download price. $0 does not change the license.
MakerBot's Terms of Use, which still name www.thingiverse.com, say that when you upload you pick a secondary copyright license. That license is how other users may use the file. It can be a Creative Commons license, or another license the company offers, including All Rights Reserved. Thingiverse's own legal page did not load on this check (a bot wall). The wording here is from those MakerBot terms, last updated January 3, 2023. UltiMaker's terms, last updated March 13, 2026, cover ultimaker.com and do not restate this menu.
Which licenses allow selling prints?
This is the yes/no for selling a physical print. It is not permission to sell the STL. A dash means that license is not a path to selling.
| License | Can you sell prints? | Attribution needed? |
|---|---|---|
| CC0 Public-domain dedication. The deed allows commercial use and does not require credit. | Yes | No |
| CC BY Commercial use is allowed. You must credit the designer the way the license asks. | Yes | Yes |
| CC BY-SA Commercial use is allowed. Credit the designer, and license adaptations under the same terms. | Yes | Yes |
| CC BY-ND You may share the work commercially. You may not distribute an adaptation. A print of the file as published is the usual case. A remix is not. | Yes, unchanged | Yes |
| CC BY-NC NonCommercial. Credit does not make selling allowed. | No | — |
| CC BY-NC-SA NonCommercial, even if you give credit and share alike. | No | — |
| CC BY-NC-ND NonCommercial, and no adaptations. Same selling answer as the other NC licenses. | No | — |
| All Rights Reserved Thingiverse's secondary-license choice. Other users have to contact the uploader for any extra rights. A free download is not permission to sell. | No | — |
| Printables Standard Digital File License Not a Thingiverse license. Printables uses this name for personal use. Selling prints is not included. See the Printables guide. | No | — |
What was not re-checked. The upload dropdown on Thingiverse itself was not opened for this page. The rows above are the Creative Commons licenses people ask about, plus All Rights Reserved from the MakerBot terms, plus the Printables Standard Digital File License so it is not confused with a Creative Commons license. Confirm the name on the model you downloaded.
What the Creative Commons words mean for a print seller
Creative Commons publishes the deeds. The short version, for physical prints:
- CC0 waives copyright so far as the law allows. You may copy, change, and sell. The deed does not ask for credit. It also does not give you trademark rights.
- CC BY lets you share and adapt, including commercially, if you credit the licensor.
- CC BY-SA is the same idea, and adaptations you distribute have to stay under the same license.
- CC BY-ND lets you share the unchanged work commercially, with credit. You may not distribute a remix, transformation, or other adaptation.
- NC, in CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, and CC BY-NC-ND, means non-commercial. Selling the print is a commercial use. Credit does not remove it.
MakerWorld uses some of the same Creative Commons names and also a Standard Digital File License. That page is Can I sell prints from MakerWorld? Bambu Handy and Bambu Studio follow the MakerWorld license, not Thingiverse's.
All Rights Reserved, and the Printables "standard" license
All Rights Reserved on Thingiverse is the uploader keeping the rights the Creative Commons licenses would have shared. MakerBot's terms say other users must contact that person to obtain additional rights. Do not sell the print because the file was public, popular, or free.
Printables uses a different label, the Standard Digital File License, for a personal-use file. The Cults3D commercial license and CULTS PU page covers that license and Cults3D's own commercial license. It is in the table so a "standard" file is not treated as a yes. Where these names sit next to a designer membership is STL commercial license types explained.
A CC license does not cover someone else's character
The deed licenses rights the uploader has in that file. It does not license a character, a logo, or a trademark the uploader does not own. A model of someone else's character can say CC BY and still be a bad file to sell. Sell original designs, or designs where a merchant license from the rights holder is the thing you actually bought.
Want models you're clearly allowed to sell? Browse designers with merchant tiers. A listing here means that designer offers a merchant license for physical prints. It is not a claim that a particular print on a booth is already licensed.
Browse designers with merchant tiers Where to find STL files you can sell
Sources
- MakerBot Terms of Use — last updated January 3, 2023. Section 4: the secondary license can be a Creative Commons license or another license the company offers. All Rights Reserved means the site may display the file and other users must contact the uploader for additional rights. The terms name www.thingiverse.com.
- CC0 1.0 deed — copy, modify, and distribute, including commercially, without asking permission.
- CC BY 4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0, and CC BY-ND 4.0 — commercial sharing is allowed. BY and SA require attribution. ND does not allow distributed adaptations. SA requires the same license on adaptations.
- CC BY-NC 4.0, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, and CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 — you may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- UltiMaker Terms of Use — last updated March 13, 2026. They cover ultimaker.com and UltiMaker accounts. They were checked so they would not be confused with the Thingiverse secondary-license rule.
FAQ
Thingiverse licenses explained: which ones let you sell a print?
The license name on the model is the rule. CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC BY-ND can allow selling the physical print. CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND, and All Rights Reserved do not. MakerBot's terms, which name Thingiverse, say the uploader picks that secondary license. A free download does not add a selling right. Credit, share-alike, and no-derivatives still apply when those words are in the name.
Can I sell 3D prints from Thingiverse?
Sometimes. Selling depends on the license on that model, not on the download being free. CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC BY-ND can allow selling physical prints, with credit and no-derivatives rules where those licenses require them. CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND, and All Rights Reserved do not. This is general information, not legal advice.
Can you sell Creative Commons 3D prints?
Yes when the license has no NC in the name: CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC BY-ND. No when it does: CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, and CC BY-NC-ND. BY means you give credit. SA means adaptations stay under the same license. ND means you do not distribute a changed version. A Creative Commons license only covers rights the uploader had.
Does giving credit make a non-commercial file OK to sell?
No. Attribution is a condition of the licenses that already allow commercial use. It does not remove a NonCommercial condition, and it does not replace All Rights Reserved.
What does Thingiverse All Rights Reserved mean for a seller?
MakerBot's Terms of Use say that if the uploader picks All Rights Reserved, the site may show the file and other users must contact the uploader for additional rights. A free download is not those rights.
Does a Creative Commons license let me sell someone else's character?
No. The license only covers rights the person who uploaded the file actually has. It does not clear a character, logo, or trademark that belongs to someone else.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is general information, not legal advice. It summarizes public Creative Commons deeds and the MakerBot terms that name Thingiverse, last checked in October 2026. Read the license on the model before you sell.
More guides
- How 3D print merchant licenses work — A merchant license lets you sell the physical print, not the STL. What it covers, and what ends when you cancel.
- Can you sell MakerWorld prints? — Which MakerWorld licenses allow selling physical prints, and how a Commercial License Membership works.
- Cults3D commercial license and CULTS PU private use — CULTS PU is Private Use, the default, and it does not allow selling prints. CULTS CU and CU-ND are the commercial licenses. Open priced is not a license.
- STL commercial license types explained — Selling 3D prints legally comes down to the license: private use, Creative Commons, a print marketplace file, or a designer tier such as Ryodan Studio.
- STL files you can legally sell — Free CC0 and CC BY downloads, then paid merchant tiers, for STL files you can sell as physical prints.
- Anime designers who allow print sales — Which anime, bust, and statue designers license physical print sales, with prices and IP warnings.
- Flexi designers with sell licenses — Flexi and articulated toy designers with a commercial tier for selling physical prints, compared by price.
- D&D mini merchant tiers compared — Monthly prices, sales channels, and open or closed status for tabletop miniature and terrain merchant tiers.
- Sell 3D prints on Etsy and at cons — What verified merchant licenses say about Etsy, online shops, markets, and conventions. Not legal advice.
- Best 3D prints to sell at markets — Flexi animals, fidgets, keychains, and desk items for craft shows, and which licenses allow a booth.
- How much to charge for 3D prints — A pricing formula for material, machine time, labor, failed prints, packaging, fees, and a merchant license.
- Sell 3D prints on eBay and Amazon — Rules and fees for Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Amazon Handmade, and Vinted, from each platform's own pages.
- Supplies for selling 3D prints — Filament, bed adhesion, finishing, paint, drying, and packaging for people who sell physical 3D prints.
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