Data pricing

This page describes ECMWF current pricing system, the new service charge model for ECMWF real-time data, which is valid starting from 01 July 2022.

Please note that, unless indicated otherwise, all fees are charged annually.

The main differences compared to the old charging model are:

The information cost component (EPU rate) still applies, but the fee for handling charges does not apply anymore (it was calculated at 20% of the unreduced information cost in the old charging model),
Two new fee components are introduced, whose sum gives the 'Service Charge' fee:
- a cumulative volume per year fee (Volume Band fee)
- a Service Pack fee.

To find more information about the new service charge model, please visit the following pages:

Users who can access ECMWF forecast products are the following:

National meteorological services of ECMWF Member and Co-operating States and their authorised users are granted full access to ECMWF products and services via their computing representative.
All other users can gain access to ECMWF forecast products under a specific licence, pricing for which is explained on this page.

The following table describes the different user categories and costs and services available for each of them:

Real-time data licences - user categories
Archive
ecCharts

It also provides examples of costs for different quotes.

Real-time data licences - user categories

Real-time pricing can be calculated using the ECMWF Product Requirements Catalogue. Due to the new Service Model development, this tool will be undergoing some development over the next few months. Once you're happy with your cost, follow the steps in the tool to submit it to ECMWF or any of the Catalogue Contact Points.

If you have queries about configuring your order, please use the ECMWF Support Portal to raise a ticket.

New service charge model (valid for licences started or renewed starting from 01 July 2022)
Commercial licences for Service Providers and Broadcasters - Standard commercial licence	Standard commercial licences provide specific datasets at a fixed cost.
Cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements: Information cost (based on EPUs), Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested) Service Package fee. Amendments you can make in a year will depend upon the Licensor and data deliverer. For delivery of data by ECMWF, the number of amendments will be defined by the Service Package you purchase. Volume limit: it depends on the volume band the quote falls in, the maximum volume allowed per day is 1.5TB (this only in the case the highest volume band is selected). From 01 December 2023, the upper limit of Volume Band 7 will increase from 1.5TB per day to 3TB per day with no additional cost for this band. Users in this band can take advantage of this from 01 December 2023. The hard system limit for data volumes is 8 TB per day.
Commercial licences for Service Providers and Broadcasters - European Cut-out licence	The European cut-out package is a pre-defined package of real-time products with fixed annual information cost. The package includes up to 15 parameters from the real-time catalogue for the area 25°N-84°N, 74°W-45°E. You will receive these parameters with the highest spatial and temporal resolution. You can choose to include high-frequency products. Small Business discount is not applicable to European Cut-out licence. The package does not include access to the Meteorological Archival and Retrieval System (MARS) or ecCharts.
Cost - this licence has fixed information cost. The total cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements: Fixed information cost (28,000 EUR or 29,600 EUR to include high frequency products), Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested), Service Package fee. Amendments: This package cannot be amended. It is not possible to add additional data or change the selected parameters during the duration of the contract.
Commercial licences for Service Providers and Broadcasters - Reduced fees for small businesses	Customers may be eligible for a small business discount of 50% applied to information cost on real-time data. This discount will be applied to 'micro' businesses (according to the classification of businesses of the European Commission), i.e. companies with less than 10 staff headcount, and an annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than 2 million euros. The discount is at the licensor discretion and your licensor may request proof of income or proof of incorporation before applying the discount. Companies applying for this 'micro' business discount will need to provide self-certification declaring their business status and are obliged to notify the licensor of any changes in its status. For example, if a company becomes a 'small' business. ECMWF reserves the right to validate such a certificate. This discount will not be applied to maximum charge or European-cut out licences.
Cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements: Information cost (50% discount applied respect to the calculated quote), Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested), Service Package fee.
Maximum charge licence	Users with a Maximum Charge licence will pay a fixed annual information cost (additional fees will apply if high frequency products are requested).
Cost - this licence has fixed Information cost. The total cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements: A fixed information cost. At the moment, this is 100,000 EUR per year, or 108,000 EUR to include high frequency products. From 01 July 2023, the information cost will be 70,000 EUR per year, or 78,000 EUR per year including high-frequency products. Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested). Service Package fee (Silver Package and Gold Package are the ones with more similarities to the services included in the old Maximum Charge licence). The existing benefits of a Maximum Charge licence will no longer apply to new or renewing contracts. Amendments: if Maximum Charge user wants to request an additional amount of data, if the new amount of data (old data + new data) makes the total volume fall in another Volume Band, an amendment will be necessary. Volume limit: it depends on the volume band the quote falls in, the maximum volume allowed per day is 1.5TB (this only in the case the highest volume band is selected) . From 01 December 2023, the upper limit of Volume Band 7 will increase from 1.5TB per day to 3TB per day with no additional cost for this band. Users in this band can take advantage of this from 01 December 2023. The hard system limit for data volumes is 8 TB per day.
NMHS Non-commercial Licence * Non-commercial licences for WMO Members *	An NHMS licence is available for National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) who are a member of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) but are outside the ECMWF Member and Co-operating States. Licensees can use the forecast products to fulfil national governmental obligations related to the protection of life and property, or for research projects and educational use, provided that any such activity is carried out strictly on a non-commercial basis.
Cost - this licence has no information cost. The total cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements: Information cost is set to 0 EUR, Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested), Service Package fee. Amendments you can make in a year will depend upon the Licensor and data deliverer. For delivery of data by ECMWF, the number of amendments will be defined by the Service Package you purchase. Volume limit: it depends on the volume band the quote falls in, the maximum volume allowed per day is 1.5TB (this only in the case the highest volume band is selected). The user will be notified when 75% of the available yearly GB have been consumed. Please note: ECMWF is the only organisation allowed to issue NMHS Non-commercial licences.
Research	Research licences are available for time-limited research projects, which fit with the following definition: "Any time bound project organised for non-commercial research purposes only, where an ongoing/continuous service based on ECMWF Products is not permitted without written consent from the Licensor. A necessary condition for the recognition of non-commercial purposes is that all the results obtained are openly available at delivery costs only, without any delay linked to commercial objectives, and that the research itself is submitted for open publication". Research licences cannot be longer than the duration of the project itself and up to a maximum of 3 years, whichever is shorter. A research licence may be renewed for research projects lasting longer than 3 years.
Cost - this licence has no Information cost. The total cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements: Information cost is set to 0 EUR Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested, this cost may be waived at the discretion of ECMWF), Service Package fee (this cost may be waived at the discretion of ECMWF).
Service Broadcast providers	For the satellite data providers licence, space agencies and other satellite data producers in exchange for satellite observations. This is arranged in bilateral agreements. Licensees can use forecast products for satellite data processing only.
UN Agency Licences	Subject to approval by management, UN Agencies can request access to ECMWF real-time products as part of their wider mission, provided that this is not general public service provision or for commercial use.

New service charge model

(valid for licences started or renewed starting from 01 July 2022)

Commercial licences for Service Providers and Broadcasters

Standard commercial licence

Standard commercial licences provide specific datasets at a fixed cost.

Cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements:

Information cost (based on EPUs),
Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested)
Service Package fee.

Amendments you can make in a year will depend upon the Licensor and data deliverer. For delivery of data by ECMWF, the number of amendments will be defined by the Service Package you purchase.

Volume limit: it depends on the volume band the quote falls in, the maximum volume allowed per day is 1.5TB (this only in the case the highest volume band is selected). From 01 December 2023, the upper limit of Volume Band 7 will increase from 1.5TB per day to 3TB per day with no additional cost for this band. Users in this band can take advantage of this from 01 December 2023. The hard system limit for data volumes is 8 TB per day.

Commercial licences for Service Providers and Broadcasters

European Cut-out licence

The European cut-out package is a pre-defined package of real-time products with fixed annual information cost. The package includes up to 15 parameters from the real-time catalogue for the area 25°N-84°N, 74°W-45°E. You will receive these parameters with the highest spatial and temporal resolution. You can choose to include high-frequency products.

Small Business discount is not applicable to European Cut-out licence.

The package does not include access to the Meteorological Archival and Retrieval System (MARS) or ecCharts.

Cost - this licence has fixed information cost. The total cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements:

Fixed information cost (28,000 EUR or 29,600 EUR to include high frequency products),
Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested),
Service Package fee.

Amendments: This package cannot be amended. It is not possible to add additional data or change the selected parameters during the duration of the contract.

Commercial licences for Service Providers and Broadcasters

Reduced fees for small businesses

Customers may be eligible for a small business discount of 50% applied to information cost on real-time data.

This discount will be applied to 'micro' businesses (according to the classification of businesses of the European Commission), i.e. companies with less than 10 staff headcount, and an annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than 2 million euros.

The discount is at the licensor discretion and your licensor may request proof of income or proof of incorporation before applying the discount. Companies applying for this 'micro' business discount will need to provide self-certification declaring their business status and are obliged to notify the licensor of any changes in its status. For example, if a company becomes a 'small' business. ECMWF reserves the right to validate such a certificate.

This discount will not be applied to maximum charge or European-cut out licences.

Cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements:

Information cost (50% discount applied respect to the calculated quote),
Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested),
Service Package fee.

Maximum charge licence

Users with a Maximum Charge licence will pay a fixed annual information cost (additional fees will apply if high frequency products are requested).

Cost - this licence has fixed Information cost. The total cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements:

A fixed information cost. At the moment, this is 100,000 EUR per year, or 108,000 EUR to include high frequency products. From 01 July 2023, the information cost will be 70,000 EUR per year, or 78,000 EUR per year including high-frequency products.
Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested).
Service Package fee (Silver Package and Gold Package are the ones with more similarities to the services included in the old Maximum Charge licence).

The existing benefits of a Maximum Charge licence will no longer apply to new or renewing contracts.

Amendments: if Maximum Charge user wants to request an additional amount of data, if the new amount of data (old data + new data) makes the total volume fall in another Volume Band, an amendment will be necessary.

Volume limit: it depends on the volume band the quote falls in, the maximum volume allowed per day is 1.5TB (this only in the case the highest volume band is selected) . From 01 December 2023, the upper limit of Volume Band 7 will increase from 1.5TB per day to 3TB per day with no additional cost for this band. Users in this band can take advantage of this from 01 December 2023. The hard system limit for data volumes is 8 TB per day.

NMHS Non-commercial Licence *

Non-commercial licences for WMO Members *

An NHMS licence is available for National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) who are a member of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) but are outside the ECMWF Member and Co-operating States. Licensees can use the forecast products to fulfil national governmental obligations related to the protection of life and property, or for research projects and educational use, provided that any such activity is carried out strictly on a non-commercial basis.

Cost - this licence has no information cost. The total cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements:

Information cost is set to 0 EUR,
Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested),
Service Package fee.

Amendments you can make in a year will depend upon the Licensor and data deliverer. For delivery of data by ECMWF, the number of amendments will be defined by the Service Package you purchase.

Volume limit: it depends on the volume band the quote falls in, the maximum volume allowed per day is 1.5TB (this only in the case the highest volume band is selected). The user will be notified when 75% of the available yearly GB have been consumed.

Please note: ECMWF is the only organisation allowed to issue NMHS Non-commercial licences.

Research

Research licences are available for time-limited research projects, which fit with the following definition: "Any time bound** project organised for non-commercial research purposes only, where an ongoing/continuous service based on ECMWF Products is not permitted without written consent from the Licensor. A necessary condition for the recognition of non-commercial purposes is that all the results obtained are openly available at delivery costs only, without any delay linked to commercial objectives, and that the research itself is submitted for open publication".

** Research licences cannot be longer than the duration of the project itself and up to a maximum of 3 years, whichever is shorter. A research licence may be renewed for research projects lasting longer than 3 years.

Cost - this licence has no Information cost. The total cost is calculated as the sum of the following elements:

Information cost is set to 0 EUR
Volume Band fee (based on the amount of GB requested, this cost may be waived at the discretion of ECMWF),
Service Package fee (this cost may be waived at the discretion of ECMWF).

Service Broadcast providers

For the satellite data providers licence, space agencies and other satellite data producers in exchange for satellite observations. This is arranged in bilateral agreements. Licensees can use forecast products for satellite data processing only.

UN Agency Licences

Subject to approval by management, UN Agencies can request access to ECMWF real-time products as part of their wider mission, provided that this is not general public service provision or for commercial use.

*Note: Full NMHS Non-commercial Licence, NMHS Standard Non-commercial Licence and Non-commercial licences for WMO Members are now considered under the same category (i.e. "NMHS Non-commercial")

Commercial Web Products Licence for End User (ecCharts)

The ECMWF's web products are available as a whole on an "as is" basis at a price of 6,000 EUR per year for all commercial users. Cost to access ecCharts remains unchanged also after ECMWF new Service Charge Model takes effect.

Access to ecCharts is also included in selected Service Charges (Gold Package, see table for Service Packages overview at this page).

For NMHS of WMO Countries, the one licence is free of charge. Each additional licence costs 1,000 EUR per year.

Example costs for quotes

This section outlines some basic example costs calculated using the ECMWF Product Requirements Catalogue. Please visit the catalogue to price your own data requirements.

Example Dataset

Cost for a Standard Commercial Licence with the new Service Charge model

Information cost

(per year)

Volume Band fee

(per year)

Service Package

(per year)

Total fee for the licence

(per year)

Set I, HRES 10-day Forecast

Forecast runs: 00 / 12

Forecast time-steps: 0 to 144 by 3, 150 to 240 by 6

Grid: 0.1

Area: Europe (73.5N/-27W/33S/45E)

Parameters: 10U/10V/100U/100V/MSL/SP

51,255 €

200 €

Basic: 500 €

Bronze 530 €

Basic: 51,955 €

Bronze: 51,985 €

Set I, HRES Analysis

Forecast runs: 00 / 06 / 12 / 18

Forecast time-steps: 0 to 144 by 3, 150 to 240 by 6, [06, 18]: 0 to 144 by 3

Grid: 0.1

Area: Europe (73.5N/-27W/33S/45E)

Parameters: 10U/10V/100U/100V/MSL/SP

64,973 €

200 €

Basic: 500 €

Bronze 530 €

Basic: 65,673 €

Bronze: 65,703 €

Set III, ENS 15-day Forecast

Forecast runs: 00 / 06 / 12/ 18

Forecast time-steps: [00, 12]: 0 to 144 by 3, 150 to 360 by 6 - [06, 18]: 0 to 144 by 3

Grid: 0.2

Area: Europe (73.5N/-27W/33S/45E)

Parameters: CAPE/ MX2T3 / MN2T3/ TP/ TPRATE

71,880 €

9,000 €

Basic: 500 €

Bronze:1850 €

Silver: 2570 €

Basic: 81,380 €

Bronze: 82,730 €

Silver: 83, 450 €

Cost for a Maximum Charge Licence with the new Service Charge model

Combination of

Set I, HRES 10-day Forecast

Forecast runs: 00 / 12

Forecast time-steps: 0 to 144 by 3, 150 to 240 by 6

Grid: 0.1

Area: 73.5N/-27W/20S/45E

Parameters: 10U/10V/100U/100V/2D/2T/200SI/FZRA/MSL/TPRATE/SKT/SP/TCW/TP/TRPP

Set III, ENS 15-day Forecast

Forecast runs: 00 / 06 / 12/ 18

Forecast time-steps: [00, 12]: 0 to 90 by 1, 93 to 144 by 3, 150 to 240 by 6 - [06, 18]: 0 to 90 by 1

Grid: 0.2

Area: 73.5N/-27W/20S/45E

Parameters: 10U/10V/100U/100V/2D/2T/MSL/TPRATE/SKT/SF/SP/TCW/TP/10FG6/Z/T20D

108,000 €

(from 01 July 2023: 78,000 €)

15,000 €

Silver: 3,950€

Gold: 5,000 €

Silver: 111,950 €

Gold: 113,000 €

Data pricing

Real-time data licences - user categories

Archive

Commercial Web Products Licence for End User (ecCharts)

Example costs for quotes