Contents
Key takeawaysHow GoldenGate is licensedA worked cost exampleThe replication parameterThe hub questionThe Foundation SuiteAWS, Azure and GoldenGate FreeWhat we see in reviewsWhat Oracle will sayWhat to do nextFAQGoldenGate costs $17,500 per processor on every server that runs it, source and target alike, under the database counting rules. Your server topology sets the bill, and one initialization parameter decides which databases are in scope.
- Both ends pay. Every server that runs GoldenGate carries its full processor count, so three sources feeding one target means four licensed servers.
- Database counting rules. Core factor on premises, vCPUs in AWS and Azure, and Named User Plus at $350 only below 50 users per licensable processor.
- One parameter sets scope. ENABLE_GOLDENGATE_REPLICATION set to TRUE puts a database in the count, including when a third party CDC tool asked for it.
- Hubs save only in writing. The same hub design priced at $140,000 or $700,000 depending on whether the ordering document names the hubs as the licensed servers.
- The suite is the cheaper route. The Foundation Suite at $7,500 per processor contains Veridata and the Management Pack, which list at $33,500 combined when bought separately.
- Free has firm limits. GoldenGate Free covers databases up to 20 GB with no Oracle Support and cannot sit alongside licensed GoldenGate.
How is Oracle GoldenGate licensed, and what does it cost?
GoldenGate lists at $17,500 per processor or $350 per Named User Plus, and you license every server that runs it. The counting rules are the Oracle Database rules: physical cores times the core factor on premises, and vCPU counting in the authorized clouds.
Annual support is 22 percent of the license fee, so each processor adds $3,850 a year at list. Three other lines on the price list change the total, and the table shows where each one fits.
| Component | List price | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| GoldenGate | $17,500 per processor, $350 per Named User Plus | Licensed on both ends of every flow, using the database counting rules |
| GoldenGate Foundation Suite | $7,500 per processor | Contains Veridata, the Management Pack for GoldenGate and GoldenGate Studio. Requires a GoldenGate license as a prerequisite |
| Veridata and the Management Pack, bought separately | $33,500 per processor combined | Data comparison and monitoring tools that many buyers end up paying for twice |
| GoldenGate Free | $0, perpetual | Limited to 20 GB per database, one deployment, no Oracle Support, no mixing with licensed GoldenGate |
Why do the source and the target both need licenses?
Each server running GoldenGate carries its full processor count, whichever way the data flows. Three sources feeding one consolidation target means four licensed servers. A bidirectional pair licenses both machines once, and the second direction adds nothing.
That is why data volume tells you little about cost. A flow that carries a few thousand rows a day between two large servers can cost more than a busy flow between two small ones. A design review that prices GoldenGate per link has undercounted from the start, because Oracle counts servers.
- Capture. The server where Extract reads the redo of the source database.
- Delivery. The server where Replicat applies changes to the target.
- Everything in between. Any hub, relay or cloud instance that executes GoldenGate processes, including the Service Manager, Distribution Service and Receiver Service in the Microservices Architecture.
- Enabled databases. Any Oracle database where ENABLE_GOLDENGATE_REPLICATION is set to TRUE, covered in the parameter section below.
When does Named User Plus beat the processor metric?
The crossover is exactly 50 named users per licensable processor, because $17,500 divided by $350 is 50. Below that ratio NUP is cheaper, and above it the processor metric wins.
NUP suits replication where the population is small and countable, such as a DBA team feeding a reporting database with a known user list. Where replicated data feeds open user populations, processor licensing holds up better in an audit. Check the per processor minimums in your order, and read our NUP counting and minimums guide before you commit.
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What does a GoldenGate deployment cost in practice?
A modest consolidation of three sources into one target runs to about $315,000 at list, before support. Say you consolidate three regional Oracle databases into one reporting database, all on premises on Intel x86 hardware with a 0.5 core factor. The company is hypothetical; the prices are Oracle list.
| Server | Physical cores | Core factor | Processor licenses | GoldenGate list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source A | 8 | 0.5 | 4 | $70,000 |
| Source B | 8 | 0.5 | 4 | $70,000 |
| Source C | 8 | 0.5 | 4 | $70,000 |
| Target | 12 | 0.5 | 6 | $105,000 |
| Total | 36 | 18 | $315,000 |
Support at 22 percent adds $69,300 a year. Adding the Foundation Suite to all four servers costs another $135,000 at list for the 18 processors. A fourth regional source of the same size would add $70,000 of license and $15,400 a year of support, which is why each new feed deserves its own line in the business case.
GoldenGate Licensing Guide
Count your replication servers, check the hub wording and compare the suite against separate lines.
Get the white paper →How does ENABLE_GOLDENGATE_REPLICATION decide which databases are in scope?
When the parameter is set to TRUE, Oracle expects a GoldenGate license for that database. Oracle's database reference says so directly, and it extends the requirement to all third party and end user tools that use the services the parameter switches on.
The parameter defaults to false. Setting it enables the redo reading, trigger suppression and integrated capture and apply services that replication tools rely on. It is also what Oracle's measurement scripts collect, so it should be the first thing your own inventory reads.
Which third party tools switch it on?
It depends on the capture mode more than the product. Qlik's documentation for its Oracle XStream endpoint states that a GoldenGate license is required, and Striim's setup guide for its OJet reader has you set the parameter to TRUE. Both vendors also offer LogMiner based readers that do not need it.
This is how companies acquire GoldenGate exposure without ever installing GoldenGate. A data team picks the faster connector, a DBA sets the parameter, and the database joins the count. Our GoldenGate for non Oracle databases guide covers the third party cases in full.
How do you check your own databases?
- Query every database. Run SHOW PARAMETER enable_goldengate_replication in SQL*Plus, or select from GV$PARAMETER to see every RAC instance. Oracle requires the same setting on all instances of a RAC database.
- Treat container databases as one unit. The parameter cannot be set inside a pluggable database. A TRUE value applies to the whole CDB, so one project's need brings every PDB on that container into the question.
- Read the alert log. ALTER SYSTEM commands are written there, which gives you the date the value changed and usually points to the project that changed it.
- Join the result to your entitlements. For each TRUE database, record the server, the reason, the tool, and the GoldenGate license that covers it.
Databases that enabled the parameter for a finished migration or a retired tool can be reset to false. If you find them before a measurement, the reset and a dated record usually close the matter.
If Oracle finds them first, they tend to appear in the audit findings. See our guide to the audit script output.
What does a GoldenGate license already include?
A GoldenGate license includes Oracle Active Data Guard and Oracle XStream, with Database Enterprise Edition as the prerequisite. If you also pay support on Active Data Guard for servers that carry GoldenGate, you may be paying for the same right twice.
Ask Oracle to confirm the overlap in writing before you drop anything. Terminating support on part of a license set can trigger Oracle's repricing rules, so model the support line both ways first.
Does running GoldenGate on hub servers lower the license count?
Only if your ordering document says the hub servers are the licensed servers. Without that language, Oracle's position reaches the source and target databases the hub serves, and the hub design saves nothing on paper.
On a separate hub design we modeled for this guide, the hub only reading priced at $140,000 and the full reach reading at $700,000. At $17,500 per processor, that is 8 licensable processors on the hubs against 40 once the sources and targets join the count.
A hub design only prices as a hub when the ordering document names the hub servers as the licensed servers.
Why we do not book hub consolidation as a saving until the contract says so
Architects and some resellers advise consolidating GoldenGate onto hubs because fewer servers then run the software. We disagree with counting that saving on architecture alone.
The spread in our GoldenGate reviews comes down to ordering document language. Where the order is silent, expect Oracle to count the databases behind the hubs at the first audit. Build the hub if it suits your operations, then negotiate the clause at the next order, before the business case goes to finance.
What contract wording should you ask for?
- Named licensed servers. List the hub hostnames and state that the source and target databases the hubs reach remotely need no separate GoldenGate license. This is the clause that decides between the hub only and full reach readings.
- Parameter treatment. State that ENABLE_GOLDENGATE_REPLICATION set on databases served only by the licensed hubs creates no separate requirement. If Oracle refuses, the refusal tells you what the full reach reading will cost.
- Migration window. Ask for a dated period during which the parameter may be set for a named migration, with an end date after which you reset it.
- Foundation Suite on the same order. Price the suite against the same processors as GoldenGate, so the two lines renew together.
- Support increase cap. Ask for a cap on annual support increases for the GoldenGate lines across the term.
Should you buy the GoldenGate Foundation Suite?
Yes, if you use Veridata or the Management Pack, or expect to. At $7,500 per processor the suite contains both, plus GoldenGate Studio, while the two tools list separately at $33,500 per processor combined.
| Line | Per processor | 32 processors at list | Annual support at 22 percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veridata and Management Pack, separate | $33,500 | $1,072,000 | $235,840 |
| Foundation Suite | $7,500 | $240,000 | $52,800 |
| Difference | $26,000 | $832,000 | $183,040 |
You receive the same Veridata and Management Pack software either way. The whole difference comes from which order lines you signed.
The suite needs a GoldenGate, GoldenGate for Non Oracle Database or GoldenGate for Mainframe license as its prerequisite, so it only makes sense alongside the core product. Buyers who already own the separate lines should model a move to the suite at renewal, keeping the repricing rules in mind.
How does GoldenGate licensing change on AWS and Azure?
The core factor stops applying and Oracle's vCPU rule takes over. Two vCPUs count as one processor license when hyperthreading is on, exactly as for the database, so the same topology counts differently across the cloud boundary. Our authorized cloud counting guide sets out the policy.
| Where it runs | Counting rule | Processor licenses | GoldenGate list |
|---|---|---|---|
| On premises, Intel x86 | 12 cores times 0.5 core factor | 6 | $105,000 |
| AWS or Azure, 24 vCPUs, hyperthreading on | 2 vCPUs per license | 12 | $210,000 |
| AWS or Azure, 24 vCPUs, one thread per core | 1 vCPU per license | 24 | $420,000 |
A flow that was core factored to a modest count on premises can double on migration, and instance families running one thread per core double it again. The counting mechanics match those in our WebLogic on AWS guide and the Oracle on Azure analysis, applied to every server in the flow.
Where does GoldenGate Free fit?
GoldenGate Free is a real perpetual license at $0, limited to Oracle databases of 20 GB or less and one deployment. For a container database, the 20 GB counts all pluggable databases together. It comes with community forum help instead of Oracle Support, and it cannot be combined with licensed GoldenGate or third party integration tools.
It fits development, test and small isolated flows. Oracle's documentation allows production use within the size limit, but without support that is a risk most buyers should not take. The technology price list guide places GoldenGate in the wider Oracle price family.
What have we seen in recent GoldenGate reviews?
Across the Oracle practice's GoldenGate reviews, the findings cluster in three places, and none of them is throughput.
- The hub clause spread. A 5x gap between the hub only and full reach readings of the same topology, decided by ordering document language.
- The suite difference. About $832K at 32 processors, plus roughly $183K a year of support, paid by buyers who bought Veridata and the Management Pack as separate lines.
- Forgotten parameters. Databases still carrying ENABLE_GOLDENGATE_REPLICATION for tools and migrations long gone, each one a claim waiting for a measurement.
A quarterly parameter inventory, joined to your entitlements, is the cheapest control we know of in an Oracle environment relative to what it prevents.
What will Oracle's account team say about GoldenGate?
Expect four lines in most GoldenGate conversations. Each has a reply that keeps the discussion on paper.
- "With a hub, only the hubs need licenses." Ask for that sentence in the ordering document, with the hub hostnames listed. A verbal assurance carries no weight in an Oracle audit.
- "Every database with the parameter set needs GoldenGate." Bring the alert log dates and the reset records. Ask Oracle to separate current settings from historical ones, and to show which databases it believes are in use today.
- "Your licenses move to AWS unchanged." The licenses move, but the count changes. Ask for the processor count per planned instance type in writing before the migration.
- "Add Veridata when you need it." Ask for Foundation Suite pricing on the current order instead, while you still have a purchase on the table.
What to do next
- Inventory the parameter quarterly. List every Oracle database carrying ENABLE_GOLDENGATE_REPLICATION, why it is set, and under what entitlement.
- Map the topology to the count. Record every server running GoldenGate processes, both ends of every flow, at the correct counting rule for each environment.
- Read the hub language in your ordering document. Do this before believing any hub consolidation saving, and draft the clause explicitly at the next order.
- Buy the Foundation Suite deliberately. Stop paying separate support on components the suite contains, after checking the repricing effect.
- Keep GoldenGate Free inside its limits. Use it for development, test and isolated flows under 20 GB, and never alongside licensed instances.
- Recount before any cloud move. Apply the vCPU rule to every server in the flow and agree the result with Oracle in writing.
- Get help where the numbers are large. Our Oracle practice and license management services run the inventory and the negotiation with you.
Want a second opinion on your Oracle position? Our Oracle licensing consultants are former Oracle insiders who now work only for buyers.
Frequently asked questions
How is Oracle GoldenGate licensed?
Per processor on every server that runs the software, at $17,500 per processor or $350 per Named User Plus. Oracle applies the database counting rules, so the core factor table governs on premises and vCPU counting governs in authorized clouds. The two metrics break even at 50 named users per licensable processor.
Do both the source and target need GoldenGate licenses?
Yes. Extract on the source and Replicat on the target each put their server in the count at its full processor total. Adding a return direction to an existing pair costs nothing extra, while adding one more source server adds that server's entire count.
Can third party replication tools trigger GoldenGate licensing?
Yes, when the tool needs ENABLE_GOLDENGATE_REPLICATION set to TRUE. Oracle's database reference requires a GoldenGate license for third party tools that use those services. XStream based connectors such as Qlik Replicate's XStream endpoint and Striim's OJet reader fall into this group, while LogMiner based readers generally do not.
Does a GoldenGate hub reduce the license count?
Only when the ordering document names the hub servers as the licensed servers. Without that wording, expect Oracle to count the source and target databases the hub serves. Raise the clause during the order negotiation, when you still have something Oracle wants, rather than during an audit.
What is the GoldenGate Foundation Suite and why does it matter?
It is an add on at $7,500 per processor that bundles Veridata, the Management Pack for GoldenGate and GoldenGate Studio. Buying Veridata and the Management Pack as separate lines costs $33,500 per processor, so each processor moved to the suite saves $26,000 of list and $5,720 a year of support at 22 percent.
Is GoldenGate Free suitable for production?
Oracle permits production use on databases of 20 GB or smaller, but there is no Oracle Support, only community forums. For anything a business process depends on, license the full product. Outside its limits, or mixed with licensed instances, GoldenGate Free turns into an audit finding.
How much is annual support on Oracle GoldenGate?
Oracle charges 22 percent of the net license fee each year. At list that is $3,850 per processor for GoldenGate and $77 per Named User Plus, and a discount on the license carries through to support, which is why the net license price matters for years after signature.
Does a GoldenGate license include Active Data Guard?
Yes. Oracle's GoldenGate licensing information states that a GoldenGate license includes Active Data Guard and XStream, with Database Enterprise Edition as the prerequisite. Buyers who hold separate Active Data Guard licenses on the same servers should ask Oracle in writing how the overlap is treated before changing support.