What license does RF-DETR use?
RF-DETR is Roboflow's real-time detection transformer, published at ICLR 2026. The rfdetr Python package is licensed under Apache 2.0. The model weights depend on the size, as set out in the RF-DETR GitHub repository (opens in a new tab):
Apache 2.0 sizes: free for commercial use
You can use, modify and ship the Apache 2.0 sizes in commercial products without open-sourcing your code and without a commercial license. Keep the license and copyright notices, and note any files you change. That makes RF-DETR the alternative to AGPL-3.0 YOLO models such as YOLO26 and YOLO11 when you don't want a license tied to a plan.
RF-DETR Atto, Femto, Pico, XL and 2XL are released under the Platform Model License 1.0 and installed with pip install rfdetr[plus]. You can use, modify and distribute them while you have a Roboflow plan in good standing. If your account lapses, for example after an unpaid invoice or exceeding your usage limits, your right to use them pauses until the account is back in good standing. The license also forbids getting around its usage tracking or extracting the base weights.
Train and deploy RF-DETR on Roboflow
You can train RF-DETR on Roboflow for object detection and instance segmentation, and deploy it to Roboflow cloud or your own hardware. The Apache 2.0 sizes need no license wherever you run them. Compare RF-DETR with YOLO models on your own images in Playground (opens in a new tab).
To learn more about model licensing with Roboflow, see Roboflow Licensing.