Free Trial

Macro Studio trials are currently invite-only. They’re offered through partner communities and courses, not from the website. Your invite is a link that looks like macrostudio.pro/trial/….

Anyone can try Macro Studio free for 30 days. Start at macrostudio.pro/trial. If a partner community or course gave you its own link (macrostudio.pro/trial/…), use that one instead. It works the same way.

Starting a trial

Open the trial link (see above).
Enter your email address, then enter it again to confirm. You get a trial key on screen and by email.
Download Macro Studio and open it.
Paste the key and the same email address into the activation dialog.

Type your address carefully. The app checks the key against it when you activate. A typo means the key email bounces and the key won’t activate, and only support can fix that. The page shows the address it registered along with your key. If it’s wrong, email [email protected] to correct it.

If the address looks like a common typo (gmial.com for gmail.com, say), the page asks before going ahead and offers a correction. It’s only a guess. If your address is right, choose No, mine is correct.

Macro Studio uses your address to send your key and to let the app check your license. An optional tick-box on the signup page adds occasional news and tips. It’s off unless you tick it, you get your key either way, and you can unsubscribe at any time. See the privacy policy for the rest.

If the page says the link isn’t valid, the invite has expired, been withdrawn, or run out of places. Ask whoever shared it for the current link.

If the page says an invite link isn’t valid, that invite has expired, been withdrawn, or run out of places. You can still start a trial from the main trial page. If the page says free trials are paused, new trials aren’t open at the moment. Check back later, or email [email protected].

The trial runs for 30 days with every feature unlocked: focus stacking, the full Editor, all of it. No card details are needed, and nothing is charged when it ends.

A trial works on up to 3 computers, and each computer can only run one trial. If you’ve already trialed Macro Studio on a computer, a second trial key won’t activate there.

When the trial ends

The app keeps working. It doesn’t lock you out or touch the files you made. Every stack you saved is a normal image file that opens in Macro Studio or any other app.

What still works:

The Library: browsing folders, previews, star ratings, filters, sorting and Compare.
Crop & Straighten.
Save, including watermarks.
EXIF metadata, with the Copy button.
Draft Social Post.

What needs a license:

Stacking: both the Stack button and Autostack.
The rest of the Editor: the Look, Adjustments, Masks, Retouch, Spot Correct, Defringe and Edit History.
Species Identification.

Locked controls stay visible but grayed out, so you can see what a license adds. Switch the Editor to Advanced mode to see the full tool set the same way. Edit History is the one exception: it’s hidden, not grayed out.

Buying during or after a trial

Your trial key becomes your full license. There’s nothing to enter again.

Buy from inside the app and this works whatever address you pay with. There are three places to start:

While your trial is running: the mode bar at the top of the window shows the days left, with a Buy now link under it.
Once the trial has ended: a banner across the top of the window has a Buy a license button.
At any time: File → Enter License Key… has a Buy a license link.

After checkout, switch back to Macro Studio and it usually unlocks right away. If it doesn’t, the purchase may still be going through. Wait a minute, then switch away and back again, or quit and reopen the app.

You can also buy from the pricing page in your browser. This works the same way, as long as you use the email address you started the trial with.

If you pay there with a different address, nothing links the two, so you get a new license and a new key. Open File → Enter License Key… and enter the key from your confirmation email. It works exactly the same.

Activate any key with the email address it was issued to. For an upgraded trial, that’s the address you signed up with, which may not be the one you paid with.

If your trial has ended and you’d rather not buy yet, you don’t need to do anything. The app stays installed and keeps working in the free mode above.