generated: '2026-09-07'
method: searched
source: >-
  https://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/manual.html#requestformat,
  https://www.w3.org/policies/patent-policy/ and
  https://www.w3.org/copyright/document-license/
plan_count: 0
summary: >-
  There are no plans and no pricing page, and that is a finding rather than a gap. CSS is a
  royalty-free W3C standard and the CSS Validation Service is described in its own manual as
  "a free, public service for all". Nobody is billed, nobody signs up, and there is no paid
  tier to move to — the escalation path for heavy use is to run your own instance, not to buy
  one. W3C funds this through membership and donations.
plans: []
cost_model:
  specifications:
    price: 0
    currency: USD
    detail: >-
      CSS specifications are published under the W3C Document License and developed under the
      W3C Royalty-Free Patent Policy, which commits participants to license essential claims
      royalty-free. Implementing CSS carries no licence fee.
    sources:
      - https://www.w3.org/copyright/document-license/
      - https://www.w3.org/policies/patent-policy/
  validation_service:
    price: 0
    currency: USD
    quota: null
    overage: null
    detail: >-
      Free and unauthenticated, with a documented one-second courtesy interval between
      programmatic requests instead of a quota. See rate-limits/css-rate-limits.yml.
    source: https://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/manual.html#requestformat
  tooling:
    price: 0
    currency: USD
    detail: >-
      The validator jar and war, and the @webref/* and web-specs data packages, are published
      under MIT or CC0. See packages/css-packages.yml.
funding:
  model: consortium membership and donations
  urls:
    - https://www.w3.org/donate/
  note: >-
    W3C is a member-funded standards body. Membership buys a seat in the process, not access
    to CSS — the specifications and the validator are public regardless.