A charge labeled “Sublime HQ” on your card or bank statement is a payment to Sublime HQ Pty Ltd, an Australian software company that sells Sublime Text (a code editor) and Sublime Merge (a Git client). It’s almost certainly for a software license or a license upgrade bought through sublimehq.com. Personal licenses are one-time purchases, so the charge shouldn’t repeat unless it’s a business subscription or a separate upgrade.
What You Paid For
Sublime HQ sells two products: Sublime Text and Sublime Merge. For individuals, a personal license for either is $99 USD as a one-time payment, and an upgrade from an older license is $80 USD. A bundle covering both is also available.1Sublime HQ. Sublime Text – Store2Sublime HQ. Sublime Merge – Store The company describes personal licenses as a “once off purchase,” not a subscription.
Business licenses are different. They renew annually, starting at $65 per seat per year for the first ten users and dropping to $50 per seat for organizations above fifty users.1Sublime HQ. Sublime Text – Store If the charge recurs each year, a business subscription is the likely explanation.
How to Confirm the Purchase
Sublime HQ processes payments through Stripe.3Sublime Text Forum. Payment Problems Stripe statement descriptors are capped at 22 characters and usually reflect the merchant’s business name or website, so the line item will read something like “Sublime HQ” or “sublimehq.com,” possibly truncated.4Stripe. What Is a Statement Descriptor Checkout accepts credit card or PayPal, so the charge could sit on either.1Sublime HQ. Sublime Text – Store
The fastest way to verify is your inbox. After any purchase, Sublime HQ emails a license key to the address used at checkout. Search for messages from Sublime HQ or sublimetext.com. If nothing turns up, use the key-retrieval tool at sublimehq.com/store/retrieve_key and enter the email address you think was used; any existing license tied to that address will surface.5Sublime Text Forum. License Key Not Sent
Keep in mind that Sublime Text can be downloaded and used indefinitely without paying, with only a periodic pop-up reminder to purchase.6Sublime Text Forum. Evaluation Version Discussion So a license charge may reflect a purchase made months or years after the software was first installed, which can make the connection to a statement line harder to spot.
Why an Unexpected $80 Charge Often Shows Up
An $80 charge usually means an upgrade. A personal license covers every update released within three years of the purchase date. After three years the license doesn’t expire and the software keeps working; the user simply stops getting new updates unless they pay $80 for another three-year window.7Sublime HQ. Sublime Text – Upgrade
The friction is that Sublime Text can auto-update in the background. Users have reported clicking an update prompt, landing on a build outside their three-year window, and then seeing a “LICENSE UPGRADE REQUIRED” notice in the title bar with no advance warning that the update would cost money. One user wrote that “a one-click update with no warning that doing so will incur an $80 cost is super not-cool.”8Sublime Text Forum. After Recent Update I See License Upgrade Required Others said the fee felt steep for what looked like incremental improvements. Sublime HQ staff said the rolling three-year model replaced the older approach of gating features behind numbered major releases, letting the company ship improvements continuously.9Sublime Text Forum. Build 4180 License Upgrade Required
If you or someone using your computer clicked through an update prompt in Sublime Text and then paid, that’s the source of the charge.
How to Get a Refund or Dispute the Charge
Sublime HQ offers refunds within 30 days of purchase. Email sales@sublimetext.com to request one.10Sublime HQ. Sales FAQ11Sublime Text Forum. Wrong Credit Card Is Charged
One wrinkle: the company’s separate forum Terms of Service state that fees for “optional paid services or upgrades” are non-refundable.12Sublime Text Forum. Terms of Service The customer-facing Sales FAQ is the purchase policy, and it advertises the 30-day window. If the charge is older than 30 days and Sublime HQ declines to refund, the standard next step is filing a dispute with your card issuer.
If you don’t recognize the charge at all and no one with access to your card would have bought the software, treat it as a potentially unauthorized transaction: contact Sublime HQ to confirm what was purchased and, if the purchase wasn’t yours, dispute it through your bank or card issuer.