SPSS Free Trial Ended? What to Do Before Your Deadline

When IBM's SPSS trial ends, it ends: the trial licence is valid for 14 days, and reinstalling won't bring it back. Your .sav data files and .sps syntax files are still on your computer, though, and you have three legal ways to finish the work today: your university's licence, a paid licence for a few months, or a free tool that opens the same files.

This guide goes through them in the order that usually works fastest, then shows how to move your files and what might not carry over. It's written by the team behind TRTT, a free browser tool that's one of the options. IBM's terms were checked on 5 October 2026.

Why trials end, and what reinstalling won't fix

The message you're seeing is IBM's: "Trial license, valid for 14 days, has expired." IBM's support page for this error lists two ways forward: buy a subscription from the SPSS Statistics product page, or contact IBM through its "Let's Talk" option. It adds that "it may be possible to extend the trial period" if you contact an IBM representative. That's worth a polite email if you're days away from finishing, but don't count on a quick answer the night before a deadline.

Reinstalling SPSS won't start a new 14-day period on the same computer. According to an IBM Community support answer, a new trial becomes available 365 days after the last use. That's a community answer rather than official documentation; IBM's own page mentions only buying a licence or asking for an extension.

What the expired trial does not do is touch your work. Your .sav files, .sps syntax and any exported output stay where you saved them. The question is only which program opens them next.

Option 1: your university's licence (10 minutes)

If you're a student, check this first, because it may give you SPSS itself at no cost:

1. Search for "SPSS" plus your university's name, or open the IT department's software page.
2. Look for a free download for enrolled students, a computer lab, or a virtual desktop. Many universities run virtual desktops (Citrix, AppsAnywhere and similar) that include SPSS. Colorado State's health sciences college, for example, offers a Citrix desktop with SPSS that works in an ordinary browser, and Florida State's myFSUVLab lets students use SPSS from any computer, tablet or phone.
3. If you find nothing, email your instructor or the department's research support. If the course requires SPSS, someone has usually arranged access.

A virtual desktop has one more advantage: it works on Chromebooks, iPads and Linux laptops, where SPSS can't be installed. More detail in is SPSS free for students?.

Option 2: pay for a short licence

If you need SPSS itself for the rest of the term, the cheapest route is usually a student GradPack from an IBM-authorized reseller. On 5 October 2026 a six-month Base GradPack cost $37.90 at OnTheHub and $69.95 at ThinkEdu. You'll need to verify your student status, which can take time, so start early. Outside academia, IBM's own subscription is listed as "Starting at $99.00 USD Per Authorized User", with monthly, quarterly or annual plans.

Check which modules your assignment needs before buying: the Base edition doesn't include logistic regression, for example. Our guides to the SPSS student version and what SPSS costs have the details.

Option 3: continue in a free tool

If your goal is to finish the analysis rather than to use SPSS specifically, a free program that reads .sav files will get you there tonight. The options include PSPP, jamovi, JASP and TRTT; see SPSS alternatives for a comparison.

TRTT is the closest to continuing where you left off, because it runs in a desktop browser with nothing to install and keeps the SPSS layout: Data View and Variable View, the same Analyze menu paths as SPSS 32, a syntax window and an Output window. The calculations run on your own computer and your file isn't uploaded. The web app sends anonymous feature-usage counters, which are switched off if your browser sends Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track.

Moving your .sav and .sps files

Here's how to pick up the same project in TRTT:

1. Open your data. Go to trtt.app on a computer, click Open Data File… on the welcome screen and choose your .sav file, or drag it onto the page. Variable labels, value labels, missing values and measurement levels come with it.
2. If your file is .zsav, re-save it as .sav first. SPSS can save data compressed as .zsav, and TRTT's file dialog accepts .sav only. Without SPSS, R does it in two lines: d <- haven::read_sav("data.zsav") and haven::write_sav(d, "data.sav").
3. Open your syntax. Use File ▸ Open Syntax… or drag the .sps file onto the page. It loads into the Syntax window without running, as in SPSS. Click Run when you're ready; commands TRTT can't run are logged in the Output with their line number, and the rest still execute.
4. Or repeat the steps through the menus. If your instructions say Analyze ▸ Descriptive Statistics ▸ Crosstabs… or Analyze ▸ Compare Means and Proportions ▸ Independent-Samples T Test…, you'll find them in the same place. Each dialog has a Paste button that writes the syntax for you.
5. Save as you go. File ▸ Save writes back to the same .sav file in Chrome and Edge; in Safari and Firefox it downloads a copy. Your session is also autosaved in the browser.
6. Hand in the results. Copy tables into Word, save charts as images, or export the whole output as an .spv file, the format SPSS's Viewer uses. The web version has no PDF export.

What may not carry over

Be realistic about the gaps before you rely on any free tool for an assignment:

• Some syntax. TRTT runs a large subset of SPSS commands, but not control-flow blocks (DO IF, LOOP, DO REPEAT), AGGREGATE, file merging (MATCH FILES, ADD FILES), macros or variable ranges written with TO. The full list is in SPSS online compiler.
• Some procedures. Logistic regression, custom tables, mixed models and repeated-measures GLM aren't available. If your assignment needs them, use Option 1 or 2, or check whether PSPP covers the procedure.
• Your old SPSS output. TRTT can export .spv files but can't open them, so rerun the analyses instead of trying to reopen the old Viewer file.
• Identical-looking tables. TRTT reproduces SPSS-style tables and is tested against PSPP and IBM's published algorithms, but it isn't SPSS. If your instructor requires output produced by SPSS itself, say what you used.

If you're on an iPad or iPhone rather than a computer, the TRTT app opens .sav files from Files or Mail. It's free for data sets up to 100 cases, with an optional Pro upgrade for larger files; prices are shown in the app. See SPSS for iPad.

Open TRTT in your browser – free

FAQ

How long is the SPSS free trial?

IBM's support documentation says the trial licence is valid for 14 days. The period starts when you register, not when you first open a file.

Can I get a second SPSS free trial?

Not by reinstalling. An IBM Community support answer says a new trial becomes available 365 days after the last use, and IBM's support page says an extension may be possible if you contact an IBM representative.

Will I lose my data when the SPSS trial expires?

No. Your .sav, .sps and .spv files stay on your computer. You can open the .sav and .sps files in free programs such as TRTT, PSPP or jamovi, or in SPSS again once you have a licence.

Why does my SPSS trial say it's not working after I reinstalled?

Reinstalling doesn't start a new trial period; according to IBM Community, a new trial becomes available only 365 days after the last one. Use a university licence, buy a licence, or continue in a free tool.

What's the fastest free way to finish an SPSS assignment tonight?

Open your .sav file in a browser-based tool such as TRTT, follow the same menu paths or run your syntax, and copy the tables into your document. Check first that your analysis isn't one of the unsupported procedures listed above.

TRTT is an independent product. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by IBM. IBM and SPSS are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.