Amazon Corretto for Enterprise Java

Amazon Corretto is a free, production ready build of OpenJDK with long term support and no license fee. For enterprises on AWS, and many that are not, it is a credible default that removes the per employee Oracle Java cost while keeping a major vendor behind the runtime.

What Corretto is

Corretto is Amazon's distribution of OpenJDK. Amazon runs it across its own services at very large scale and publishes the same builds for anyone to use at no charge. Because it is built from OpenJDK and passes the standard compatibility suite, it runs the same Java your applications already expect, with no code change for the same release in the large majority of cases. It is Java, hardened by use at scale and offered free, with Amazon standing behind it.

The long term support commitment

Corretto's defining feature for a buyer is its support window. Amazon commits to free long term support for its supported releases, publishing quarterly security and critical bug fix updates over multi year windows. For an enterprise standardizing on a long term support release, that means a predictable stream of free updates from a vendor that operates the runtime at scale itself. It directly addresses the patching concern that often keeps buyers on Oracle Java, since the worry that free Java means no updates does not hold against a vendor publishing regular updates on a published schedule.

Where it fits in an estate

Corretto is a natural fit for estates that already run on AWS, where it aligns with the platform and the operational tooling teams already use. It is not limited to AWS, though. The same builds run on common operating systems on premises and on other clouds, so Corretto can serve as a general default as readily as a cloud aligned one. Many enterprises run it alongside a community build such as Eclipse Temurin, choosing per workload rather than imposing one runtime everywhere. For how it sits next to the rest of the field, see our comparison of eight Oracle Java alternatives compared in 2026.

Support model

The Corretto runtime and its updates are free. Where a workload needs a contractual support response, enterprises typically obtain that through their existing AWS support relationship or a third party, rather than a separate runtime license. That keeps the runtime cost at zero while letting you attach a backstop only where it is warranted. It is the same selective approach we describe for the migration target distribution in our look at the Microsoft Build of OpenJDK for enterprises, where platform alignment similarly simplifies support.

Migration considerations

Moving a workload to Corretto is, in most cases, a matter of swapping the runtime and retesting, because the source base is shared with Oracle Java SE. Server side and containerized workloads tend to move with little friction. The work is in the inventory and the testing discipline, not in rewriting applications. Treat the move as a controlled change with a clear rollback path, and standardize on a long term support release so the free update window is as long as possible.

Where this fits

A free, long supported distribution is a building block for shrinking the Oracle Java envelope. For the full licensing context, read our Oracle Java licensing guide for 2026.