Comparison
Licensr vs. the alternatives
All of them can check a license key. The difference is everything around it: who owns the payment, what happens after the sale, and how much you build yourself.
Licensr vs. Keyforge
Keyforge is the closest tool to Licensr: payments-included licensing with a self-serve portal, offline signed tokens, upgrades, renewals, and perpetual fallback on both sides. The real differences are at the edges: Licensr adds a hosted branded storefront, Stripe Connect payouts, and domain-aware enforcement; Keyforge adds more payment providers and a pay-once platform plan.
Payments, storefront, and domain-aware licensing in one
Best for plugin and web-app sellers who want a hosted branded storefront, Stripe Connect payouts, and enforcement that understands domains and machines, not just device counts. Offline signed tokens, upgrades, renewals, and perpetual fallback are all built in.
- Stripe Connect: revenue settles in your account, 0% cut
- Hosted buy page at /buy/your-slug
- Domain-mode + anti-extraction guard
- Official JS/TS, C++, and C# SDKs with offline JWT verify on JS and C#
- Multi-tenant teams with isolated Stripe accounts
- From $19/mo with a permanent free tier
Offline-first licensing across multiple payment providers
Best for sellers who want a single tool across Stripe, Polar, and Lemon Squeezy, plus a one-time pay-once platform plan.
- Offline signed JWT licenses, no SDK
- Stripe, Polar, and Lemon Squeezy
- No-code upgrades and renewals
- Perpetual fallback after expiry
- Pay-once Personal plan ($199)
Payment processing included
Both issue a license automatically the moment a payment clears, with no fulfillment code to build.
Revenue settles in your own account
Licensr uses Stripe Connect, so funds land directly in your Stripe account. Keyforge connects your own payment account too, and neither takes a revenue cut.
Payment providers supported
Keyforge integrates Stripe, Polar, and Lemon Squeezy. Licensr supports Stripe Connect, Mercado Pago (Latin America), PayPal (worldwide buyer trust), and Razorpay (India), all on your own account.
Hosted branded buy page (storefront)
Licensr hosts a branded /buy/your-slug storefront. Keyforge sells through your payment provider’s own checkout; there is no separate hosted storefront.
Customer self-serve portal
License key validation API
Offline validation (signed tokens, no network)
Both issue short-lived, EdDSA-signed JWT license tokens your app verifies locally with any standard JWT library, fully offline, no SDK. Licensr publishes a per-plugin JWKS endpoint and still offers online /validate as the authoritative, revocation-aware check.
Seat / device-locked activation
Domain-mode activation
Bind a license to a domain instead of a machine, essential for WordPress, browser, and SaaS plugins. Keyforge is device-based.
Domain-origin guard (anti-extraction)
Even if someone extracts your API key and license key, they cannot replay it from an unauthorized domain.
Feature-based entitlements
Plans can carry an arbitrary feature_flags JSON object, returned on every validate/token call. Keyforge's license tokens carry license and device data but no per-plan feature flags.
Subscriptions
One-time / lifetime licenses
Self-serve license upgrades (tier change)
Both let customers change tier from the portal. Licensr routes plan changes through Stripe’s customer portal and automatically syncs the new caps (seats/domains) onto the license.
License renewals (extend a timed key’s expiry)
Both support renewals. Licensr automates subscription renewals and adds a one-click renewal checkout that extends a standalone timed key’s expiry (stacking onto any remaining time).
Perpetual fallback (limited access after expiry)
Both can keep a degraded/limited mode working after a license lapses. In Licensr it’s a per-plan toggle: expired licenses on a fallback plan return entitlement="limited" instead of a hard cutoff.
Simple REST API (no SDK required)
Native SDKs
Official SDKs for JavaScript/TypeScript (npm), C++ (CMake git), and C# (NuGet + Unity UPM). JS and C# verify offline JWTs locally; C++ mints and stores the token today. Keyforge ships an optional JS-only client (@keyforge/client); its core pitch is that any JWT library works without an SDK.
In-dashboard integration guide
Step-by-step walkthrough in the admin panel with your real API keys and plugin slug pre-filled. Keyforge ships public docs only.
Webhook event log + replay
We log every inbound Stripe webhook with full payload and a replay button.
Multi-tenant (independent teams)
Licensr gives full tenant isolation with a separate Stripe account per team.
Setup wizard / guided onboarding
Pricing (first paid tier)
Licensr Indie is $19/mo (up to 250 active licenses). Keyforge Scale is $39/mo (6,000 licenses); Keyforge also sells a $199 pay-once Personal plan.
Pay-once / lifetime platform plan
Keyforge offers a one-time Personal license ($199). Licensr is subscription (monthly or yearly).
Permanent free tier
Licensr has a permanent free tier (up to 25 active licenses). Keyforge offers a 14-day trial on Scale.
Selling plugins or web apps? Get a branded buy page in 15 minutes.
Free tier, no credit card required. Payments, storefront, and domain-aware licensing in one.