PermitCore is a robust software licensing infrastructure designed to streamline the process of managing and selling software licenses without the need for extensive in-house development. It offers a complete solution that bridges the gap between customer checkout and a fully functional product, replacing the backend, customer tools, and integration code typically required for licensing.
Key Features:
- License Control: PermitCore supports a wide array of licensing models, including node-locked, floating, offline, subscription, perpetual, and metered licensing. This flexibility allows developers to adapt their licensing strategy as their product evolves, enabling changes to entitlements without requiring new software builds.
- Built-in Store: Users can launch a branded license store directly through PermitCore, utilizing their own Stripe or Paddle accounts. This feature ensures that customers receive license keys automatically after checkout, with PermitCore taking 0% commission on sales. It supports trials, subscriptions, and one-time payments, providing automatic fulfillment of orders, invoices, keys, and emails.
- Developer Experience: PermitCore prioritizes developer-friendliness with 8 official SDKs for popular languages and platforms like .NET, Node.js, Python, Java, C++, PHP, Go, and Unity. Integration is designed to be quick, allowing developers to achieve their first validation call in minutes. The API provides comprehensive responses including validity, expiry, seats, features, and trial status.
- Operational Visibility: The platform offers a unified dashboard to track critical metrics such as activations, devices, customers, revenue, suspicious usage, and webhook events, providing a clear operational view of licensing activities.
- Advanced Licensing Models: Beyond basic controls, PermitCore facilitates complex licensing scenarios like:
- Node-locked: Bind access to approved devices and manage transfers.
- Floating: Share concurrent seats across a team or network.
- Offline: Activate air-gapped machines with signed tokens.
- Subscriptions & Perpetual: Keep access aligned with recurring billing or sell lasting access with optional maintenance windows.
- Metered: Track usage and charge through Stripe automatically.
Security Architecture:
PermitCore emphasizes security with a "zero-knowledge" approach to license keys. Keys are encrypted client-side with AES-256-GCM before storage, meaning plaintext keys are never stored on the server. The API validates a keyed lookup value, preventing key leaks. Additional security features include tenant isolation with PostgreSQL row-level security and signed offline tokens using ECDSA P-256 for air-gapped software. Users also have the option for EU-hosted or self-hosted (Enterprise plan) deployments, offering complete infrastructure and data control. The complete security architecture is available for review.
Pricing and Business Model:
PermitCore offers a transparent pricing structure, including a free plan for initial integrations and various paid plans based on activation volume and advanced features. Crucially, PermitCore charges 0% commission on store sales, allowing developers to retain all their revenue (minus payment provider fees). New customers can benefit from 3 months free on any paid plan.
Use Cases:
PermitCore is ideal for independent software vendors (ISVs), SaaS companies, and developers who need a reliable, secure, and flexible solution for managing software licenses, protecting their intellectual property, and monetizing their products efficiently. It simplifies the complexities of license management, allowing teams to focus on product development rather than building and maintaining a custom licensing system.
Business Continuity:
PermitCore addresses business cont...
