Ask HN: What are solid but not expensive ways to license desktop apps? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What are solid but not expensive ways to license desktop apps?

3 pointshellofunk4 comments

When not selling on the Mac or Windows app stores, what is a good way to release and license software on your own, without breaking the bank? Any good recommended licensing services? One that charges per-install rather than a large blanket fee would be nice. And one that can offer monthly app subscriptions rather than pay-once would be nice too.

I've worked with Nalpeiron in the past but it was very expensive and at least at the company I worked for, it was a single annual charge of quite a lot.

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I've been working on Keygen[0] for the past 9 months or so, a product/app licensing API with a focus on small- to medium-sized companies. I'll try not to get too sales-y, so Keygen lets you manage licenses for your products via a RESTful API, everything from your users to the machines they're allowed to use.

I'm currently working on adding an administrative dashboard so you can monitor metrics for each product to know what license types your users like, as well as other metrics like license churn, overdue license check-ins and more.

It's currently in closed beta, but I'd be happy to shoot you an invite if you're interested. I'll be offering affordable pricing for small- to medium-sized companies, with plans based on # of products, users and licenses.

I'd love to hear what you'd be willing to pay per month/year for a product like Keygen.

[0]: https://keygen.sh

Right now the main option I'm considering is Nalpeiron. I'll keep my eyes on keygen, though, thanks for the info.

How much is piracy currently affecting revenue? It may be the case that improved sales will improve revenue more readily than reducing piracy. Increase sales sufficiently, and the cost of software licensing solutions may become much more palitable.

Good luck.

No idea on their pricing, but I've seen a fair number of audio software companies using iLok (https://www.paceap.com/).

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