PermitCore vs Keygen, Cryptolens, LicenseSpring, and Cryptlex
A factual, dated comparison of five licensing platforms — including Store and checkout workflows, self-hosting, SDK coverage, and where each option is stronger.
If you're evaluating license management platforms, you've probably already run into Keygen, Cryptolens, and LicenseSpring. Rather than write three separate marketing pages that each quietly favor us, here's one honest rundown — pulled directly from each vendor's own current pricing page, not from memory, with the claims reviewed again against official sources on September 27, 2026.
PermitCore, briefly
€0 (Free, 50 activations/mo) → €29 (Starter, 1,000/mo) → €59 (Professional, 10,000/mo) → €299 (Enterprise, unlimited + self-hosted). 0% commission on the built-in license storefront. Default Admin-created keys use browser/passphrase encryption. Validation receives plaintext over HTTPS; Store delivery and optional escrow use server-managed protection. Review the access boundaries. 8 official SDKs: .NET, Node.js, Python, Java, C++, PHP, Go, Unity.
vs. Keygen
Keygen's free "Dev" tier allows 100 active licensed users (ALUs) and 10 product releases. Above that, paid Std/Ent tiers price through a live slider calculator rather than fixed published numbers — Keygen states it charges "a fair, flat monthly or yearly fee" with no revenue commission, same commitment PermitCore makes on Store sales.
Where Keygen is genuinely ahead: it offers a free, open self-hosted Community Edition (Keygen CE) alongside its paid Enterprise Edition — a more open self-hosting path than PermitCore's, which reserves self-hosting for the Enterprise plan. Where PermitCore differs: a built-in 0%-commission license storefront and passphrase encryption for Admin-created keys, neither of which Keygen's pricing page describes an equivalent to.
Full side-by-side comparison with Keygen →
vs. Cryptolens (now Devolens)
Worth knowing up front: Cryptolens is now operated under the Devolens company brand — Cryptolens remains the name of the licensing platform itself, and cryptolens.io/pricing now 301-redirects to devolens.com/pricing. Devolens' Free tier allows 10 active license keys and 15 end users; Business is €299/mo for 5,000 licenses, Scale is €699/mo for 10,000, and Enterprise is custom.
Devolens' pricing page lists support for subscriptions, usage-based, floating, node-locked, SDK-based, offline, and user-account licensing — a broadly similar model set to PermitCore's own. Cryptolens does offer hosted Payment Forms backed by Stripe or PayPal, which can create and deliver a license after purchase. PermitCore's distinction is a broader branded Store: a multi-product catalog, product pages, cart and checkout, customer access, and order management connected to the licensing system, with 0% PermitCore commission.
Full side-by-side comparison with Cryptolens/Devolens →
vs. Cryptlex
Cryptlex is a mature licensing platform with customer and reseller portals, release distribution, and payment automation. Its official custom-integration guide describes the commerce path as your payment provider calling your server, your server calling Cryptlex, and your own flow delivering the license. PermitCore instead includes the customer-facing product catalog, branded Store, provider checkout, order record, and automatic key delivery alongside license management.
Full side-by-side comparison with Cryptlex →
vs. LicenseSpring
LicenseSpring's Free tier is $0 for 100 active licenses and 1,000 API requests/month. Business Starter is $199/mo (1,000 licenses), Business Plus is $750/mo (10,000 licenses, unlimited activations), and Enterprise is custom with an on-premise floating license server and air-gapped deployment support.
Where LicenseSpring is still ahead: it publishes SDKs for 9 languages/platforms — C++, .NET, Java, Python, Go, Node.js, Swift, Android, and Unity — versus PermitCore's 8 (PermitCore added Go and Unity SDKs in September 2026, closing most of this gap). If you specifically need Swift or native Android today, LicenseSpring covers those and PermitCore doesn't yet. It also runs a startup program offering up to 75% off Business Plus for two years for VC-backed or early-stage companies.
Full side-by-side comparison with LicenseSpring →
The short version
All five platforms cover the same licensing fundamentals — node-locked, floating, offline, and metered licensing. The real differences are in what's bundled versus bolted on: PermitCore connects licensing to a branded Store, checkout, order management, and automatic delivery with 0% PermitCore commission; Keygen offers the most open self-hosting path; LicenseSpring covers the widest range of SDK languages and has a stronger startup discount. Which one fits depends on which of those you actually need.
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