LicenseManagerComparison
Keygen vs Anystack
How do Keygen and Anystack differ? A factual comparison of their features, SDKs and pricing.
This page is written by the team behind LicenseManager, an alternative to both. Prices and features come from each vendor's public pricing page and documentation, checked on 2026-10-25. Report an error.
Keygen
Licensing service
A licensing and distribution API, available as a cloud service or self-hosted.
- Free tier
- Up to 100 active licenses
- Paid plans from
- $99 / month
- Fee per sale
- None
- Billed on
- Licenses active in the last 90 days
Best for: Teams that need advanced licensing models, like floating or metered licenses, or want to self-host.
Anystack
Sales, licensing and distribution platform
A platform to sell, license and distribute software, with a checkout on your Stripe account.
- Free tier
- No monthly fee, 15% per sale
- Paid plans from
- $39 / month
- Fee per sale
- 4% to 15%
- Billed on
- Active licenses
Best for: Developers who want checkout, licensing and auto-updates for Electron or PHP packages in one tool.
Price comparison
Enter your price and monthly sales to compare Keygen, Anystack and LicenseManager.
Monthly revenue: €2,450.
- Anystack is 90% more expensive than Keygen: you'd save €141 per month with Keygen.
- Keygen is 56% more expensive than LicenseManager, a difference of €56.14 per month.
- Anystack is 3x more expensive than LicenseManager, a difference of €197 per month.
Per month, excluding VAT. Assumes one-time purchases and customers using your app for 4 months, with Stripe's fees for the tools that aren't a merchant of record.
When to choose Keygen
Never more expensive
Keygen costs less than Anystack in 11 of 12 scenarios we computed. They cost the same in the 1 others. When 10 sales a month at €49: Anystack is 6.2x more expensive than Keygen, a difference of €73.50 per month.
No cut of your sales
With Keygen, a higher license price doesn't mean higher fees. Anystack takes at least 4% per sale on sales through its hosted checkout.
Self-hosting
Keygen can be self-hosted. Anystack is cloud only. Keygen CE (free) and Keygen EE (paid).
Free to start
Keygen has a free plan with no fee on sales, up to 100 active licenses. Anystack has no free tier without fees.
Open source
Unlike Anystack, Keygen is open source.
Official SDKs
Official Keygen SDKs exist for Go, with no Anystack equivalent.
Where Anystack fits better
Stripe integration
Anystack creates licenses from Stripe payments without code, while Keygen has no native Stripe integration.
More SDKs
For Electron, JavaScript, PHP, WordPress, Python, Ruby, and Tauri, Anystack has an official SDK and Keygen doesn't.
Built-in checkout
Unlike Keygen, Anystack includes a hosted checkout.
Lower entry price
The first paid plan is $39 per month on Anystack, and $99 on Keygen.
Features compared
| Feature | Keygen | Anystack |
|---|---|---|
| Offline validationThe app can check a license without reaching the vendor's servers, usually with a signed file or token. | Yes | Not documented |
| Machine activation limitsA license can be limited to a number of devices, enforced by the service. | Yes | Yes |
| TrialsTime-limited licenses to let users try the app. | Yes | Not documented |
| Perpetual licensesLicenses that never expire. | Yes | Yes |
| Updates for a limited timeCustomers keep the versions released while their license was valid, after it ends. | Yes | YesAccess limited to the latest release at expiry |
| Customer portalA page where customers find their keys and manage their devices on their own. | Not documented | YesCustomers activate and revoke their own devices |
| Subscription licensesLicenses that renew with each recurring payment and stop when the subscription ends, without code on your side. | NoYou renew and suspend licenses from your own Stripe webhook handler, or Zapier | NoRecurring packages are announced as coming soon |
| Stripe integrationLicenses are created from Stripe payments with no code on your side. | NoThrough Zapier, or your own webhook handler | Yes |
| Merchant of recordThe vendor sells on your behalf and handles sales tax and VAT for you. | No | No |
| Built-in checkoutA hosted checkout page sold with the tool. | No | Yes |
| AnalyticsDashboards of licenses, usage or revenue. | Yes | Not documented |
| Test modeA separate environment or sandbox to build the integration. | YesCustom environments | Not documented |
| Audit logA history of what happened to each license. | Yes | Not documented |
| File hosting and downloadsThe vendor hosts your installers or packages. | YesDocker, npm, RubyGems, PyPI, Tauri, Electron and binaries | YesElectron, Electron Builder, Composer, npm and PyPI updates |
| Outgoing webhooksYour server is notified of license events. | Yes | Not documented |
| Floating licensesA pool of seats shared by several machines, checked out and released. | Yes | Not documented |
| Usage meteringLicenses that count consumption, like API credits. | Yes | Not documented |
| SSO for your teamSign in to the dashboard with SAML or another identity provider. | YesSAML on Ent tiers | Not documented |
| Self-hostingRun the licensing server on your own infrastructure. | YesKeygen CE (free) and Keygen EE (paid) | No |
| Open sourceThe service's source code is public. | Yes | No |
SDKs and languages
| Technology | Keygen | Anystack |
|---|---|---|
| Electron | REST API | Electron integrationLicensing SDK |
| JavaScript | REST API | Node.js integrationLicensing SDK |
| Python | REST API | Python integrationLicensing SDK |
| Go | keygen-goLicensing SDK | REST API |
| PHP | REST API | PHP integrationLicensing SDK |
| Ruby | REST API | Ruby integrationLicensing SDK |
| Tauri | REST API | Tauri integrationLicensing SDK |
| WordPress | REST API | WordPress integrationLicensing SDK |
| REST APIUsable from any language | Yes | Yes |
Plans and limits
Keygen
| Plan | Per month | Active licenses (last 90 days) | Products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dev | $0 | 100 | 1 |
| Std 1 | $99 | 1,000 | 5 |
| Std 2 | $299 | 10,000 | Unlimited |
| Std 3 | $599 | 25,000 | Unlimited |
| Std 4 | $999 | 100,000 | Unlimited |
| Std 5 | $1,999 | 250,000 | Unlimited |
| Ent 1 | $2,999 | 250,000 | Unlimited |
| Ent 2 | $6,999 | 500,000 | Unlimited |
| Ent 3 | $9,999 | 1,000,000 | Unlimited |
- Active licensed users are licenses with API activity in the last 90 days.
- Paid tiers have soft limits.
- Keygen CE can be self-hosted for free, Keygen EE under a paid license.
- Whitelabel API domain: $995 per year per domain.
Anystack
| Plan | Per month | Fee per sale | Active licenses | Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusive | $0 | 15% | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Growth | $39 | 10% | 500 | 5 |
| Pro | $79 | 7% | 2,500 | 10 |
| Managed | $149 | 4% | 5,000 | 25 |
| Custom | Custom | - | Unlimited | - |
- The platform fee applies only to sales through Anystack's hosted checkout.
- Payments go to your own Stripe account, Stripe fees apply.
- Yearly billing gets one month free.
Verdict
Keygen suits teams that need advanced licensing models, like floating or metered licenses, or want to self-host. Anystack is a good fit for developers who want checkout, licensing and auto-updates for Electron or PHP packages in one tool. In 11 of 12 price scenarios, Keygen costs less than Anystack, and the same in 1.
The main reasons to pick Keygen: never more expensive, no cut of your sales, and self-hosting.
Also consider LicenseManager
At 50 sales a month at €49, LicenseManager costs €99.69 per month, below Keygen and Anystack.
LicenseManager
Our productLicensing service
License keys for desktop apps, created from Stripe payments and validated with one request.
- Free tier
- Up to 100 active licenses
- Paid plans from
- €29 / month
- Fee per sale
- None
- Billed on
- Licenses active in the last 90 days
Best for: Indie developers and small teams selling desktop apps with Stripe, who want licensing without building a backend.
Official SDKs
For Electron, Tauri, Swift, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, C# (.NET), and PHP, LicenseManager has an official SDK and Keygen doesn't.
Subscription licenses
Unlike Keygen, LicenseManager keeps licenses valid while a subscription is paid, and stops them when it ends. Recurring Stripe prices, valid while paid, every update included.
Compare with LicenseManager
See if LicenseManager fits your app
The Free plan includes every feature, for up to 100 active licenses. No credit card needed.