LicenseManagerCompare
LimeLM vs LicenseManager
A side-by-side look at LimeLM and LicenseManager: what each one does, which SDKs they ship, and what they cost at your volume.
LicenseManager is our product. Prices and features come from each vendor's public pricing page and documentation, checked on 2026-10-25. Report an error.
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.
LimeLM
Licensing service
wyDay's licensing service, built around the TurboActivate and TurboFloat native libraries.
- Free tier
- Up to 10 activations in total
- Paid plans from
- $17 / month
- Fee per sale
- None
- Billed on
- Total activations
Best for: Native Windows, macOS and Linux apps, in languages like C++, C# or Delphi.
What you'd pay
Enter your price and monthly sales to see the monthly cost of each tool, with the cheapest plan that fits.
Monthly revenue: €570.
- LimeLM is 23% more expensive than LicenseManager, a difference of €11.42 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.
What LicenseManager does differently
Lower cost
In every one of the 12 scenarios we computed, LicenseManager costs less than LimeLM. With 10 licenses sold a month at €19 each: with LicenseManager, you'd pay €14.62 less per month: LimeLM is 3.1x more expensive.
More SDKs
Official LicenseManager SDKs exist for Tauri, Swift, Ruby, and PHP, with no LimeLM equivalent.
Subscription licenses
LicenseManager keeps licenses valid while a subscription is paid, and stops them when it ends. LimeLM leaves renewing licenses with subscription payments to your own code. Recurring Stripe prices, valid while paid, every update included.
Larger free plan
On the free plans, LicenseManager allows 100 active licenses and LimeLM 10 activations.
Only active licenses count
LicenseManager's plans count licenses used in the last 90 days. LimeLM's count every activation ever made, used or not.
What LimeLM does well
Floating licenses
LimeLM supports floating licenses, while LicenseManager has no floating licenses. From the Plus plan, trials only below.
More SDKs
LimeLM has official SDKs for C++ and Delphi, which LicenseManager doesn't.
Lower entry price
The first paid plan is $17 per month on LimeLM, and €29 on LicenseManager.
Feature by feature
Features the vendor doesn't document are marked as such, not as missing.
| Feature | LicenseManager | LimeLM |
|---|---|---|
| Offline validationThe app can check a license without reaching the vendor's servers, usually with a signed file or token. | YesEd25519-signed tokens, checked offline | Yes |
| 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 | YesVerified trials |
| Perpetual licensesLicenses that never expire. | Yes | Yes |
| Updates for a limited timeCustomers keep the versions released while their license was valid, after it ends. | YesCustomers keep the last version released in their period | Not documented |
| Customer portalA page where customers find their keys and manage their devices on their own. | YesCustomers find their keys, free machines, cancel for a refund and manage their subscription | Not documented |
| Money back guaranteeCustomers cancel a license on their own during a set period: it stops working and their payment is refunded. | YesSet in days on each offer, refunded through your Stripe account | Not documented |
| Subscription licensesLicenses that renew with each recurring payment and stop when the subscription ends, without code on your side. | YesRecurring Stripe prices, valid while paid, every update included | NoYou update an expiration field from your payment processor |
| Stripe integrationLicenses are created from Stripe payments with no code on your side. | YesEach Stripe payment or subscription creates a license and emails the key | YesAlso PayPal, FastSpring, Skrill and authorize.net |
| 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. | NoUses your Stripe checkout or payment links | No |
| AnalyticsDashboards of licenses, usage or revenue. | YesActive machines, versions, platforms, revenue, MRR and churn | Not documented |
| Test modeA separate environment or sandbox to build the integration. | Yes | Not documented |
| Audit logA history of what happened to each license. | YesEvents on every license | Not documented |
| File hosting and downloadsThe vendor hosts your installers or packages. | No | Not documented |
| Outgoing webhooksYour server is notified of license events. | No | Not documented |
| Floating licensesA pool of seats shared by several machines, checked out and released. | No | YesFrom the Plus plan, trials only below |
| Usage meteringLicenses that count consumption, like API credits. | No | No |
| SSO for your teamSign in to the dashboard with SAML or another identity provider. | No | Not documented |
| Self-hostingRun the licensing server on your own infrastructure. | No | Not documented |
| Open sourceThe service's source code is public. | No | No |
SDKs compared
Licensing SDKs handle validation in your app. API clients wrap the REST API.
| Technology | LicenseManager | LimeLM |
|---|---|---|
| Electron | @licenseman/electronLicensing SDK | TurboActivate (Node.js / Electron)Licensing SDK |
| JavaScript | TypeScript SDKAPI client | TurboActivate (Node.js)Licensing SDK |
| Python | Python SDKAPI client | TurboActivate (Python)Licensing SDK |
| Go | Go SDKAPI client | TurboActivate (Go)Licensing SDK |
| Java | Java SDKAPI client | TurboActivate (Java)Licensing SDK |
| C# (.NET) | C# SDKAPI client | TurboActivate (C#)Licensing SDK |
| PHP | PHP SDKAPI client | REST API |
| Ruby | Ruby SDKAPI client | REST API |
| C++ | REST API | TurboActivate (C/C++)Licensing SDK |
| Swift | licensemanager-swiftLicensing SDK | REST API |
| Delphi | REST API | TurboActivate (Delphi)Licensing SDK |
| Tauri | tauri-plugin-licensemanagerLicensing SDK | REST API |
| REST APIUsable from any language | YesWith an OpenAPI document | Yes |
Every plan
LicenseManager
| Plan | Per month | Active licenses (last 90 days) | API requests / month | Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | €0 | 100 | 10,000 | 3 |
| Startup | €29 | 1,000 | 100,000 | 10 |
| Standard | €99 | 5,000 | 1,000,000 | Unlimited |
| Custom | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited | - |
- Every feature is on every plan, plans only differ by their limits.
- No fee on sales: payments go to your own Stripe account.
- Over a limit, a 7-day grace period starts and the app keeps working.
LimeLM
| Plan | Per month | Total activations | Products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10 | 1 |
| Solo | $17 | 300 | 1 |
| Basic | $47 | 1,200 | 3 |
| Plus | $81 | 3,000 | 4 |
| Plus-Plus | $165 | 10,000 | 5 |
| Premium | $249 | 30,000 | 6 |
| Max | $599 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
- Plans limit the total number of activations, not monthly activations.
- Floating licenses are limited to trials below the Plus plan.
- Paid plans have a 30-day free trial when you sign up for them directly.
Which one to choose
Choose LicenseManager for indie developers and small teams selling desktop apps with Stripe, who want licensing without building a backend. Choose LimeLM for native Windows, macOS and Linux apps, in languages like C++, C# or Delphi. In 12 of 12 price scenarios, LicenseManager costs less than LimeLM.
What sets LicenseManager apart here: lower cost, more SDKs, and subscription licenses.
Other comparisons
Try LicenseManager for free
Up to 100 active licenses for free, every feature included, no credit card.