New: Staggered Rollouts

Sell, licence & update your plugins without the middleman

LicenceForge is a self-hosted WordPress licensing server. Generate keys, enforce activations, serve secure updates, and collect payments — all from your own site. One payment. Lifetime updates. Full control.

Get LicenceForge — €350 See how it works

POST /wplf/v1/licenses/validate

{
  "license_key": "XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX",
  "product_slug": "my-plugin",
  "site_url": "https://client-site.com"
}

// Response
{
  "valid": true,
  "status": "active",
  "activations": 1,
  "activation_limit": 5,
  "features": ["pro", "analytics"],
  "update_available": true,
  "latest_version": "2.4.0"
}

Trusted by WordPress developers and agencies worldwide

The SaaS licensing trap

Revenue share eats your margins Freemius takes 7%. Gumroad takes 10%. Every sale, forever.
You don't own your customer data Your licences, analytics, and customer relationships live on someone else's servers.
Vendor lock-in is real Migrating away means rebuilding your entire licensing stack from scratch.
Monthly fees compound over time Annual renewals turn a one-time need into an ongoing cost centre.

The LicenceForge way

0% revenue share, forever One flat payment of €350. Keep every cent of every sale you make.
100% data ownership Runs on your server, under your domain. Customers, keys, and analytics are yours.
No lock-in, full control It's a WordPress plugin. Extend it, customise it, make it your own.
Lifetime updates included Pay once. Get every future version — v3, v5, v10. No renewal required.

Everything you need to
monetise plugins & themes

One plugin. Zero external dependencies. Full lifecycle coverage.

Licence Management

Generate cryptographically secure keys, track per-site activations, support lifetime or expiring licences, and offer time-limited trials with one-trial-per-email enforcement.

Cryptographic key generation & rotation
Per-site activation tracking with limits
Lifetime & expiring licence types
Trial periods with abuse prevention
Feature gating by plan or tier
Grace periods & batch operations

licence-check.php

// Check if the licence is active
$licence = WPLF_Client::validate();

if ( $licence->valid ) {
    // Gate features by plan
    if ( WPLF_Client::has_feature('analytics') ) {
        // Pro-only functionality
        load_analytics_dashboard();
    }
}

Stripe & WooCommerce

Automatic licence creation on purchase. Subscription renewals, refund handling, and webhook reliability built in. Run both payment gateways simultaneously.

Stripe Checkout integration
WooCommerce & Subscriptions support
Automatic licence provisioning
Subscription renewal handling
Refund & dispute management
Idempotent webhook processing

webhook-payload.json

{
  "event": "checkout.session.completed",
  "licence_created": true,
  "key": "LF-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX",
  "product": "my-plugin-pro",
  "plan": "business",
  "features": ["pro", "analytics"]
}

Secure Updates & Rollouts

Serve plugin and theme updates through WordPress's native update system. Staggered rollouts let you ship to a percentage of customers first.

WordPress native update API
S3 & local file storage
Signed download tokens
SHA-256 package integrity checks
Staggered rollouts with deterministic bucketing
Version & changelog management

update-response.json

{
  "version": "2.4.0",
  "download_url": "https://...?token=signed",
  "sha256": "a1b2c3d4...",
  "rollout_percentage": 25,
  "changelog": "Bug fixes & perf...",
  "requires_php": "7.4"
}

Enterprise Security

AES-256-CBC encryption, HMAC-hashed keys that are never stored in plaintext, device fingerprinting, and full GDPR compliance out of the box.

AES-256-CBC encryption
HMAC-SHA256 key hashing
Device fingerprinting
Per-endpoint rate limiting
IP hashing for privacy
GDPR export & erasure support

security-headers.txt

# Every API response includes
X-RateLimit-Limit: 60
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 58
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
X-WPLF-Signature: sha256=a1b2c3...

# Keys are never stored in plaintext
stored_hash: hmac_sha256(key, salt)
encryption: AES-256-CBC

Developer Experience

Full REST API with 25+ endpoints, scoped API keys, comprehensive WordPress hooks and filters, and a drop-in client library.

Full REST API (25+ endpoints)
Scoped API keys (read/write/admin)
WordPress hooks & filters
Drop-in client library (3 files)
Non-WordPress support via REST
Comprehensive documentation & wiki

curl

# Validate a licence via REST
curl -X POST \
  https://your-site.com/wplf/v1/licenses/validate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer API_KEY" \
  -d '{"license_key":"LF-XXXX"}'

# Use WordPress hooks
add_filter('wplf_validate_response',
  function($response) {
    // Customise validation
    return $response;
});

Up and running in minutes

Install the plugin, register your products, and start selling.

Install & Configure

Upload LicenceForge to any WordPress site. Connect Stripe or WooCommerce. Configure your products, pricing tiers, and activation limits.

Integrate the Client

Drop three PHP files into your plugin or theme. The client library handles licence validation, activation, and automatic updates via WordPress hooks.

Sell & Scale

Customers purchase, receive a licence key automatically, and get updates through the WordPress dashboard. Monitor everything from your admin panel.

Three files.
Full integration.

The LicenceForge client library gives your plugin or theme everything it needs: licence validation, admin UI with activation controls, and automatic updates through the WordPress update system. Just require_once and initialise.

class-wplf-client.php Core licensing — validation, activation, feature checks
class-wplf-client-admin.php Admin UI — licence entry, status display, activation management
class-wplf-client-updater.php Auto-updates — hooks into WordPress's native update system

Non-WordPress projects? The REST API works with Laravel, SaaS apps, and anything that speaks HTTP.

my-plugin.php

// Require the client files
require_once __DIR__ . '/class-wplf-client.php';
require_once __DIR__ . '/class-wplf-client-admin.php';
require_once __DIR__ . '/class-wplf-client-updater.php';

// Initialise on plugins_loaded
add_action( 'plugins_loaded', function() {
    new WPLF_Client([
        'api_url'      => 'https://your-site.com',
        'product_slug' => 'my-plugin',
        'version'      => '1.0.0',
        'plugin_file'  => __FILE__,
    ]);
});

// Check features anywhere
if ( WPLF_Client::has_feature('analytics') ) {
    // Pro-only functionality
}

0+ REST API Endpoints

0 Files to Integrate

€0 Monthly Fees

0% Self-Hosted & Owned

How LicenceForge compares

See why self-hosted licensing makes more sense than SaaS platforms.

Feature	LicenceForge	Freemius	Gumroad	EDD + SL
Pricing model	One-time €350	Revenue share	% per sale	Annual renewal
Self-hosted
Revenue share	0%	7%	10%	0%
Ongoing fees	None	Monthly	Per sale	Annual
Feature gating
Staggered rollouts
Data ownership	100% yours	Third-party	Third-party	100% yours
Stripe + WooCommerce	Both	Custom gateway	Gumroad only	PayPal / Stripe

Developers love it

“We switched from Freemius and saved over €4,000 in the first year alone. The self-hosted approach means we finally own our customer data.”

Marcus R. Lead Developer at Agency X

“Integration was incredibly smooth. Three files, one init call, and my plugin had full licensing, activation tracking, and auto-updates. Best developer experience I've seen.”

Sarah K. Plugin Developer

“The staggered rollout feature alone is worth it. We caught a critical bug with 10% of users before it hit everyone. That's enterprise-level tooling for a one-time fee.”

James T. CTO at Theme Studio

The full picture

Every feature included. No upsells. No add-ons.

Licensing

Cryptographic key generation
Per-site activation tracking
Lifetime & expiring licences
Trial periods with abuse prevention
Key rotation for compromised keys
Batch operations
Grace periods

Payments

Stripe Checkout integration
WooCommerce & Subscriptions
Automatic licence provisioning
Subscription renewals
Refund & dispute handling
Idempotent webhooks
Run both gateways together

Distribution

WordPress native update API
S3 & local file storage
Signed download tokens
SHA-256 package integrity
Staggered rollouts
Version & changelog management
External URL redirects

Business

Revenue dashboard (MRR/ARR)
Churn & retention analytics
Version distribution tracking
Customisable email templates
Customer self-service portal
Complete audit logging
Health monitoring

Security

AES-256-CBC encryption
HMAC-SHA256 key hashing
Device fingerprinting
Per-endpoint rate limiting
IP hashing for privacy
GDPR export & erasure
Timing attack mitigation

Developer

Full REST API
Scoped API keys
WordPress hooks & filters
Drop-in client library
Non-WordPress support
Comprehensive documentation
Multisite compatible

Simple, honest pricing

One payment. No subscriptions. No per-licence fees. No revenue share.

Full LicenceForge plugin with all features
Client library for your plugins & themes
Lifetime updates — every future version included
Stripe & WooCommerce payment integrations
Install on one licensing server (unlimited products)
Complete documentation & wiki
No per-licence fees. No revenue share. Ever.

Get LicenceForge

Why a flat fee? LicenceForge is a tool for developers who build and sell their own products. You're technical enough to extend it, host it, and make it your own. A subscription doesn't make sense when you'll be running this for years. Pay once, own it, and build your business without ongoing costs eating into your margins.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to run LicenceForge?

Can I licence multiple plugins and themes?

What does "lifetime updates" mean?

Do I need WooCommerce or can I use Stripe directly?

Can I use LicenceForge for non-WordPress products?

Is this a SaaS? Where does my data live?

What if I want to modify the licensing code in my plugins?

Start licensing your plugins today

One payment. Full control. No recurring fees eating into your revenue.

Get LicenceForge — €350 Read the documentation