Comparison
AuthForge vs Cryptlex
AuthForge gives you unlimited apps and licenses on one shared credit pool, billed by usage from $10 with no monthly minimum. Cryptlex is a full-featured commercial licensing platform with Starter $100/mo, Growth $300/mo, Business $600/mo, and Enterprise custom — verified on cryptlex.com/pricing as of September 2026. Corrections welcome at hello@authforge.cc.
| Feature | AuthForge | Cryptlex |
|---|---|---|
| Apps / products | Unlimited | Starter 3; Growth 10; Business 30; Enterprise unlimited |
| Activations / devices | Unlimited (credit-based validation) | Starter 1,000; Growth 5,000; Business 10,000 active activations |
| Billing model | Shared credit pool from $10, no minimum | $100 / $300 / $600 /mo (+ annual discount); Enterprise custom |
| Feature access | Every feature on every plan | Node-locked & named-user on Starter; hosted floating, portal, releases, metering from Growth; on-prem floating, resellers, custom domains, audit logs on Business |
| Free tier | 1,000 credits, all features, production | 30-day full-feature trial (no forever free production tier advertised) |
| Signed validation | Yes, Ed25519 by default | Cryptographic licensing / SDKs (LexActivator family) |
| Hardware / device locking | Yes, seats 1–16 | Yes, node-locked; floating on higher tiers |
| Managed Stripe + Lemon Squeezy | Stripe + Lemon built in | Stripe, FastSpring, Zapier integrations (Lemon not first-class) |
| Customer portal | Hosted & branded (magic-code login, self-serve HWID reset) | Customer portal from Growth |
| Release distribution | No | Releases + storage from Growth |
| Offline activations | Yes: cloud-minted Ed25519-signed .authforge license files verified locally by the SDK (HWID-bound, own expiry, no remote revoke), plus a grace period after online activation | Offline activations supported |
| Floating licenses | No | Hosted floating (Growth+); on-premise floating (Business+) |
| Self-hosting | Cloud only | Self-hosted / dedicated cloud on Enterprise |
| Docs for AI assistants | llms.txt + MCP | Extensive docs; no llms.txt / MCP advertised |
| SDKs | Python, Node, Go, Rust, C#, C++ | Broad native SDK coverage (Windows/macOS/Linux, mobile, etc.) |
No caps to plan around
Cryptlex's Starter plan already starts at $100/mo with product and activation ceilings, and floating licenses, the customer portal, and release hosting unlock on Growth ($300) and above. AuthForge has no product or seat plan ceilings: unlimited apps and licenses, every feature on every plan, billed only for validation traffic from a shared credit pool.
Where Cryptlex may still fit
Cryptlex is the better pick if you need hosted or on-premise floating licenses, release distribution, reseller channels, custom domains, audit logs, or an Enterprise path to self-hosted / dedicated deployment. It is a more complete "licensing + distribution + entitlement" suite for teams that expect those modules in one vendor.
Questions developers ask
How does pricing compare?
As of September 2026, Cryptlex lists Starter $100/mo, Growth $300/mo, Business $600/mo, and Enterprise custom (annual billing saves roughly a month). AuthForge starts from $10 in credits with no monthly minimum and unlimited apps/licenses.
Does AuthForge include floating licenses or release hosting?
No. AuthForge focuses on node-locked licensing with configurable seats, signed validation, and a hosted portal. Cryptlex wins if you need floating pools or built-in release management.
Is AuthForge a good Cryptlex alternative for indie desktop apps?
Often yes on price and simplicity — especially if you do not need floating licenses or release CDN features. If your roadmap includes those, Cryptlex's Growth/Business tiers are built for them.
Try it side by side
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