Sell software licences with a licence key delivered per sale
Selling software licences online means handing each buyer their own key the moment they pay. In Vonza a licence key is a product kind: load your keys or let Vonza generate them, set a one-time or subscription price, and every purchase issues one key on the thank-you page, the receipt and the buyer’s downloads page.
What a licence key product is
A licence key product is a product whose deliverable is a key: a string the buyer types into your software to unlock it. You sell the key, Vonza stores the keys, and each sale issues exactly one key to exactly one buyer. The buyer never sees anyone else’s key and a key is never issued twice.
Licence key is one of the seven kinds in the Vonza online store, beside digital downloads, physical goods, services, bundles, gift cards and links. It gets the same product page, pricing options, checkout, orders and insights as everything else you sell, so a software licence sits next to your course, your e-book or your coaching package in one store.
Keys are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM and hashed. In your admin you see only the first and last four characters of each key.
| Compared | Generate | Paste | Import a CSV |
|---|---|---|---|
| How many | Up to 1,000 keys at a time | Up to 5,000 keys | Up to 5,000 keys |
| Key shape | XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX, with no 0, 1, I, L or O so a key is easy to read aloud | Your own format, up to 200 characters each | Your own format, up to 200 characters each |
| Good for | Software whose activation server accepts any key you register | A short batch you already have from your licensing tool | A long export from your licensing tool |
How Vonza delivers each key
Load keys once, then every sale takes care of itself: one key per unit, issued once, shown only to its buyer.
Keys as stock
Your loaded keys are the product’s stock. Vonza issues them in order, one per unit bought, and shows you how many are left.
Issued once, at payment
The moment a purchase is paid, one key is attached to it. The same key is never issued to a second order, and a refunded order does not hand its key to anyone else.
Where the buyer finds it
On the thank-you page, in the receipt email and on their downloads page, hidden to the last four characters with Show and Copy buttons. It also lives in their Vonza account.
Revoke unused keys
Loaded a batch by mistake, or changed your key format? Revoke any key that has not been issued and it is never sold.
Everything a software seller needs
A licence key product is a full Vonza product, included in every Vonza plan with a 14-day free trial.
Encrypted at rest
Keys are stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM and hashed, so a key is readable only to the buyer who owns it.
Hidden until shown
The buyer’s page shows the last four characters with Show and Copy. Your admin shows the first and last four.
On the receipt too
The key goes out in the receipt email as well as on the thank-you page, so a buyer who closes the tab still has it.
In the buyer’s account
Buyers find every key, download and order in their Vonza account, with the files you attach to the product.
Coupons and sales
A coupon field at checkout, a compare-at price shown struck through and a scheduled sale with a start and end.
Bumps and one-click offers
Offer a second product as an order bump, and a one-click offer after a card payment, charged to the same card within 15 minutes.
Insights and automations
Views, paid orders, revenue after refunds and conversion for 7, 30 or 90 days; automations when a licence is bought.
Its own search listing
Every product page has its own URL, page title, meta description and keywords, with a search preview as you type.
Price a licence the way software is priced
A licence key product takes every price kind in Vonza, so a one-off perpetual licence, a monthly plan and a payment plan all come from the same product.
- One-time: one price, paid once. The classic perpetual licence.
- Subscription: charged every week, month or year, with optional free-trial days before the first charge.
- Instalments: split a larger licence into several payments.
- Pay what you want or free: a minimum you set, or a free key that turns the buyer into a contact.
- Add a compare-at price or put the licence on sale between two dates, and offer the key in several payment options at once.
Vonza vs Gumroad, Payhip, Lemon Squeezy and SendOwl for licence keys
Four other platforms say on their own pages that they issue licence keys. Here is what each page states, read on 14 November 2026.
| Compared | Vonza | Gumroad | Payhip | Lemon Squeezy | SendOwl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licence keys stated | Yes: generate up to 1,000 at a time, paste or import up to 5,000, revoke unused | “Generate license keys. Selling software? We can create your license keys” | “Software licenses. Selling software? We can handle the generation, storage and issuing of keys” | “Automatically issue license keys for your software after each sale. Deactivate, re-issue” | “Software & license keys. Auto-generate and manage licenses” |
| Platform fee on sales | Your payment provider’s own processing fee, plus a Vonza platform fee per transaction that depends on your plan (see the pricing page) | 10% + $0.50 per sale through your profile or direct links; 30% when a new customer buys through Discover | 5% on Free Forever, 2% on Plus, no transaction fee on Pro; “PayPal and Stripe will still charge at their standard rates” | 5% + 50¢; “Some payments may be subject to additional fees” | Not stated on SendOwl’s pricing page; plans are capped by orders and sales a year instead |
| Plan price | Included in every Vonza plan, 14-day free trial | $0 | Free Forever $0, Plus $29 a month, Pro $99 a month | $0 a month | Launch $39, Grow $87, Scale $159 a month; Business from $299 a month |
| Sales limit | None in the product; the number of products depends on your plan | Not stated | “Unlimited revenue” on every plan | Not stated | $10,000, $36,000, $100,000 and $200,000 in sales a year; “If your usage exceeds plan limits, you will be notified immediately and upgraded” |
| Who takes the payment | Your own connected Stripe or PayPal account (PayPal for one-time payments), or Paystack for Nigerian naira | Gumroad: “We’re a Merchant of Record” | Your own PayPal and Stripe accounts | Lemon Squeezy: “your merchant of record” | Not stated on the pages read |
| Sold beside | Digital downloads, physical goods, services, bundles, gift cards and links in one store; courses, memberships and communities in the same account | Digital products, memberships and subscriptions | Digital downloads, courses, coaching, memberships and physical products | Digital products and SaaS subscriptions; physical products not stated | Digital downloads, subscriptions, courses, physical products, pre-orders |
Figures are quoted from each vendor’s own pricing or feature page on the day named, and nothing is inferred. Where a page did not state something, the cell says so. Vonza’s platform fee depends on your plan and is on the pricing page.
- Gumroad: features read 14 November 2026; pricing read 5 November 2026. Evidence: products/gumroad-features-20261114.visible.txt, checkout/gumroad-20261105.visible.txt
- Payhip: Wayback captures of 24 October and 9 November 2026, read 14 November 2026. Evidence: products/payhip-digital-downloads-wayback-20261024.visible.txt, products/payhip-pricing-wayback-20261109.visible.txt
- Lemon Squeezy: read 14 November 2026. Evidence: products/lemonsqueezy-digital-20261114.visible.txt, products/lemonsqueezy-pricing-20261114.visible.txt
- SendOwl: read 14 November 2026. Evidence: products/sendowl-features-20261114.visible.txt, products/sendowl-pricing-20261114.visible.txt
How to sell a software licence in Vonza
Three steps in Products. Nothing is public until you publish.
- STEP 01
Create a Licence key product
Start a new product and choose the Licence key kind: “A software key issued per sale.” Name it, write the page and attach the installer or a download link under Content.
- STEP 02
Load your keys
Generate up to 1,000 keys at a time, paste the keys you already have, or import a CSV of up to 5,000. Revoke any you do not want sold.
- STEP 03
Set the price and publish
Pick one-time, subscription or instalments, add a compare-at price if you like, and publish. Each paid order now issues one key.
Questions about selling software licences
Get answers to common questions here
Create a product in your Vonza Products app and choose the Licence key kind. Load your keys by generating them, pasting them or importing a CSV, set a price, and publish. Every paid order then issues one key to the buyer on the thank-you page, in the receipt email and on their downloads page.
At payment, Vonza takes the next unused key from the product’s stock and attaches it to that order. The buyer sees it hidden to the last four characters with Show and Copy buttons on the thank-you page, gets it in the receipt email, and can come back to it on their downloads page and in their Vonza account. A key is issued once and never to a second order.
Yes. Vonza generates up to 1,000 keys at a time in the shape XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX, leaving out 0, 1, I, L and O so a key is easy to read and type. Your software needs to accept the keys you register, or you can paste or import keys from your own licensing tool instead.
Yes. Paste them or import a CSV of up to 5,000 keys, each up to 200 characters, in whatever format your software expects. Keys you no longer want sold can be revoked as long as they have not been issued.
Encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM and hashed. In your admin you see only the first and last four characters of a key; the full key is shown to the buyer who bought it.
Yes. A licence key product takes every Vonza price kind: one-time, a subscription charged weekly, monthly or yearly with optional free-trial days, instalments, pay what you want or free. The buyer receives one key per unit at purchase.
Buyers pay through your own connected Stripe account (card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Klarna), PayPal for one-time payments, or Paystack for sales in Nigerian naira. Your payment provider charges its own processing fee, and Vonza adds a platform fee per transaction that depends on your plan; the pricing page has the details.
All four state licence keys on their own pages. Gumroad charges 10% + $0.50 per direct sale and Lemon Squeezy 5% + 50¢, both as merchant of record; Payhip charges 5% on Free Forever, 2% on Plus and nothing on Pro; SendOwl caps plans by sales a year. Vonza sells the licence through your own Stripe or PayPal account beside your courses, downloads and services, with a platform fee that depends on your plan. The figures were read on 14 November 2026 and are in the table above.
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