In short
- Perpetual: pay once, use that version for good. Subscription: pay for a period, renew to keep using it.
- Subscriptions usually need the software to check in; a time-limited licence with trusted time can expire offline instead.
- Free trials convert best when they're the full app, once per person, and turn into a purchase without reinstalling.
- Perpetual licences are also the ones customers can resell, with a royalty to you.
Perpetual licences
The customer pays once and keeps the version they bought. It's what many professional and offline users prefer, and it's the licence that can be resold, which turns copies that might have been passed on into sales with a royalty to you.
Subscriptions and term licences
A licence for a year (or a month), renewed to keep using the software. Steady revenue, but most implementations phone home to check the subscription, which fails offline. Pramaan's term licences carry their expiry inside the licence and judge it against the TPM's own clock, so they expire on time even on a machine that never connects, and rewinding the clock doesn't help.
Side by side
| Perpetual | Subscription / term | |
|---|---|---|
| Customer pays | Once | Every period |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes, with trusted time |
| Resale | Possible, with a royalty | Rarely |
| Best for | Tools, plugins, offline sites | Services, frequently updated software |
Free trials
A free trial should be the full app for a fixed time, once per person, ending cleanly and turning into a purchase without a reinstall. On Pramaan Marketplace you choose 7, 14 or 30 days and the licence length per app.
Questions
What is the difference between a perpetual and a subscription licence?
A perpetual licence is paid once and kept; a subscription is paid each period and stops when it isn't renewed.
Can a subscription licence work offline?
Yes, if the licence carries its own expiry and the computer has trusted time. Pramaan judges expiry against the TPM's clock.
Which licence can be resold?
Usually a perpetual licence. On Pramaan Marketplace, the publisher decides whether buyers can resell, sets a minimum price and earns a royalty.
Related guides
- How to Add a Free Trial to Your SoftwareAdd a free trial that can't be reset by reinstalling, changing the clock or making a new account, works offline, and turns into a purchase without reinstalling.
- Reselling Software Licenses: Used Software, SafelyCan you resell a software license? The law in the EU and US, how a licence moves to a new buyer's computer, and how escrow and royalties protect everyone.
- How to Sell Software Online and Get Paid InstantlySell desktop and phone apps online: free trials, offline licences, instant stablecoin payouts, licence resale with royalties, and no licence server to run.
See it working: follow the pictures, browse Pramaan Marketplace, or start free.