Licensing models
Floating licenses, explained
A floating license shares a pool of seats across users, available concurrently rather than bound to a device. Here's how floating works, how it differs from node-locked, and where Keylight fits.
Start FreeUpdated June 2026
Floating licensing answers a different question than node-locked. Not “which devices may run this?” but “how many people may run it at once?” It’s the model for shared environments — and it’s worth understanding exactly what it is before you decide you need it.
What is a floating license
A floating license is a pool of seats used concurrently. Own ten floating seats and any ten users can run the software at the same time; when one quits, that seat returns to the pool for the next person. Nothing is bound to a specific machine — the seat floats to whoever needs it.
Classic uses: a computer lab, a classroom, a large team where expensive software is shared rather than assigned. You buy for peak concurrent use, not for headcount.
Floating vs node-locked
Node-locked ties a license to specific devices, up to a limit. Floating shares a concurrent pool with no device binding. The rule of thumb:
- Sell to individuals or small teams → node-locked. A license is for their machines.
- Shared or rotating environments → floating. Pay for how many run at once.
Most indie and pro desktop apps sold directly are node-locked. Floating shows up mostly in enterprise, education, and engineering software with concurrency-based contracts.
When you need floating
You need true floating when usage is genuinely concurrent and rotating — many more people than seats, never all active at once, and you’re pricing on simultaneous use. That requires a check-in/check-out mechanism and often a license server to broker availability. It’s powerful, and it’s heavier than most apps need.
If your real goal is just “license a team,” that’s usually seat-based licensing, not floating — a fixed pool of seats assigned to people or devices, without live concurrency brokering.
Floating vs seat-based licensing in Keylight
Be straight about it. Keylight today does node-locked device activations and seat-based licensing for teams — a license carries a pool of device seats you assign and free as people come and go. That covers most “license my team” needs cleanly, and it verifies offline.
What Keylight does not do today is strict concurrent floating — live check-in/check-out where a seat returns to a pool the instant someone closes the app. If you need that model at scale, a licensing engine built around it, like Cryptlex or LicenseSpring, is the right tool right now. For team and volume licensing without concurrency brokering, Keylight fits — Swift-first and cross-platform, with the seats managed for you.
Plans start at $19/month, with a free tier. License a team by seats, verified offline.
Frequently asked
What is a floating license?+
A floating license shares a pool of seats across many users, used concurrently. If you own 10 floating seats, any 10 users can run the software at once; when one stops, the seat returns to the pool for someone else. There's no fixed device binding — the seat floats.
Floating vs node-locked — what's the difference?+
Node-locked binds a license to specific devices up to a limit. Floating shares a concurrent pool with no fixed device. Node-locked suits apps sold to individuals; floating suits shared environments like labs, classrooms, and large teams where the same seats rotate across many people.
Does Keylight do floating licenses?+
Keylight today does node-locked device activations and seat-based licensing for teams — a license with a pool of device seats you manage. It does not do strict concurrent check-in/check-out floating. If you need true concurrency at scale, engines like Cryptlex or LicenseSpring specialize in that model.
Start licensing your app today
Drop in the Swift SDK, point it at your dashboard, and sell paid apps in under a minute. Free forever tier included.
Start Free