Whop for SaaS: sell software with Whop license keys

Whop can run billing for a SaaS: it handles checkout, subscriptions and payments, and your app asks Whop whether a customer has access. For downloadable software, Whop also issues a unique license key per purchase, which your server can validate through the API.

We use this ourselves. WhopForWoo is sold on Whop, and the license key you receive at purchase is a Whop license key. This page explains both SaaS models and where a WooCommerce store fits, honestly: often it doesn’t need to.

Two SaaS models on Whop

Web app: access check

Whop’s SaaS guide: create a checkout configuration from your server with your own user ID in metadata, redirect to the purchase_url (or embed the Checkout element), listen for membership.activated on a signed webhook to store the buyer’s Whop user ID, then call checkAccess before serving paid features. Renewals, cancellations and refunds are reflected in the answer, so you don’t track billing state yourself.

Downloadable software: license keys

1. Install Whop’s Software app on the product and add the software name and download link. Buyers then see the key and download in their orders. The API returns license_key only for products with this app.
2. Your software sends the key and a machine identifier to your server.
3. Your server calls retrieve membership with the key (“Retrieve accepts a license key in place of a membership ID”; unknown keys return 404), checks the status (Whop’s example accepts active, trialing, completed), and binds a hwid in metadata on first use.
4. Customers can reset their key from their orders; your server can reset it by updating metadata to {}.

Never ship the Whop API key inside the software: it can read and change every membership in your business.

How we license WhopForWoo with Whop

Our license server is a small Worker. When you activate WhopForWoo on a site, the plugin sends the key and site URL to our server; the server checks the membership with Whop’s API (our API key stays there) and stores the activated sites in the membership metadata. Plans map to site limits: 1, 5 or unlimited. If the license expires, the plugin keeps taking payments; only updates and support stop. A worked guide is in Whop license keys.

Where WooCommerce fits

WhopForWoo is a WooCommerce payment gateway that charges one-time payments for WooCommerce orders. It makes sense for a SaaS when:

• you already sell through a WooCommerce store (for example WordPress plugins, themes, templates, or one-time software licenses);
• you want Whop as the processor and WooCommerce as the storefront, coupons and tax engine.

It is the wrong tool when you need monthly or yearly subscriptions billed automatically: WhopForWoo does not do recurring billing through WooCommerce Subscriptions. Use Whop’s recurring products with checkout links or the embedded Checkout element instead, and gate access with the check above. See Whop subscriptions on WooCommerce.

Pros and cons of Whop for SaaS

Pros

• License keys built in, no separate licensing service.
• Subscriptions, trials, promo codes and a billing portal where customers update payment methods and cancel.
• Signed webhooks (Standard Webhooks, HMAC-SHA256) and a sandbox for testing.
• Affiliate program built in (Whop’s global affiliates default to 30% commission).

Cons

• Card fees start at 2.7% + $0.30, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% for conversion. Compare with Whop vs Stripe.
• Whop requires every offer to disclose its access period, so open-ended “forever” deals are out; sell a “one-time payment” with a stated access or update period.
• New accounts can face reserves, and access depends on Whop keeping your account in good standing.
• Membership metadata is merged on update and has size limits, so design your activation data compactly.
• Hacking tools, data-scraping tools, game cheats and fake-engagement software are prohibited. Whop decides eligibility.