Choose node-locked for dedicated workstations and offline users, and floating when many occasional users can share a limited pool of seats. Node-locked is usually cheaper per seat and needs no server. Floating can cost less at scale, but only if your IT team can run a license server and keep it available.
TL;DR:
- Size a floating pool from measured peak simultaneous use, then add a buffer; occasional users may need far fewer seats than total headcount.
- Floating licensing requires a reachable, maintained server, compatible client and server systems, and outage planning; include hosting and administration in its total cost.
- Node locked licenses suit dedicated or offline workstations, but hardware failure can leave a seat unusable until the vendor resets or reissues it.
- Before signing, get emergency reissue timing, machine transfer rules, and any midterm conversion fees in writing, especially if seat needs may change.
- A mixed setup can reserve node locked seats for offline workstations while occasional users share a floating pool, provided IT can maintain the server.
Table of Contents
- What do node-locked and floating licenses mean?
- How do activation, host IDs and license servers work?
- What does each model cost in real terms?
- What changes for administrators day to day?
- How do you choose and size a license pool?
- What should you verify before signing a contract?
- Where local-first software changes the licensing question
- Compare LawtonPDF plans for your team
- FAQ
- Sources
What do node-locked and floating licenses mean?
Vendors use different labels for similar ideas, so it helps to fix the vocabulary before comparing prices.
- Node-locked: The license is tied to a specific machine through a host ID or MAC address. According to Reprise's license model documentation, it restricts the software to that one computer.
- Floating (concurrent): A central license server holds a pool of seats. Users check a seat out when they open the application and return it when they close it.
- Named user (authorized user): The license belongs to a person, not a machine or a pool. Wichita State's software license definitions separate this from concurrent licensing and from the subscription versus perpetual distinction.
- Named device: Some vendors use "named" for the machine instead of the person, so confirm which one a quote means.
Per user versus device licensing is the same question in different words: what exactly does one seat attach to?
How do activation, host IDs and license servers work?
A node-locked license is activated against a hardware fingerprint, such as a MAC address, a volume serial number or a dongle. Because the check happens on the machine itself, node-locked licenses generally do not require a license server, which keeps the first deployment simple. The same documentation describes counted and uncounted variants.
Floating licenses work differently. The application contacts a license server on your network and asks for a seat. If one is free, it is checked out and held until the user closes the application or the session ends. If the pool is empty, the next user is denied until a seat frees up.
Vendors sometimes add limits to floating licenses, such as access restrictions by time zone or location. Ask about those before you sign.
Compatibility is another detail to raise early. License servers often run on a specific operating system, and the client machines must reach them over the network. Confirm both sides match your environment, including any virtual machines, because a copied or cloned virtual machine can change the host ID a node-locked license depends on.
What does each model cost in real terms?
The pattern is consistent. Node-locked seats tend to cost less each, while a floating pool costs more per license. A Texas Wesleyan Law Review article on enterprise licensing notes that floating licenses carry higher upfront and infrastructure costs. It also notes they can be more economical at scale, because a smaller pool can serve a larger group of occasional users.
Count the hidden costs on both sides:
- Floating: license server hardware or hosting, IT time for monitoring and patching, and planning for outages.
- Node-locked: replacement or re-key work when a machine fails, plus manual reassignment when staff change devices.
- Both: renewal terms, support tiers and upgrade eligibility.
A simple breakeven check works like this. Estimate peak concurrent users, not total headcount. Add a buffer to get the number of floating seats you need. Compare that count, plus server upkeep, against the number of dedicated seats you would otherwise buy. If your users are in the app all day, the pool shrinks very little. If they open it a few times a week, the pool can be a fraction of your headcount.
Pro Tip: Pull real usage logs from a trial period before you buy. Peak concurrency is almost always lower than people guess, and the buffer you add should come from data, not instinct.
What changes for administrators day to day?
Floating licenses need a maintained license server that every client can reach. Unity's support team describes the tradeoff plainly: floating licenses require a license server and admin maintenance, while node-locked licenses are managed through vendor portals and often need manual reassignment. Floating suits a centralized IT team, and node-locked suits dedicated users.
If your team lacks the capacity to run that server, a managed provider can help. Secure Techies supports law firms and small businesses with infrastructure design, monitoring and backup, which covers the availability work a license server needs.
Node-locked licenses shine on air-gapped or regularly offline workstations, since nothing has to phone home to a server. The cost is rigidity. If the workstation fails or is replaced, the license may stay unusable until the vendor resets the association, and that delay can stall work.
Security deserves its own checklist:
- Decide who administers the license server and who can change its configuration.
- Restrict checkouts by subnet or VPN where the vendor allows it.
- Keep audit logs of who checked out what and when.
- Schedule maintenance windows so a patch does not strand your users mid-project.
How do you choose and size a license pool?
Work through these steps in order, and write the answers down for your purchasing record.
- Split your users. Count people who use the software daily on one machine versus people who use it occasionally or from several places.
- Check offline needs. List any workstations that are air-gapped or often disconnected. Those lean node-locked.
- Assess IT capacity. Decide who would run a license server and what happens when it goes down.
- Estimate concurrency. Measure peak simultaneous use, then add a buffer for busy periods and planned growth.
- Compare totals. Price the node-locked count against the floating pool plus server and admin costs.
- Review contract flexibility. Check whether you can change models or seat counts mid-term.
A few scenarios show how this plays out. A power user on a dedicated machine may be a good fit for node-locked licensing. A small firm where people on a team need the tool at different times may fit a floating pool. Plenty of organizations land on a mix: node-locked for fixed desks and offline machines, floating for everyone else.
What should you verify before signing a contract?
Procurement traps usually appear after a laptop dies or a team reorganizes. Ask the vendor how deactivation and reassignment of node-locked licenses work, and how fast they re-issue one in an emergency. As the Reprise documentation points out, a failed workstation can leave a license unusable until the vendor resets it.
Then ask about conversion. Can you move from node-locked to floating, or back, mid-term? Are there fees, and do you get credit for what you already paid?
Put these clauses in writing:
- An emergency re-issue response time.
- Defined transfer windows for moving licenses between machines.
- Clear definitions of "concurrent" and "named" in the agreement itself.
Where local-first software changes the licensing question
Our view is shaped by how we build. We process documents on your own computer, so the privacy-sensitive teams we serve, in legal, finance and healthcare, are not routing files through a cloud service to get work done. That makes per-seat plans a natural fit for buyers who want clear records of who has the software.
Most licensing debates assume a shared server is the only way to stretch seats. For document work on sensitive files, the better question is often where the processing happens, and who can see the files.
If you want to test this against your own workflow, try the Free plan or contact us about team licensing.
— Lawton
Compare LawtonPDF plans for your team
We built our plans around who actually uses PDF tools every day.
- Plus: for individuals and small teams who want to use PDF tools on their own machines.
- Business: for organizations that need centralized team administration and management.
- Free: a limited version you can start with today to see how the tools fit your work.
Because we process documents locally, your files stay on your hardware, which can matter for data residency and privacy requirements in procurement. Compare seat models and ask our team about team licensing on our pricing page.
FAQ
What does a node-locked license mean?
A node-locked license ties the software to one specific machine, usually through a host ID or MAC address. It generally needs no license server, so it works well on dedicated or offline workstations. The tradeoff is that replacing the machine means asking the vendor to reset the license.
What does floating license mean?
A floating license, also called a concurrent license, lets a set number of people use the software at the same time from any machine on the network. A central license server hands out seats and takes them back when users close the application. When all seats are in use, the next person waits until one frees up.
Which is cheaper, node-locked or floating?
Node-locked is usually cheaper per seat. Floating can cost less overall when many occasional users share a smaller pool, but you must add server and admin costs to the comparison.
How many floating seats should you buy?
Measure peak simultaneous use, then add a buffer for busy periods and growth. Buying for total headcount defeats the purpose of a shared pool.