Today we are making an important change to how AllowanceGuard is licensed. We are moving from the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0) to the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0), with a commercial dual-license option for enterprise users.
We want to be upfront about what this means, why we are doing it, and what it changes (and does not change) for you.
What Is Changing?
The license that governs AllowanceGuard's source code is changing from GPL-3.0 to AGPL-3.0. We are also introducing a commercial license option for organizations that need it.
In plain language:
- AGPL-3.0 is nearly identical to GPL-3.0, with one addition: if someone takes our code, modifies it, and runs it as a web service, they must share their modifications with users. GPL-3.0 only requires this when you distribute the actual software binary.
- Commercial license is an alternative for companies that cannot open-source their own code. They can license AllowanceGuard commercially instead of complying with AGPL-3.0.
Why Are We Doing This?
AllowanceGuard is a web application. Under GPL-3.0, a competitor could fork our entire codebase — including premium features — host it as their own web service, and never share a single line of their modifications with the community. This is known as the "SaaS loophole" in GPL-3.0.
AGPL-3.0 closes that loophole. If someone builds on AllowanceGuard and offers it as a network service, they must contribute their improvements back. This protects the community that built this tool.
The commercial license exists because we are building AllowanceGuard into a sustainable business. Some enterprise customers have policies that prevent them from using AGPL-licensed software. The commercial license gives them a path to use AllowanceGuard while supporting the project financially.
What Does NOT Change?
This is the most important part:
- The core scanner is still free and open source. You can scan your wallets, check your allowances, and revoke risky approvals without paying anything. Always.
- All existing open-source features remain available under AGPL-3.0. Nothing is being taken away.
- Individual users are completely unaffected. If you use AllowanceGuard through our website, nothing changes for you at all.
- Community contributions are still welcome. The project is still on GitHub, still open source, still community-driven.
- If you have forked AllowanceGuard for personal or non-commercial use, AGPL-3.0 works exactly the same as GPL-3.0 for you.
Who Is Affected?
The only people affected by this change are organizations that:
- Take AllowanceGuard's source code
- Modify it
- Run it as a web service for others
- Do not want to share their modifications
Under GPL-3.0, this was allowed. Under AGPL-3.0, they must either share their source code or purchase a commercial license. We think that is fair.
What About Contributors?
We are introducing a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) for new contributions. This is a standard practice for dual-licensed open-source projects. The CLA:
- Grants AllowanceGuard the right to offer your contributions under both AGPL-3.0 and the commercial license
- You keep full copyright ownership of your work
- Is signed once, automatically, through GitHub using CLA Assistant
Projects like MongoDB, Grafana, Nextcloud, and Minio all use a similar model. It is the industry standard for sustainable open-source businesses.
The Big Picture
We started AllowanceGuard because Web3 security should be accessible to everyone. That has not changed. The core tool is free, open source, and always will be.
But building and maintaining a security tool that people depend on costs real money — servers, API calls, security audits, development time. The dual license model lets us sustain the project without compromising on openness:
- Community users get a stronger copyleft license that protects the ecosystem
- Enterprise customers get a licensing option that fits their compliance needs
- The project gets a sustainable revenue path that funds continued development
Everyone wins.
Questions?
If you have questions about the license change, you can:
- Open a discussion on our GitHub repository
- Email us at legal.support@allowanceguard.com for licensing questions
- Email us at support@allowanceguard.com for general questions
Thank you for being part of the AllowanceGuard community. We are building something that matters, and we are doing it in the open.