ionCube

Name

ionCube

Legal name

ionCube Ltd.

Website

https://ioncube.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

PHP Code Protection Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210), Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths) (561621)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Code & Repository Security (Git Security, Code Integrity) (HDADACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

CI/CD & DevSecOps Security (Pipeline, Secrets, IaC Scanning) (HDADACAF)

Keywords

• PHP code protection
• PHP encoding software
• Code obfuscation tools
• Software licensing solutions
• Website security monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Canterbury

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses (Encoder): One-time perpetual licenses for PHP Encoder products across three editions: Basic (code protection only), Pro (with IP/domain/time restrictions), and Cerberus (with MAC address restrictions). Prices exclude VAT.
2. Extended Support Plans: Annual support and maintenance plans included with Pro and Cerberus editions. Support plans available separately for Basic edition users. Standard support via ticket system during UK business hours.
3. Online Licensing Service: Cloud-based license management system with plans for creating and managing license files. 2 months free included with new Pro/Cerberus purchases.
4. Package Foundry: Separate product for creating PHP application installers and packages.
5. ionCube Bundler: Product for bundling encoded files and dependencies.
6. Professional Services: Bespoke consultancy services including custom software design/development, website design/implementation, embedded systems hardware/firmware development, code review, and documentation review.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ionCube develops and sells PHP code protection software that encodes, encrypts, and obfuscates PHP source code into protected bytecode, paired with a runtime Loader that executes the encoded files. Its commercial portfolio centers on the ionCube PHP Encoder (Basic, Pro, and Cerberus editions), the cloud-based Online Encoder, the Online Licensing service for managing software licenses, Package Foundry and Bundler for application packaging, and ionCube24 for real-time website intrusion protection and error reporting.

Product overview

ionCube offers a unified product portfolio centered on PHP code protection through encoding, encryption, obfuscation, and licensing. The core product is the ionCube PHP Encoder, available in three tiers: Basic Edition (code protection with licensing tools), Pro Edition (adds IP/domain/time restrictions), and Cerberus Edition (maximum protection with MAC address restrictions and extended support). Supporting products include the cloud-based Online Encoder for quick encoding without local setup, Online Licensing for centralized license management, Package Foundry and Bundler for application distribution, the ionCube Loader runtime extension, and ionCube24 for real-time website security monitoring and error reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ionCube PHP Encoder: Secure code protection with powerful Encryption, Obfuscation, and Licensing for PHP code
• Package Foundry
• Bundler
• ionCube24

Products and services

• ionCube PHP Encoder The flagship product for secure encoding, encryption, obfuscation, and licensing of PHP code to protect intellectual property. Available in three editions: Basic (code protection with licensing tools), Pro (adds IP, domain, and time restrictions, Online License Manager, and advanced dynamic key encryption), and Cerberus (adds MAC address restrictions for maximum license control, with extended support plan included). Supports PHP 5, 7, and 8 (8.2–8.4 syntax, PHP 8.5 runtime). Targets commercial PHP software vendors, WordPress plugin/theme developers, SaaS providers, and PHP framework users.
• ionCube Online Encoder Cloud-based PHP encoding service for users who want premium-grade PHP protection without local software installation. Users upload source files, select the PHP target version, and receive encoded output through a streamlined workflow. Designed for smaller projects and one-off encoding needs.
• ionCube Online Licensing Online license management system for creating and managing license files for distributed PHP applications. Supports product version management, user details, expiry settings, and feature control. Two months of service are included free with new Pro and Cerberus Encoder purchases.
• ionCube Package Foundry Software packaging tool for creating installers and packaging PHP applications, including those encoded with the ionCube PHP Encoder, for distribution to end users.
• ionCube Bundler Tool for bundling multiple encoded files and resources together to simplify distribution of protected PHP applications.
• ionCube24 Realtime website intrusion protection and error reporting service. Protects PHP-based websites against malware and defacement with real-time detection, blocking of unexpected file modifications, and real-time PHP and JavaScript error reporting.

Quantifiable outcome

• Source code protected at bytecode level cannot be easily reverse engineered
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability2 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Security Researchers (Community)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity security researchers acknowledged for responsible disclosure: Nur A alam Dipu (@Dipu1A), Kenan Genç, Daher Mohamed (m0m0x01d, @DaherMohamed4). Formal bug bounty/security researcher program.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Cryptlex: Software licensing and entitlement management platform that overlaps with ionCube's Online Licensing product for PHP vendors. Comparable in use case (software licensing and activation) but language-agnostic rather than PHP-specific.
• LicenseSpring: Cloud-based software licensing platform with code protection and entitlement management features. Overlaps with ionCube's licensing functionality for software vendors across languages.

Broad incumbents

• Sucuri: Website security platform offering malware detection, intrusion prevention, and monitoring. Closely comparable to the ionCube24 product line as a website security and monitoring incumbent with broader platform coverage.
• Veracode: Broad application security platform covering SAST, DAST, and software composition analysis. While not focused on PHP encoding, it competes for the same application security budget at commercial PHP vendors and represents the broader incumbent category ionCube sits adjacent to.

Direct peers

• PHTML Encoder: Commercial PHP source code encoder that protects PHP scripts from unauthorized use. Operates in the same niche as ionCube with comparable perpetual license business model.
• phpSHIELD: PHP encoder and loader for protecting and licensing PHP scripts. Competes directly with ionCube at the lower end of the commercial PHP protection market.
• Nusphere PhpExpress: PHP encoder/loader from Nusphere that protects PHP source code and supports licensing. Direct functional competitor to ionCube for protecting and distributing commercial PHP applications.
• SourceGuardian: Closest direct competitor offering PHP encoder, loader, and licensing products for protecting PHP source code. Operates in the same product category, same target market (commercial PHP software vendors), and same business model (perpetual licenses plus optional support).
• ByteRun Protector for PHP: PHP encoder offering bytecode encoding and licensing features for commercial PHP applications. Targets the same vendor customer base with a similar protection and licensing approach.
• Zend (Zend Guard): Historically the other leading PHP encoder from the maintainers of the Zend Engine. Targeted the same commercial PHP vendor segment with bytecode encoding and licensing, giving ionCube its strongest head-to-head competitive benchmark.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ionCube
• GitHubgithub.com/ioncube
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/ioncube
• Facebookfacebook.com/ionCube-Ltd-1542886932651179
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ioncube-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/ioncube

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ionCube