Free Age Verification for Startups
Until You Launch
Verify the real users in your alpha and beta for free — live checks with real IDs and selfies, not a sandbox. When you launch, a discount we agree with you up front applies for the next 12 months.
Age checks shouldn't be the bill you pay before your first customer
If you build a dating app, a community or a store with age-restricted products, age verification is a launch requirement, not a nice-to-have. But your beta is when money is tightest and you don't yet know your numbers.
Most vendors give you a sandbox and a 14-day trial. Your beta lasts months, and it needs real users with real documents to tell you anything. So we verify your alpha and beta users for free until you launch.
When you launch, you already know what you'll pay: we agree a discount with you before launch day and keep it for 12 months. We'd rather grow with you than bill you before you have revenue.
Dating & social apps
Keep minors and fake profiles out of your first cohort, so early reviews come from the users you built for. More for dating apps.
Communities & creator platforms
Gate 18+ spaces and content from the first invite, instead of retrofitting checks after launch.
Age-restricted stores
Vape, alcohol, CBD and tobacco shops can run a soft launch with a real check at checkout. More for ecommerce.
Marketplaces & SaaS
Add age-gated onboarding for sellers, buyers or members before the waitlist opens.
Does your startup need age verification before launch?
Often, yes. Most age rules apply from the first user or the first order, not from a revenue threshold. A short summary by market, not legal advice:
United Kingdom
The Online Safety Act has no startup exemption. Where a service has to keep children out, Ofcom expects “highly effective” age assurance, and a self-declared checkbox doesn't qualify. What the Online Safety Act expects.
European Union
The Digital Services Act's duty to protect minors, and the Commission's 2025 guidelines that recommend age assurance, exempt micro and small enterprises. National rules on alcohol, tobacco and adult content have no such exemption. EU rules for dating apps.
United States
Since the Supreme Court upheld a Texas age verification law in June 2025, states have moved quickly, and the newest laws are aimed at app stores — where every consumer app lives. US rules for dating apps.
Age-restricted products
Selling vape, alcohol or tobacco online? The age rule applies to your first order, soft launch or not. In the US, the federal minimum age for tobacco and vape products is 21. Age verification for US vape stores.
What your startup gets with free age verification
The full platform in live mode. Not a sandbox, not a cut-down edition.
Real users, live checks — not a sandbox
Your beta testers verify with real passports, ID cards, driver's licenses and selfies. You see real pass rates, drop-off and completion times before launch day, and fix the onboarding while the stakes are low. Test mode stays free for your developers. See what your users experience.
Integrate once, before launch
Use the REST API, the official PHP SDK, or the Laravel and Node.js packages, with signed webhooks. On WordPress or Shopify, install the plugin or the app. On launch day only your plan changes — your code, keys and flows stay the same.
Launch pricing you know in advance
We agree your post-launch discount before you launch and fix it in writing for 12 months from your launch date. You plan unit economics with a real number, not a guess, and no price change lands in your first year.
Built for UK, EU and US age-assurance rules
A “Yes, I'm 18” checkbox won't satisfy the UK Online Safety Act, the EU DSA or US state age-verification laws. ProofAge checks documents from 190+ countries, lets you set the age threshold per country, and returns a verification ID for your audit trail. Data is processed in the EU and encrypted in transit and at rest. We act as your data processor and never sell data.
How the Startup Program works
Free while you test with real users. A known, discounted price for your first year after launch.
-
Alpha & beta
$0 for live checks on your real users
-
12 months after launch
The discount we agreed before launch
-
After that
Standard or volume pricing
Apply in 2 minutes
Five fields: your product's website, email, planned launch, how many beta users you expect to verify, and what you're building.
Verify your beta users for free
We agree your beta allowance and planned launch date by email, then switch your ProofAge account to the Startup Program. Your alpha and beta users verify in live mode at no cost.
Launch with a locked discount
Before launch day we fix your discount in writing. It applies for 12 months from your public launch, on the same integration you built in beta.
What we ask in return
No money during your beta. Two things instead:
- ✓Honest feedback during the beta — where your users get stuck, what your team misses. A short call or a few messages is enough.
- ✓After launch, one of these: the ProofAge logo with a link on your website, or a short testimonial about how the beta went.
Your feedback makes the product better for you. Your mention helps the next startup find us. That keeps the program running.
Startup Program vs. the 15-day free trial
Anyone can start a free trial. The Startup Program is for products that haven't launched yet.
| Feature | 15-day free trial | Startup Program |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Any business | Startups and small businesses in alpha or beta |
| Free for | 15 days | Until your public launch |
| Live checks on real users | During the 15 days | Within a beta allowance sized to your cohorts |
| Credit card | Not required | Not required |
| Afterwards | Standard pricing: $0.30 per document check, $30 monthly minimum | A discount agreed before launch, fixed for 12 months |
| How to start | Sign up | Apply; we reply within 2 business days |
Age verification for startups: FAQ
Is ProofAge free for startups?+
Yes, until you launch. Through the Startup Program, live age checks for the real users in your alpha and beta cost $0, within a beta allowance we agree with you. After your public launch you pay a discounted rate that we agree before launch and keep for 12 months.
Who can apply for the Startup Program?+
Startups and small businesses with a product in alpha or beta that hasn't launched publicly yet and needs to check users' ages: dating and social apps, online communities, marketplaces, and stores selling age-restricted products. An existing company launching a new product can apply for that product. We review every application individually.
How many verifications are free during the beta?+
The free beta allowance is limited and set individually, based on the size of your alpha and beta cohorts. Test-mode checks are always free and don't count towards it. We don't ask for a card during the beta, so nothing is charged automatically. If your beta grows, tell us and we review the allowance.
What counts as the public launch?+
The day your product opens to the general public: the waitlist or invite codes go away, or paying customers can sign up without an invitation. We agree a planned launch date with you up front. The free period lasts until your launch or that date, whichever comes first. If your beta runs longer than planned, tell us and we review the date together.
How big is the discount after launch?+
We agree it with you before you launch, based on your expected volume, and fix it in writing for 12 months from your launch date. For reference, standard pricing is $0.30 per document verification and $0.05 per selfie age estimation. After the 12 months, your account moves to the standard or volume pricing in place at that time.
Which age verification API, SDKs and plugins can we use?+
- REST API — for web and mobile apps, with an OpenAPI reference, a Postman collection and examples in 5+ languages at docs.proofage.xyz.
- PHP, Laravel and Node.js — official packages with request signing and webhook verification built in. The PHP SDK works with any framework.
- WordPress — the ProofAge Age Verification plugin on WordPress.org, with WooCommerce checkout support.
- Shopify — the ProofAge app on the Shopify App Store, for stores with age-restricted products.
The integration you build during the beta stays the same after launch.
Can we use it for identity verification (KYC), not just age?+
Yes, as Lite KYC. The document check that confirms a user's age also works as a lightweight identity check at the same price, and it is included in the Startup Program. ProofAge is not an AML platform: there is no sanctions screening and no ongoing monitoring.
We've already launched. Can we still apply?+
The Startup Program is for products that haven't launched publicly yet. If you've launched, start with the 15-day free trial, no card required, and write to us about volume pricing if you expect more than 10,000 verifications a month. Launching a new product? That product can still apply.
How long does it take to process an application?+
We review most applications within 2 business days and reply by email with a proposed beta allowance and planned launch date. Once we agree both, we switch your account to the Startup Program and you can verify real beta users the same day.
Launch with age verification already working
Free for your alpha and beta users, discounted for 12 months after launch. We review every application by hand and reply within 2 business days.
Application received
We reply within 2 business days. Questions in the meantime: sales@proofage.xyz
Questions first? Write to sales@proofage.xyz or contact our team.