Refund windows by marketplace: what each lifetime deal platform actually promises in 2026

Every lifetime deal carries the same structural risk: you are paying now for software that has to stay good later. The only contractual safety net you get is the refund window, and it varies more between marketplaces than any other term — sometimes by a factor of two. This guide lines up the published 2026 terms side by side, with links to the primary sources, and finishes with the checks to run before you click buy.

The window each marketplace publishes

• AppSumo — 60 days, most products. The partner payment policy states the default refund window for all products is 60 days, and lifetime deals sold through the marketplace fall under it. One caveat sits in the buyer-facing refund policy: some listings, such as digital downloads, cannot be returned, and each deal page's terms override the default. Accounts with elevated refund activity can also be moved to final-sale terms. Last verified against the help centre page last updated 31 August 2026.
• StackSocial — no published day-count window. Digital purchases are treated as non-refundable once the licence code is revealed, so effectively the only safe moment to change your mind is before redemption. Treat any StackSocial lifetime purchase as final the moment you open the code.
• DealMirror — 30 days standard, 60 for Prime members (see our DealMirror deep-dive for the buyer-side fine print)
• Dealify deep-dive — the PDF download exclusion, the 50% store-credit vendor-death rule, and a real review trail
• Dealify — 30 days (60 for Dealify Plus members).
• DealMirror — 30 days (60 for Prime members).
• DealFuel fine print — 30 days, unless an individual deal states otherwise.
• RocketHub deep-dive — the 30-day no-questions promise, the arbitration opt-out clock, and the thin review trail
• RocketHub — 30 days, with some deals sold explicitly no-refund.
• Founder-direct promotions — usually nothing. When a founder sells a lifetime licence from their own site, there is typically no refund window at all; you are relying entirely on the vendor staying solvent.

What the spread means for buyers

The difference between 60 days and 30 days is not cosmetic. A scheduling or automation tool often takes a few weeks to fold into real workflows — integrations get wired up, a team starts booking through it — and problems like rate limits or missing features usually surface after the novelty phase, not during demo week. A 30-day window measures your enthusiasm; a 60-day window measures the product. And on a no-window marketplace, the only protection is your own restraint: redeem late, test fast, refund earlier than you think you need to.

Purchase date matters too. Lifetime terms can change after purchase for the tools that remain on sale — we documented three such cases in our graveyard piece on deals that died after the terms changed, and TidyCal's agency tier changed its caps for purchases made from September 2026 onwards. A refund window protects you from a bad product on day one; only the vendor's term history protects you from a rewritten deal in month twelve.

How we check a deal before buying

Before any purchase, in order:

1. Read the deal page terms, not the marketplace default. Individual listings override the platform's standard window; a 60-day marketplace can still run a 14-day deal.
2. Check whether redemption starts the clock. On some platforms the window runs from purchase; on others revealing the licence ends the refund option entirely.
3. Test the core job inside the first week. Do not save the real evaluation for week five — wire up the integration that matters and push real data through it.
4. Look for term-change history. A vendor that has previously cut caps or moved features to a new tier will do it again. Our graveyard tracks deals whose terms changed after purchase.
5. Do the lifetime maths honestly. A one-time price only wins if the monthly equivalent beats the subscription it replaces within a realistic tool lifespan — our methodology scores every deal on that basis.

The verdict

AppSumo is the only large marketplace whose default terms give you a genuine two-month evaluation, and the help pages say so in writing. The 30-day marketplaces are usable if you test early and hard; the no-window ones are where a lifetime purchase becomes an act of faith. Whichever storefront you use, the refund window is a countdown you set off the moment you pay — treat week one as the exam, not the warm-up.