I may not be the best example, because I am ridiculously frugal. There are very few things I pay for beyond food, rent and travel, which is another way of sayin

I may not be the best example, because I am ridiculously frugal. There are very few things I pay for beyond food, rent and travel, which is another way of saying I pretty much exclusively use free tools. Incidentally, when my 30 day trial of Textmate ended, for some reason the software kept working and rather than pay for it, or stealing it by continuing to use it, I just switched to another editor. That said, if I really wanted to spend money on Textmate, yes, I would prefer to pay 50 bucks rather than either $4 or $8 monthly. At a $1 or $2 a month, I would probably be indifferent. To some element there's an issue of how long the purchaser will actually use the tool vs. how long they estimate they'll use it. I agree with you 100% that we develop countermeasures because we know that these recurring monthly plans are dangerous. My sense is that we develop the countermeasures exactly because the monthly plans are so effective at separating us from our money, and that the countermeasures only partly offset the tendency. Of course, for you may have an outright aversion to the monthly plans, just as I have excessive frugality, but overall my sense is that for most people monthly plans go over better than upfront charges in most situations.