Many shareware developers charge one time fee for their software Remember that most desktop software run as standalone programs, so there isn't an ongoing expe

Many shareware developers charge one time fee for their software Remember that most desktop software run as standalone programs, so there isn't an ongoing expense of servers and bandwidth. It is also much easier to charge these users for upgrades later on (at a discount, usually). With web apps there is an expectation that the product will continually be upgraded even when they're free (think Gmail or Google Docs), so it's harder to justify charging for upgrades. You also have to consider that some users might only use the app for a few months, and others for a few years. Should I pay the same if I just need your app for a short time?