Ah, it's cloud subscription vs standard subscription. This is the proper link: https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/pricing/ https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/pricing

Ah, it's cloud subscription vs standard subscription. This is the proper link: https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/pricing/ https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/pricing/ So it's $539/yr for cloud vs. $1,199/1st yr + $799/2nd yr for standard. Also on the same page we can see the differences: > After the subscription expires, can use the software that was available during the active subscription term (“perpetual” use rights) For standard it's YES, for cloud it's NO. It seems to be enforced, because lower on the page: > Must connect to the Internet to check license status at least once every 30 days For standard we have NO, and for cloud we have YES. So unfortunately, you are right. It's $1,199 (more or less), not $539.