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The trend of subscriptions seems to be accelerating, I think it is detrimental to the ISV ecosystem as a whole. I have bought many macOS applications in the la

The trend of subscriptions seems to be accelerating, I think it is detrimental to the ISV ecosystem as a whole. I have bought many macOS applications in the last decade or so. And like so many others, I do not shun to spend 50 Euro or more on an app. However, as of recently I have been more restrained in buying applications, since it seems that they could switch to a subscription model at any random moment. Instead, I have been looking more and more at FLOSS alternatives. Even if their quality is sometimes not as good, the prospect of being able to use an application long-term makes them more attractive. Moreover, I have also started donating more to FLOSS developers as a result.

rcarmo 9y ago
Same here. I've increasingly started to use things like Darktable because I want to be sure I can use the same app for a decade or so (which is likely to be impossible in iOS, really, the way things are going).
ThomPete 9y ago
I run a successful app with one time payment and I thought about turning it into subscription. Instead I decided to keep it a one time payment and then instead will be offering subscription add ons for extra services. I hope that strikes a balance because I understand the issue from the customers side but also want to make a living out of it too.
- bitL 9y ago
  You can do both; one time payment for a major version for individual users and subscription for businesses. Just don't do subscription-only please.
  - danieldk 9y ago
    Indeed. Please do both! Microsoft has done this pretty well with Office. You can choose to get an Office 365 subscription or buy Office standalone. (Office 365 pricing is also extremely good for what you get, compared to most software subscriptions.)
- scarface74 9y ago
  So what happens when your app isn't compatible with the newest OS version? Do you charge for the "feature" of compatibility or do you give it away for free? Maintenance of apps cost time and money. How do you recover those costs? I like the JetBrains "perpetual fallback" subscription model. After paying for a year, you get a perpetual license to the version that was current at the beginning of the 12 months plus all bug fixes for that version.
kartickv 9y ago
Subscriptions have always been coupled with price increases, so when people object to them, it's hard to know whether it's the price increase they're objecting to. Would you object to a subscription of 49 cents a year, for example, instead of a few dollars one-time? I conducted a Twitter poll, where I asked people to choose between a $2 upfront payment, and a dollar a year, assuming that in both cases, they lose interest in the app and uninstall it after two years. I mentioned that with a subscription, any new features added will be available at no additional charge, but with the upfront payment, it will be an in-app purchase. Four people responded, and all four chose the subscription. BTW, to people insisting on an upfront payment, would you be okay if: 1) A new feature got added to the app the day after you bought it, and you're asked to pay again to use that feature? After all, you didn't pay for that feature. 2) A new version of the app got released the day after you bought it, and it's listed as a separate app, requiring a second purchase? After all, you didn't pay for those features. 3) The app you bought has a particular feature, like a low-light mode in a camera app. The developer improves the feature, but brands it as a separate feature in order to charge you again, like calling it LowLight+. (This is different from (2) because in that scenario, the camera app didn't have any low light mode when you bought it.) 4) An OS update makes the app crash, or annoying to use, and the fix is listed as a separate app, requiring a separate payment. After all, you didn't pay for it. 5) After you buy the app, the developer abandons it and chooses to invest time in creating a new app since that will bring in more money. Would you be okay with it? Upfront payment seems fine instinctually, but when you get into the details, there are many problems.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Personally, I'm fine with all of those, with caveats in (4) and (5). Products should be fit for purpose, and therefore problematic bugs (particularly security related) should be fixed even after purchase, for a reasonable period. If your app breaks after an OS update because it was relying on undocumented behavior, I'd say it should still be fixed. But I think one of the problems here is the inflexibility of app stores. What about the Jetbrains model? As soon as you pay for N months (over time or upfront) you get a perpetual license for that version, and for every subsequent version released while you were still paying. Could you do this on the App Store?

rcarmo 9y ago

Same here. I've increasingly started to use things like Darktable because I want to be sure I can use the same app for a decade or so (which is likely to be impossible in iOS, really, the way things are going).

ThomPete 9y ago

I run a successful app with one time payment and I thought about turning it into subscription. Instead I decided to keep it a one time payment and then instead will be offering subscription add ons for extra services. I hope that strikes a balance because I understand the issue from the customers side but also want to make a living out of it too.

bitL 9y ago
You can do both; one time payment for a major version for individual users and subscription for businesses. Just don't do subscription-only please.
- danieldk 9y ago
  Indeed. Please do both! Microsoft has done this pretty well with Office. You can choose to get an Office 365 subscription or buy Office standalone. (Office 365 pricing is also extremely good for what you get, compared to most software subscriptions.)
scarface74 9y ago
So what happens when your app isn't compatible with the newest OS version? Do you charge for the "feature" of compatibility or do you give it away for free? Maintenance of apps cost time and money. How do you recover those costs? I like the JetBrains "perpetual fallback" subscription model. After paying for a year, you get a perpetual license to the version that was current at the beginning of the 12 months plus all bug fixes for that version.

kartickv 9y ago

Subscriptions have always been coupled with price increases, so when people object to them, it's hard to know whether it's the price increase they're objecting to. Would you object to a subscription of 49 cents a year, for example, instead of a few dollars one-time? I conducted a Twitter poll, where I asked people to choose between a $2 upfront payment, and a dollar a year, assuming that in both cases, they lose interest in the app and uninstall it after two years. I mentioned that with a subscription, any new features added will be available at no additional charge, but with the upfront payment, it will be an in-app purchase. Four people responded, and all four chose the subscription. BTW, to people insisting on an upfront payment, would you be okay if: 1) A new feature got added to the app the day after you bought it, and you're asked to pay again to use that feature? After all, you didn't pay for that feature. 2) A new version of the app got released the day after you bought it, and it's listed as a separate app, requiring a second purchase? After all, you didn't pay for those features. 3) The app you bought has a particular feature, like a low-light mode in a camera app. The developer improves the feature, but brands it as a separate feature in order to charge you again, like calling it LowLight+. (This is different from (2) because in that scenario, the camera app didn't have any low light mode when you bought it.) 4) An OS update makes the app crash, or annoying to use, and the fix is listed as a separate app, requiring a separate payment. After all, you didn't pay for it. 5) After you buy the app, the developer abandons it and chooses to invest time in creating a new app since that will bring in more money. Would you be okay with it? Upfront payment seems fine instinctually, but when you get into the details, there are many problems.

icebraining 9y ago
Personally, I'm fine with all of those, with caveats in (4) and (5). Products should be fit for purpose, and therefore problematic bugs (particularly security related) should be fixed even after purchase, for a reasonable period. If your app breaks after an OS update because it was relying on undocumented behavior, I'd say it should still be fixed. But I think one of the problems here is the inflexibility of app stores. What about the Jetbrains model? As soon as you pay for N months (over time or upfront) you get a perpetual license for that version, and for every subsequent version released while you were still paying. Could you do this on the App Store?