Besides the recurring revenue, SaaS is also a lock-in device, you can surveil your users to find new ways to make money off 'em, and many people are more apt to

Besides the recurring revenue, SaaS is also a lock-in device, you can surveil your users to find new ways to make money off 'em, and many people are more apt to pay $10/month because they figure they can cancel it at any time. All of this is more attractive to venture capitalists than the JetBrains model.