5 ms·

Pay $1.9/month or $24/lifetime?

4 points by m-zakarya 3y ago

Which one will you choose for a no-code landing page builder? https://www.the-bithub.com

shortrounddev 3y ago
I generally opt for a lifetime license for software I use, but this site looks like the lifetime license is $300
- m-zakarya 3y ago
  It's listed on Gumroad for $24 https://mohamedzakarya.gumroad.com/l/BITHUB-LTD https://mohamedzakarya.gumroad.com/l/BITHUB-LTD
awb 3y ago
At those price points, I’d pick lifetime, after a free trial.
1970-01-01 3y ago
If they fail do you get a refund?
- m-zakarya 3y ago
  I haven't thought of that. What do you think should be done if that scenario happens?
  - 1970-01-01 3y ago
    I think you should be able to get a refund.
prirun 3y ago
Experience has shown a couple of things: 1. These offers are not for your lifetime, but for the lifetime of the company, which may not be that long. 2. If the company does live a long time and becomes successful, it often reneges on these lifetime offers.
- m-zakarya 3y ago
  What if they have a term in the purchase stating the user will be entitled to all the upcoming features as well with no extra cost?
  - josephcsible 3y ago
    Didn't ManyCam <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35538192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35538192>, Filmora <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34199153 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34199153> <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34177057 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34177057>, and mIRC <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33864660 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33864660> all have similar terms in the purchase, but then renege on it anyway?
  - Kon-Peki 3y ago
    Lawyers can always find a way out of it. It's not a technical problem and it's not a contractual problem. It's a trust problem. Your business hasn't established a level of trust with your customers for them to believe you. Until you have that trust, don't offer a "lifetime" anything.
    - giantg2 3y ago
      I think that would be true for more expensive things or for B2E sales. At $24, I really don't care. If I get a year out of that it would be the same as paying the monthly fee. Of course others may feel differently.
- lfciv 3y ago
  Back when they used to charge a few dollars to download the app I bought the Ultimate Guitar App (https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/) Honestly been pleasantly surprised now that they've had a subscription model for years and have honored my app purchase from probably over ten years ago
warrenm 3y ago
So long as I expected to want it more than a year ... the lifetime license would be STUPID to not take At $1.90/mo, by month 13 you've spent more than $24
- ad404b8a372f2b9 3y ago
  I'd get the 1.9 deal anytime, if it's so good I end up using it more than a year I'll happily pay twice the lifetime price in the end. If it's like 99% other products that offer bulk deals, I don't know such a long time ahead whether I'll end up using it that much. The expectation of savings by taking the "worse" short-term deal is higher than taking the supposed advantageous lifetime/bulk deal in my case.
  - warrenm 3y ago
    I'd say well over 85% of the time, I "know" the bulk deal is the better one for me - I might do the 'cheaper' option once (in this case, the $1.90 for the first month), and then convert to the 'bulk' deal as soon as I know I like it ...but personal experience has shown that if I'm going to like something for a month, I'm going to like it a lot longer :)
mtmail 3y ago
As a customer: lifetime. As somebody who runs a SaaS business: don't offer lifetime. Generous 24 month plan maybe, anything with an expiry. https://www.indiehackers.com/post/dont-offer-lifetime-deals-3b24b7b6a4 https://www.indiehackers.com/post/dont-offer-lifetime-deals-...
- m-zakarya 3y ago
  Thanks for sharing that. It's really helpful
codegeek 3y ago
One tip and I know its not easy to think about this but don't make me create an account to test yet another page builder. Not when you are unknown in a crowded space and you need to show more value before asking for account creation. Just my 2 cents. Speaking of "unknown", I would be more inclined to do $1.9/Month and then cancel if it doesn't work for me. Plus I am not interested in lifetime deals because that reduces my value as a customer and you don't want a customer who only paid you once.
danwee 3y ago
None. The moment you make me choose, you already lost me. Besides, who needs a "lifetime" subscription for anything tech-related? If any for my domain and email, but even for them I pay regularly every now and then.
luana 3y ago
Lifetime does not exist. I believed it once with pinboard, and a few years later, the error. Just for the record: https://www.prettyfwd.com/t/XiK8ArVIT6uVItPGeH3lzA/ https://www.prettyfwd.com/t/XiK8ArVIT6uVItPGeH3lzA/
vivegi 3y ago
Bithub is actually offering for Individuals > $1.9/mo | $17.0/yr | $299.9/lifetime (Not sure if they are A/B testing prices since the OP says $24/lifetime) It is a no-brainer. I'll go with the monthly pay-as-you-go. If after 6 months, I am still satisfied, I would upgrade to the yearly. If after 6 months, I am not satisfied, I would cancel. The entire experiment would have cost me $12 worst case (and hopefully there were some leads generated and the cost paid for itself). That is just me though.
paulcole 3y ago
If a lifetime price is under say $35, I’ll always pay it if I even kinda like the software — assuming something that’s anywhere from a few bucks a month to a few bucks a year. It’s not that much money to me and I don’t have to think about canceling a subscription in the future. $50 is about the point where I won’t pay it if there’s a monthly/yearly option. It’s not super logical but it is what it is. I also know that lifetime doesn’t mean lifetime. APIs change, businesses change, shit happens. I do appreciate it when the developer does their best to give me something for that lifetime membership. But I don’t lose my mind and cry about being hoodwinked like so many people seem to do. It’s spilt milk under the bridge and I’m happy to start paying a subscription if I have to for something I really like.
mejutoco 3y ago
Monthly, but charging more.

4 points by m-zakarya 3y ago

Which one will you choose for a no-code landing page builder? https://www.the-bithub.com

shortrounddev 3y ago

I generally opt for a lifetime license for software I use, but this site looks like the lifetime license is $300

m-zakarya 3y ago
It's listed on Gumroad for $24 https://mohamedzakarya.gumroad.com/l/BITHUB-LTD https://mohamedzakarya.gumroad.com/l/BITHUB-LTD

awb 3y ago

At those price points, I’d pick lifetime, after a free trial.

1970-01-01 3y ago

If they fail do you get a refund?

m-zakarya 3y ago
I haven't thought of that. What do you think should be done if that scenario happens?
- 1970-01-01 3y ago
  I think you should be able to get a refund.

prirun 3y ago

Experience has shown a couple of things: 1. These offers are not for your lifetime, but for the lifetime of the company, which may not be that long. 2. If the company does live a long time and becomes successful, it often reneges on these lifetime offers.

m-zakarya 3y ago
What if they have a term in the purchase stating the user will be entitled to all the upcoming features as well with no extra cost?
- josephcsible 3y ago
  Didn't ManyCam <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35538192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35538192>, Filmora <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34199153 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34199153> <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34177057 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34177057>, and mIRC <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33864660 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33864660> all have similar terms in the purchase, but then renege on it anyway?
- Kon-Peki 3y ago
  Lawyers can always find a way out of it. It's not a technical problem and it's not a contractual problem. It's a trust problem. Your business hasn't established a level of trust with your customers for them to believe you. Until you have that trust, don't offer a "lifetime" anything.
  - giantg2 3y ago
    I think that would be true for more expensive things or for B2E sales. At $24, I really don't care. If I get a year out of that it would be the same as paying the monthly fee. Of course others may feel differently.
lfciv 3y ago
Back when they used to charge a few dollars to download the app I bought the Ultimate Guitar App (https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/) Honestly been pleasantly surprised now that they've had a subscription model for years and have honored my app purchase from probably over ten years ago

warrenm 3y ago

So long as I expected to want it more than a year ... the lifetime license would be STUPID to not take At $1.90/mo, by month 13 you've spent more than $24

ad404b8a372f2b9 3y ago
I'd get the 1.9 deal anytime, if it's so good I end up using it more than a year I'll happily pay twice the lifetime price in the end. If it's like 99% other products that offer bulk deals, I don't know such a long time ahead whether I'll end up using it that much. The expectation of savings by taking the "worse" short-term deal is higher than taking the supposed advantageous lifetime/bulk deal in my case.
- warrenm 3y ago
  I'd say well over 85% of the time, I "know" the bulk deal is the better one for me - I might do the 'cheaper' option once (in this case, the $1.90 for the first month), and then convert to the 'bulk' deal as soon as I know I like it ...but personal experience has shown that if I'm going to like something for a month, I'm going to like it a lot longer :)

mtmail 3y ago

As a customer: lifetime. As somebody who runs a SaaS business: don't offer lifetime. Generous 24 month plan maybe, anything with an expiry. https://www.indiehackers.com/post/dont-offer-lifetime-deals-3b24b7b6a4 https://www.indiehackers.com/post/dont-offer-lifetime-deals-...

m-zakarya 3y ago
Thanks for sharing that. It's really helpful

codegeek 3y ago

One tip and I know its not easy to think about this but don't make me create an account to test yet another page builder. Not when you are unknown in a crowded space and you need to show more value before asking for account creation. Just my 2 cents. Speaking of "unknown", I would be more inclined to do $1.9/Month and then cancel if it doesn't work for me. Plus I am not interested in lifetime deals because that reduces my value as a customer and you don't want a customer who only paid you once.

danwee 3y ago

None. The moment you make me choose, you already lost me. Besides, who needs a "lifetime" subscription for anything tech-related? If any for my domain and email, but even for them I pay regularly every now and then.

luana 3y ago

Lifetime does not exist. I believed it once with pinboard, and a few years later, the error. Just for the record: https://www.prettyfwd.com/t/XiK8ArVIT6uVItPGeH3lzA/ https://www.prettyfwd.com/t/XiK8ArVIT6uVItPGeH3lzA/

vivegi 3y ago

Bithub is actually offering for Individuals > $1.9/mo | $17.0/yr | $299.9/lifetime (Not sure if they are A/B testing prices since the OP says $24/lifetime) It is a no-brainer. I'll go with the monthly pay-as-you-go. If after 6 months, I am still satisfied, I would upgrade to the yearly. If after 6 months, I am not satisfied, I would cancel. The entire experiment would have cost me $12 worst case (and hopefully there were some leads generated and the cost paid for itself). That is just me though.

paulcole 3y ago

If a lifetime price is under say $35, I’ll always pay it if I even kinda like the software — assuming something that’s anywhere from a few bucks a month to a few bucks a year. It’s not that much money to me and I don’t have to think about canceling a subscription in the future. $50 is about the point where I won’t pay it if there’s a monthly/yearly option. It’s not super logical but it is what it is. I also know that lifetime doesn’t mean lifetime. APIs change, businesses change, shit happens. I do appreciate it when the developer does their best to give me something for that lifetime membership. But I don’t lose my mind and cry about being hoodwinked like so many people seem to do. It’s spilt milk under the bridge and I’m happy to start paying a subscription if I have to for something I really like.

mejutoco 3y ago

Monthly, but charging more.