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The survey - NO subscription


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Not sure where the appropriate sub-forum for this is, but I want to shout loudly that:

1. I truly love Affinity Photo, so much so that I bought Affinity Designer just to support the company (even though I rarely use vector graphics).

2. The day you switch to a subscription model is the day I will switch to another program.

I'd be happy to explain why, but I don't expect anyone to be interested. Suffice it to say that I'm far from alone in hating subscription software - and I have the evidence to prove that it's incredibly unpopular.

 

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2 hours ago, nickbatz said:

Suffice it to say that I'm far from alone in hating subscription software

You’re preaching to the choir, @nickbatz. But I suspect you know that!

Affinity Photo 2, Affinity Publisher 2, Affinity Designer 2 (latest retail versions) - desktop & iPad
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10 hours ago, smadell said:

You’re preaching to the choir, @nickbatz. But I suspect you know that!

I'm guessing the subscription model blurb was just included to cement the overwhelming majority in support for the perpetual license model, I for one would have never strayed from Adobe if they'd have not kicked my teeth down the back of my throat, which turned out to be a blessing in finding Affinity - I get where nickbatz is coming from, as it was a bit alarming seeing it on the survey pages.  

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6 hours ago, Dazmondo77 said:

I'm guessing the subscription model blurb was just included to cement the overwhelming majority in support for the perpetual license model, I for one would have never strayed from Adobe if they'd have not kicked my teeth down the back of my throat, which turned out to be a blessing in finding Affinity - I get where nickbatz is coming from, as it was a bit alarming seeing it on the survey pages.  

Okay, this is what I'm talking about:

The article I wrote with all the pros and cons I could think of, asking our viewers for their opinions:

https://synthandsoftware.com/2022/05/subscription-software-yes-or-no/

And the evidence I was talking about :):

https://synthandsoftware.com/2022/05/subscription-software-nope/

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Seeing the subscription question on the survey alarmed me as well. Even though I love Affinity, I would run, not walk, back to Adobe if Affinity went subscription. May as well pay monthly for the industry standard if subscription is necessary either way.

Also, it would feel like such a betrayal after Serif consistently marketed their programs as non-subscription.

2019 MacBook Pro 16” | Affinity Designer 2 | Affinity Photo 2 | Affinity Publisher 2

2018 iPad Pro 12.9” | Apple Pencil 2 | Affinity Designer for iPad 2 | Affinity Photo for iPad 2 | Affinity Publisher for iPad 2

Years with Affinity: 5 ❤️ https://www.instagram.com/cealcrest/

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I find it slightly sad that so many people only seem to use Affinity to avoid paying a subscription to Adobe. Maybe I'm in a minority, but I actually like the Affinity products and prefer them to the Adobe equivalents. When I was working, my employer offered to pay a subscription for the Adobe suite, but I preferred to stick with Affinity. The Affinity software does (almost) everything I need; I really don't need, or want, the overblown Adobe software, (although I did use it for many years before the Affinity suite was available!) Having said that, if Serif did introduce a subscription only model, I would either stick with v1 or find alternative software (but I wouldn't go back to Adobe!)

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1 hour ago, PaulEC said:

Maybe I'm in a minority, but I actually like the Affinity products and prefer them to the Adobe equivalents.

Me too. I still pay the Adobe CC subscription, because it's a must when you work with other people. But whenever I can, I use the Affinity apps. For 99% of the projects I work on, they are faster and better than anything Adobe.

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10 hours ago, PaulEC said:

I find it slightly sad that so many people only seem to use Affinity to avoid paying a subscription to Adobe. Maybe I'm in a minority, but I actually like the Affinity products

 

 

Don't tell anyone, but I didn't even realize Affinity Photo was a substitute for Photoshop until months after I bought the license and had become addicted!

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I think Affinity must have already been aware that they need to be really careful with the subscription option,
especially if turn out a larger portion of the user base sees it as a non-subscription adobe alternative.

look what happened with Clip Studio Paint when announcing subscription option for their desktop app few weeks ago, the reaction is so strong.
(even though their perpetual license is still available, but not as generous as before)

Clip Studio Paint used to be the loved one, a lot of their userbase is indie artists and studios,
They had been promoting it mouth by mouth, but feel back-stabbed and trying to cancel it. and they are really vocal on social media.

The good thing is Affinity statement in their tweet emphasizes that they are subscription free

So I guess Affinity is not going subscription route at least in near future.

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I would be very, very surprised if they keep the current pricing model unchanged. I mean 8 years ago I paid $50 for Designer and they haven't asked for more money since. That’s not right. For comparison, until 10 years ago Illustrator used to cost about $600 and then $250 for upgrades every two years.

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Adobe is a public company, so they have to remain big. Smaller private companies are different.

Anyway, I for one would have no problem with their raising their prices for updates. It's subscriptions that I absolutely hate, rationally or not.

The main reason is that I lived through a thankfully temporary loss of income during the Great Recession, when I couldn't have afforded to keep subscriptions going (or they would have been a burden). No thanks, I don't want to be unable to access the tools I need, much less old projects.

Now, I happen to use a lot of music and audio software from many companies, so it would be cumulative if they were all subscriptions. As I said, my aversion may not be totally rational. But the anxiety is real!

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  • 1 month later...

I was also alarmed by the question about a subscription for the software(s).  I am opposed to subscription models for software as I see it as adding to my monthly bills.  I am home based and don't want another bill forced on me to use something i had originally purchased as no subscription.  I do however recognized that the company needs to earn money so I have no problem with paying for updates from time to time.  If I don't want to update my version it should be my choice.  I have enough bills monthly and don't want to add anything else.  If this software goes subscription based I will change to something else.  It seems to me that addons, templates, assets sets, etc. could be offered at a price to generate more revenue.  From what I see there isn't many things offered like that for affinity other than brushes.

I had adobe and they shutdown the ability to use my version I paid for long before they went subscription based. I will not pay for any other adobe product as I do not like that something I paid for years ago I can no longer use and they can just click a switch and turn it off.  I also own xara, corel and they too chose to go subscription based.  I no longer suppor them either.  I will continue to use the last version I have until I can't anymore due to windows not running it.  I hope affinity doesn't choose to go that route and find a different direction instead.

Edited by Printchic
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