Are you guys ok?

[OklahomaHobo]

Hello you guys,

I’ve been off the radar for a while, but I just saw that the new V2 versions are out — and of course, I grabbed them instantly, like a hobo catching a train in 1920s Southern Oklahoma.

That said, I noticed it's once again a one-time payment model. Honestly, that's incredibly generous, especially for software of this caliber — Affinity is a masterpiece.

I know the goal has always been to offer a powerful alternative to Adobe without the bloat or pricing traps. But I genuinely love this software and would hate to see it fade away like GIMP or other once-promising alternatives.

I know I'll probably get a ton of hate for this suggestion, but maybe consider a low-cost subscription model for V3? Even something symbolic like $2.99/month. I’d gladly pay that just to help you guys to keep this project alive and thriving. Let’s be real — $70 every five years can’t possibly reflect the value or effort you’re putting in.

A small, sustainable monthly stream might be the way forward.

That's just a suggestion from my heart, as I really love your software, so... don’t shoot the messenger.

Edited April 3 by OklahomaHobo

[Patrick Connor]

@OklahomaHobo

Welcome to the Affinity forums  

Thank you for your post. You will (as you suspected) possibly stir up quite the feelings with some here, but I hope they appreciate you are only suggesting this is something that you would be open to, and that it would not be the only way to buy the Affinity Suite, where our promotion of perpetual licenses has been and continues to be popular. Many people do not realise that we have always offered this type of arrangement to larger corporate customers (to pay small and regular amounts for a large amount of licenses), as it suits their approach to payments. 

[OklahomaHobo]

Hi Patrick,

Thanks for the warm welcome! Just to be clear — this is purely my suggestion. I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve seen too many brilliant open-source or indie tools die from lack of funding or traction.

I’d hate to see that happen to Affinity. I use both Adobe and Affinity, but honestly? In 99% of cases, I’d pick Affinity over Adobe every single day, and twice on Sundays.

That said, maybe it’s just my PTSD talking, from watching too many great projects fade away.

[fde101]

For my part I really wish companies that went subscription-only for locally executed software would lose their entire customer base and go out of business - Adobe, Renewed Vision, MoneyWell, etc. - as a warning to others not to follow this path.

It makes sense for DropBox where they have legitimate non-trivial ongoing costs for you to use their offering - that is an actual service as opposed to a product - but not for productivity or creativity software that runs locally on your own computer.

[Bound by Beans]

@OklahomaHobo

Are you aware of this?

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/press/newsroom/canva-press-release/

Press release

26 March 2024

[PaoloT]

The two different payment models make sense for the different groups of users.

- Companies and businesses in general can usually deduct the subscription expense from the current month's balance, and they would be forced to do the same even if the had to pay the whole amount all at once (for amounts exceeding a particular limit).

- Private users or professionals with a flat-rate tax profile wouldn't be able to deduct the expense, so subscription wouldn't make sense at all.

So, it's good to see that the intention is still to leave the pay-once formula available for the second group.

Paolo

 

[Twolane]

Sounds to me like a fishing expedition sponsored by Canva to feel out the market for subscriptions.

Reasoning: Forum account opened yesterday, then expresses desire for a subscription model in first post. Uh-huh.

[debraspicher]

Cringe.

[Meliora spero]

Cringe.

[R.I.P. Affinity 26.03.2024]

Cringe.

Affinity is dead already. Let it rest.