Re:The problem with free (2019)
by rollcat on Monday July 04, 2022 @07:13AM
(#31975795)
It should be up to the company/developer to choose their business model, and it should be up to the market to accept or reject it.
Subscriptions do have some advantages for the customer: they often come with a free trial, and if you later on decide that they're not worth the value, you can (hopefully, easily) cancel; whereas getting a refund for a one-off big purchase might be more tricky, or even impossible; your resale ability might also be limited. The subscription model also helps align incentives: the developer must continue providing good value, or risk losing subscribers.
But on the other hand: people want to own things they pay for.
Subscriptions do have some advantages for the customer: they often come with a free trial, and if you later on decide that they're not worth the value, you can (hopefully, easily) cancel; whereas getting a refund for a one-off big purchase might be more tricky, or even impossible; your resale ability might also be limited. The subscription model also helps align incentives: the developer must continue providing good value, or risk losing subscribers.
But on the other hand: people want to own things they pay for.