[almostlikemagic]

how do you feel about licensing where you pay once, get the software, and have access to updates for one year?

if you want future updates, you pay for another year of updates (discounted, of course, for loyalty).

or is it more compelling to just have one clean, flat, lifetime rate?

[misir]

JerBrains does something similar (after paying for a year I get perpetual license for the version released that year). I’m pretty happy and feel under control. I have been paying them for years now and in case they screw up I will stop my subscription and still can download and use old version. Sure I will be missing on some bug fixes but I have used the software for a year already, I can live with those annoyances. It’s not like the new version will be all bug free either.

[strange_quark]

Why would it only be a year of updates? Just go back to how it was 10 years ago when most software was a 1 time purchase and you got updates until the next major version, then maybe you'd only get bug fixes and security updates until your OS deprecated some API the app depended on.

The industry had arguably more innovative products than exist today and that business model worked totally fine until the platform gatekeepers and VCs invented SaaS because they decided they weren't making enough money and needed to do some rent seeking.

[jlaternman]

And by the way, this still IS the software market I participate in, because there’s a lot of great indie software still adhering to it. It’s still possible. I have weeded out almost all unnecessary SaaS. I do actually have Fastmail and 1Password, which is funny since those were mentioned here a lot.

A few recent example purchases (macOS): BBEdit, Base, A Better Finder Renamer, Nitro (that’s lifetime, though I actually prefer “until the next major version”).

[almostlikemagic]

it's an economic problem, not a technical one, imo.

unfortunately, we no longer live in an economic environment that supports being able to run a stable business that way. if cost of living were still relatively stable/affordable/predictable? sure.

i would love to see everyone go back to this model, but sadly i don't see that happening unless the person offering it is independently wealthy/comfortable by other means.

[gf000]

I think the best way is you buy a software, and that version is supported "forever".

The developer then creates version n+1. The old version is kept supported, but new features go only into the new version, which you can optionally buy again.

[TheCapeGreek]

Time/energy wise, even with agentic coding, that's probably not the most fun value proposition for smaller/solo dev teams. I now have to maintain a mental model of several versions of my software, track features, refactors, etc across all the supported versions, and make sure my work doesn't overlap too much lest I cause more bugs while keeping everything stable.

I wouldn't charge customers _less_ for that just because it's now a one-time payment.

[TheChelsUK]

Workingcopy app is a better model.

You can pay to unlock advanced features and keep them and any new features added in a year, after that any new features are paywalled for another unlock, and another +12 months, perpetually.