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by longnguyen 922 days ago
Technically it's perpetual fallback license, which was popularized by the Jetbrain team [0]

> A perpetual fallback license is a license that allows you to use a specific version of software without an active subscription for it. The license also includes all bugfix updates, more specifically in X.Y.Z version all Z releases are included.

After 1 year, you can continue to use the app without having to upgrade. You won't receive new features, but will continue to receive bug fixes for the features released previously.

So I can argue it's not "subscription".

Plus, renewal cost 50% less, so it's not $40-$80 a year, but only $20-$40 a year after the first year.

And lastly, the app fetch model lists from OpenAI API so there is no need to "support new models".

I believe this is a sustainable pricing model for an indie developer like me. And I believe it's fair for everyone.

[0]: https://sales.jetbrains.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207240845-What...

1 comments

I feel like if you have to specify “technically”, you agree with me that it is basically a subscription.

As an Indie developer myself I do not support subscription based licensing (or your version of license) for B2C products. You can offer B2B subscription based licensing, but B2C should always be perpetual licenses. Sure it is ok to ask for the upgrade to new version, which has significant features.

And to clarify, we are talking about the product that does not have any outgoing server spending.

That is my opinion.

> I feel like if you have to specify “technically”, you agree with me that it is basically a subscription.

No, I am not. The "technical" part here is the "fallback" in "perpetual fallback license".

Appreciate your opinion and I'm sure many think the same way.

But selling perpetual licenses just won't work for me. It's not sustainable, especially for this kind of app.