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Question for people who have built commercial apps
PascalDragon:
At the company I work at - we're producing backup software as well as software to delete disks for example - we have both free versions of our products that are restricted in their functionality (and speed) as well as in various levels more feature rich variants till the “Enterprise” variants that allow cloning/deleting of multiple disks at once.
For us that works rather well as more or less every user can find their needed edition without really cannibalizing higher editions.
Rizzz:
Rizwan from XtraSaaS here. Yes, there's truth to this shift. Free alternatives like QGIS and DaVinci Resolve have raised expectations for free or low-cost software.
Offering a free community version can be beneficial. It increases the user base, builds community support, and can lead to more sales of the premium version. While some may stick with the free version, the overall exposure and adoption can offset this by providing more upselling opportunities.
af0815:
Rent a software is for me and the company a NoGo. We have sometimes isolated networks, so if you need to be online is a a nogo for industrial enviroment. So paid software is ok and if you can test this with a community or time limited version is ok.
In private i never use software with subscription nor on my gaming console. I pay for software, this is ok, but rent - no. The same with home automation, no cloud based version. If you can use a cloud, but not nessesary, it is ok. Here you can say, subscription is ok, but not for the functionallity. BTW: The a lot of devices around, not working anymore, why the company have shut down the the servers for some reason. This is a example for me to make the rigth decision in hard and software.
Thaddy:
Well, that depends on the difference between payed support and actual subscription for new features. A lot of premium open source projects make their business model and revenue around payed support and that seems to work.
A second point is how to define commercial software.
E.g. I wrote commercial software for 2/3ths of my life, where the client is free and the server 100% proprietary. (on-line banking software)
Rizzz:
--- Quote from: QuinnMartin on March 30, 2024, 06:46:57 pm ---Back around 20 years ago it was common for most major software running on the PC to be payware. Nowadays it seems people increasingly expect programs to be free or low cost. Is there some truth in this?
Like for the GIS market Arcview used to have a near monopoly, but there is now QGIS which is free, so that redefines people's expectations. With video editing there used to mostly Sony Vegas and Adobe Premiere, but now there is Davinci Resolve which is powerful and is free if you're working at 2160p or less and not using a lot of special effects. Those are just some examples.
For those who have authored payware over the years I am wondering if you find some benefit in having a free community version instead of a trial version, and a premium paid version on top of that. Have you gotten much benefit from this, or do you find you lose a lot of potential customers to the free version? I am figuring increase uptake of the program would offset that.
Curious to hear your thoughts.
--- End quote ---
Totally agree! The software landscape has shifted towards free or low-cost options. Examples like QGIS and Davinci Resolve show how free versions can disrupt industries. Offering both free and paid versions can be a great strategy, building a loyal user base and driving adoption. Some users may stick with the free version, but many will upgrade to paid for extra features or support.
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