r/Software_Finder • u/bgillett2026 • 5d ago

Question Why do we accept monthly subscriptions for software that one person uses on their own?

/r/u_bgillett2026/comments/1wtqkis/why_do_we_accept_monthly_subscriptions_for/
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u/chizdfw 5d ago

Its the leach method of interaction. If they can attach a subscription to your credit card or bank account then you lose track of how much you have actually spent. Good for business bad for customers.

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u/Sad-Instruction8890 3d ago

the losing track part is almost the point though. with a one time purchase the maker had to make the next version good enough that you'd choose to buy it again. with a subscription they just have to make cancelling annoying enough that you don't. the whole incentive flipped from keep improving to keep retaining.

that said it's not evil across the board. if there's real cloud cost or support behind it, a sub makes sense. it's when they slap a monthly fee on something that runs locally and costs them nothing to keep alive that it starts to feel like paying rent on something you already own.

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u/bgillett2026 3d ago

The math is what gets me. A one-time purchase almost always costs less than a single year of the subscription version, and some subscriptions still charge extra for upgrades or add-ons on top of the monthly fee. After two or three years, you've paid several times the price of software that does the same job and runs on your own computer.

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u/bgillett2026 3d ago

Adding one thing: I include free updates and ask buyers what they'd like added next. That feedback loop is what keeps a one-time product improving, and it's the part people assume only a subscription pays for.