Looks like an interesting tool - thanks for making it open source! I was looking at the pricing of the paid version and thought to myself, "oh no, not another monthly subscription." There has to be a method for products like this to get financial support while not adding to subscription fatigue. Unfortunately I can't think of what that is right now. Will have to put that on the background thread in my brain and see if any ideas pop out!
True. Unfortunately that’s the reality where on-going operating costs are involved (backend, API, storage, etc.).
In this case, I tried to set a fair price and limit abuse (with usage-based pricing for API). Still, difficult to compete with „free”, usually VC-funded products.
Of course there’s also support and updates involved. The costs here are a bit less important to me (given Vrite being open-source) but you still pay them with your time.
Think about e.g. desktop apps with little to no backend, that you pay for „one time”, that eventually lock the access to the updates and you have to pay again.
Without some form of a subscription model, products like these become unsustainable. Which also makes them less appealing in the eyes of some customers (especially those willing to pay), i.e. „Why would I use the product that might be dead pretty soon?”.
With Vrite and open-source projects like it, at least you have a choice. Use the cloud version or self-host it yourself (which will also cost you usually ~$5/mo.).
So you still have to keep in mind that if you only self-host and don’t sponsor/contribute/get involved in the project in any way, you might only be adding to the project being unsustainable, and that the thing you actually use might disappear.
Just to be clear, the above is a pretty „cold” analysis. Vrite is still a passion project for me. I’ve been running it for free (in Beta) for over a year until a month ago. The goal of the „business side” is to offset the costs, make project sustainable, and get people interested in using it professionally.
Yeah - I totally hear you - revenue is essential (and deserved in your case)! I'm just tired of monthly subscriptions in general. What I think would be neat if there were some way to invest (or "stake" if we're thinking crypto) some money somewhere and then have some or all of the interest from that pool pay for the services that you are using. So instead of getting dinged monthly on your card you've got a cool little fund going on. Anyways, just throwing ideas out there, hopefully I didn't sidetrack your post!
In my case, for services I use, (unless they're essential), I use a virtual card. Limits the spending to what's assigned to the account, and when I forget to top it, usually I get an email and can decide if I want to keep the subscription. IMO, virtual cards are pretty great in general and can be used in a similar way to what you're describing.
I've seen apps that allow you to buy "credits" and use those for payments. It can work for some use cases. That said, when usage-based pricing is involved, I prefer to pay once I know the bill (preferably with an option to set a limit) rather than try and guess it ahead of time, or pay for more than I'll end up using.
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Looks like an interesting tool - thanks for making it open source! I was looking at the pricing of the paid version and thought to myself, "oh no, not another monthly subscription." There has to be a method for products like this to get financial support while not adding to subscription fatigue. Unfortunately I can't think of what that is right now. Will have to put that on the background thread in my brain and see if any ideas pop out!
True. Unfortunately that’s the reality where on-going operating costs are involved (backend, API, storage, etc.).
In this case, I tried to set a fair price and limit abuse (with usage-based pricing for API). Still, difficult to compete with „free”, usually VC-funded products.
Of course there’s also support and updates involved. The costs here are a bit less important to me (given Vrite being open-source) but you still pay them with your time.
Think about e.g. desktop apps with little to no backend, that you pay for „one time”, that eventually lock the access to the updates and you have to pay again.
Without some form of a subscription model, products like these become unsustainable. Which also makes them less appealing in the eyes of some customers (especially those willing to pay), i.e. „Why would I use the product that might be dead pretty soon?”.
With Vrite and open-source projects like it, at least you have a choice. Use the cloud version or self-host it yourself (which will also cost you usually ~$5/mo.).
So you still have to keep in mind that if you only self-host and don’t sponsor/contribute/get involved in the project in any way, you might only be adding to the project being unsustainable, and that the thing you actually use might disappear.
Just to be clear, the above is a pretty „cold” analysis. Vrite is still a passion project for me. I’ve been running it for free (in Beta) for over a year until a month ago. The goal of the „business side” is to offset the costs, make project sustainable, and get people interested in using it professionally.
Yeah - I totally hear you - revenue is essential (and deserved in your case)! I'm just tired of monthly subscriptions in general. What I think would be neat if there were some way to invest (or "stake" if we're thinking crypto) some money somewhere and then have some or all of the interest from that pool pay for the services that you are using. So instead of getting dinged monthly on your card you've got a cool little fund going on. Anyways, just throwing ideas out there, hopefully I didn't sidetrack your post!
No problem. I understand the frustration.
In my case, for services I use, (unless they're essential), I use a virtual card. Limits the spending to what's assigned to the account, and when I forget to top it, usually I get an email and can decide if I want to keep the subscription. IMO, virtual cards are pretty great in general and can be used in a similar way to what you're describing.
I've seen apps that allow you to buy "credits" and use those for payments. It can work for some use cases. That said, when usage-based pricing is involved, I prefer to pay once I know the bill (preferably with an option to set a limit) rather than try and guess it ahead of time, or pay for more than I'll end up using.