08-21-2022, 04:10 PM
https://www.dpreview.com/news/5383850397...cing-model
Pixelmator Photo, a mobile photo editing app for iPhone and iPad that supports raw image files from more than 600 cameras and offers numerous desktop-class adjustments, has switched to subscription pricing and will also be coming to Mac.
In a blog post, the Pixelmator team explains its decision to ditch the $7.99 upfront cost for Pixelmator Photo to a $4.99 per month (or $23.99 per year) subscription cost. The primary reason for the switch is that one-time purchases occur primarily when Pixelmator releases major updates to its app. However, the rest of the time, the team still incurs significant development costs without major influxes of revenue. Pixelmator writes, 'With a one-time purchase model, we rely on releasing major updates that create buzz in the media and with regular folks online to sell more copies of our apps than we usually do – i.e. we do our best to attract as many new users as possible. The rest of the time, the money we make isn’t actually enough to support development costs.'
Why doesn't the team continually release major updates? This approach is okay when everything goes smoothly. If you face delays, it's a big problem. Further, the paid upfront model incentivizes Pixelmator to hold big new features until a major release. In contrast, with a subscription model, the team can release updates as soon as they're ready. This is a similar reason why Capture One has also shifted its focus toward a subscription model. With the paid upfront model, there's a challenging balance between releasing updates that are so big and flashy that customers want to pay for an upgrade while not so drastic that users need to relearn how to use the software.
Pixelmator Photo, a mobile photo editing app for iPhone and iPad that supports raw image files from more than 600 cameras and offers numerous desktop-class adjustments, has switched to subscription pricing and will also be coming to Mac.
In a blog post, the Pixelmator team explains its decision to ditch the $7.99 upfront cost for Pixelmator Photo to a $4.99 per month (or $23.99 per year) subscription cost. The primary reason for the switch is that one-time purchases occur primarily when Pixelmator releases major updates to its app. However, the rest of the time, the team still incurs significant development costs without major influxes of revenue. Pixelmator writes, 'With a one-time purchase model, we rely on releasing major updates that create buzz in the media and with regular folks online to sell more copies of our apps than we usually do – i.e. we do our best to attract as many new users as possible. The rest of the time, the money we make isn’t actually enough to support development costs.'
Why doesn't the team continually release major updates? This approach is okay when everything goes smoothly. If you face delays, it's a big problem. Further, the paid upfront model incentivizes Pixelmator to hold big new features until a major release. In contrast, with a subscription model, the team can release updates as soon as they're ready. This is a similar reason why Capture One has also shifted its focus toward a subscription model. With the paid upfront model, there's a challenging balance between releasing updates that are so big and flashy that customers want to pay for an upgrade while not so drastic that users need to relearn how to use the software.
![[Image: yVdL8af.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/yVdL8af.jpg)