September 18, 2026 · Personal
Why I Despise Subscription Models: A Software Developer's Perspective
Photo by Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash
I absolutely despise subscription models. And as a software developer, I simply cannot comprehend how my fellow developers can have such blatant intentions when it comes to subscriptions. Don't get me wrong—I think subscription models have every right to exist. After all, developers don't live on love and air; they need calculable income. I especially understand it when software incurs ongoing costs, like server expenses for cloud services or integrations that require continuous financial outlay. That makes perfect sense to me. But what I absolutely cannot understand—and what I find truly repulsive—is that apps with no ongoing infrastructure costs still force you into a subscription. That is beyond customer-unfriendly; it's simply nonsensical.
How this started
This whole trend started with a variation that Adobe introduced. Back then, there were ubiquitous programs like Photoshop that were extremely expensive to purchase outright. Individual programs cost several hundred euros, and every year there was a new version. Instead of releasing a new version annually that you could have used for many years, they decided to switch to a subscription model. In a way, it democratized access—suddenly everyone could afford a few euros a month to use professional software. Adobe was one of the biggest pioneers in this space, and soon everyone jumped on the bandwagon. I believe Adobe changed a lot, but specifically with Adobe, it was tied to a cloud service. You could offload tasks, and those ongoing infrastructure costs justified the subscription to some extent. But not for an app that is developed once and runs completely offline.
A fair deal
I'm a big advocate—and that's why I'm extremely committed—to making all my published projects one-time purchases. Of course, there are ongoing costs: support, further development, updates. But I think if an app is well-made and continuously supported and improved, you can keep attracting new buyers. I believe that's a fair deal. And even if you eventually release a new major version years later, it's perfectly fine to offer that as a paid one-time purchase option. In any case, I will always strive to offer any app I develop as a one-time purchase, as long as there are no ongoing infrastructure costs. Apps should not be a subscription trap—they should be fairly affordable.
My promise
So here's my promise: every app I release will be a one-time purchase. Because I believe in fair pricing, not endless renting.