HUGE increase in site software license

[Admin]

Hi All, I have been notified that the software we use on the site here and on the Social Australia site has had a price increase:

I’m writing to you to let you know about a few changes to your Invision Community license.

Don’t worry, it’s not bad news, but there is a price increase, so let’s get that out of the way first and then get onto the good stuff.

We’re switching to annual renewals with a modest price increase. The new renewal cost changes are as follows (per year):

• Forums: was $50, now $80 (increase of $2.50/month)
• Blogs: was $20, now $30 (increase of $0.83/month)
• Gallery: was $20, now $30 (increase of $0.83/month)
• Downloads: was $20, now $30 (increase of $0.83/month)
• Pages: was $30, now $45 (increase of $1.25/month)
• Commerce: was $70, now $95 (increase of $2.08/month)

 

The above is in USD so what this means is the yearly license renewal for the sites has increased by 50%. Basically it means that it has jumped from $210 to $310 USD a year which means a jump in Australian Dollars from $292 to $431 for the same components.

 

Xenforo software has a yearly cost of $95 USD i.e. $132 AUD

 

So the software we are using now is $300 more than the software we use to use.

 

The question is...Is the current software worth the substantial extra cost every year...what do you think?

 

[FlyBoy1960]

the increase is such a small cost to cover from the different membership levels that you sell.   you also have supplier section, they would have to pay to advertise on the website as well I am guessing. If you can't cover $300 per year which is less than $10 per week then you have to find other ways to support the website.

 

I would help, but my exotic dancing days are over!   (knee injury)

[onetrack]

Ian, didn't the majority of users agree that the Xenforo software and page layout was less attractive and less user-friendly, than the IPS software we're using now?

 

Didn't you mention to me earlier this week (and I quote) - "IPS is not an easy to manage software solution like for example Xenforo is, Xenforo is very limited though."

 

In what way is Xenforo "very limited"? Another forum I am on is going through this "Xenforo or IPS"? soul-searching right at present, as a forum upgrade is planned.

 

What is to stop Xenforo from pushing their prices up within the near future, as well, so that it ends up costing the same amount in increased costs?

 

The cost increases seem pretty savage, on a percentage basis. There's nothing "modest" about them. If I got a pay rise of that percentage, I'd be very happy!

 

One hopes there would be some level of pushback against the size of the cost increase.

 

Edited September 16, 2021 by onetrack

[kgwilson]

OT as I remember it was the other way round. Most users preferred the Xenforo software at the time. I don't think it matters as you will become accustomed to whatever you use after a while.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Ian, the great value of this site is the debating and the technical questions answered. I would be happy with the cheapest software which achieved that, and I didn't notice much if any changes last time.

Thanks for the best site on the net.