CENTSIBLE
You read that right. I didn't take this decision lightly. It's something that's been on the back of my mind for months. Then 37Signals released Once.com. It really resonated with me. Then I knew what I had to do.
I'm old enough to remember when software was buy once. Use it as long as it ran. And it normally ran "forever". In fact, I still have software that runs fine even after six or seven years. Unfortunately everything today is a subscription.
Why?
You might be wondering why I'm making this decision considering how Centsible started off subscription based. The answer is simple. I intended to grow fast and work on Centsible full time. But I haven't seen the growth necessary to devote the same level of time and energy into this project.
Additionally, Centsible has reached a pretty stable state. Not to say there won't be bugs. But it has most of the core envelope budgeting features people pay $100 dollars a year for in the big competing apps.
Ultimately it just doesn't feel right to be charging monthly/yearly for what will be the same product year over year. This doesn't mean I will stop working on Centsible. Just means my time commitment will be much less. I'll also be able to focus on small quality of life things to make it the best budgeting app possible.
Billing Updates
Let's go over what the new billing updates are so there are no surprises.
Lifetime Offline License
As I eluded in the title, Centsible will begin to offer a one-time lifetime license for $100 USD. That means you pay $100 once for offline access to the core envelope budgeting features. No ongoing cost needed. The part I want you to pay close attention to is the word "offline".
Centsible was built with real-time data sync capabilities, which is an on-going cost. For this reason the lifetime license will come with 2 years of data sync included. After that syncing will no longer work. Crucially though, you don't lose access to all the budgeting functionality. This is where the next part comes in.
Data Sync Subscription
I've decided to adopt of hybrid billing model. Pay once for the core functionality, but if you need to sync your budget data between devices, a subscription is necessary. I've made it $12 USD per year, which is about $1 per month. Those numbers don't include tax.
Importantly, you won't have to worry about this for two years after buying a lifetime license. If you are budgeting alone and don't need to share your budget across devices, you have an envelope budget app that you only pay once for. Although it doesn't exist yet, there will be a way to migrate your data across devices when your data sync stops working.
FAQ
What if I already subscribed yearly?
If you've only been subscribed for 1 year, simply wait until your subscription happens one more time. Then turn off auto-renew. It's the same cost as the lifetime subscription, so I will honor it. You'll get the same 2 years of data sync included. If you've been subscribed for two years, turn off auto-renew and contact support to get you updated.
What if I subscribed monthly?
This one is trickier as the total is likely to be much less than the yearly. First, I would turn off auto-renew. Contact support with the email you used to sign up with. I'll extend your subscription the number of months you have already paid. If you subscribed for 3 months, get 3 more months free. Then after that you can decide if you'd like to purchase a lifetime license.
If any of the monthly subscribers disagree with this, please make the argument when you email support. If you need time to save for a lifetime subscription, we can make it work.
The lifetime license is expensive.
I completely understand if people are going through tough times. Don't hesitate to contact support. We'd be more than happy to extend your trial so you can gain the benefits of envelope budgeting. The hope is if we can help you save $100 dollars to buy the license, buying Centsible is an easy choice.
If you feel it's too expensive in general, I recommend looking at open source alternatives.
Why do I have to pay for multi-device data sync?
Firstly, you don't have to subscribe to sync your data between devices. If you don't need it you can still manage your budget on a single device. In the future you'll be able to move your budget file to a different device if you need to switch phones.
As mentioned above, data sync is an ongoing cost. Servers aren't free. And if you compare the current price ($12 USD) to open source alternatives that allow you to host your own data, it'll cost you a minimum of $1.4o USD per month. If you don't want to worry about managing your server and keeping it updated, $12 USD yearly is priced competitively.