I´m a bit shocked right now.
I´m using Xojo since it was RealBasic 1.0 to program a hobby project and am renewing my macOS lite license every year.
About 100€ per year is OK for me but a 500% price increase (killing lite and having to move to Desktop)?
I guess, you are killing a lot of hobby projects with that increase.
I sincerely hope I misunderstood something…
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Well, I’m out.
I used to have a Pro license years ago, then I downgraded because I’m only interested in macOS Desktop apps these days.
And now, for various reasons, I’m not doing a whole lot of Xojo programming lately. I was maybe going to keep my hand in by downgrading to Lite next year when my current license runs out, but that’s not happening now.
So, adiós mis amigos, Xojo, and the 3rd party vendor licenses I was also paying for.
To be clear, my decision is not just about money, but it is a factor.
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There will certainly be those who are unhappy with this decision (I’m not personally thrilled), but the markets aren’t doing any of us any favors. I’ve been holding off on a price adjustment, but the time is quickly approaching where I will no longer be able to. Prices are going up everywhere on everything, and many businesses either have to adjust with the changing landscape or shut their doors (or raise prices, still fall short, and close up shop anyway).
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Well, this looks like the beginning of THE END of 20+ years using Xojo / RB.
I’ve written to Xojo about it. We’ll see what they say.
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I’m not happy about, but considering even at the new price it’ll pay for itself about 100x over each year, it’s “just” the cost of doing business.
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I don’t disagree, except for those of us that are hobbyists.
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Oh I completely get it. I was originally in that boat.
Sadly, this is what wealth often does – makes poeple blind, out of touch with reality. Notice those who consider this change the “cost of doing business” are Pro users. To all you “Pro” users – congratulations for your success. Stop and consider that the price increase is, for you, a much smaller percentage of your total. You spend more, but you earn more – usually a lot more, than the rest of us. So you have much less reason to even respond to these changes, and I hope you won’t be telling the rest of us to just suck it up, because you really have no right. The rest of us do not, and cannot share your priviledged opinions.
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Everybody’s situation is different. I started with REALbasic when I was 14. My parents bought me Matt Neuberg’s book about it thinking it was just something I could pick up for free like I did with Perl. Buying a license was completely outside the realm of possibility, so I was pirating it. When I started working, Janet (I think) gave me a nice discount to become a legit user. I spent years struggling to pay for and justify my license as a hobbyist. I’ve been there, I understand that dropping the $100 lite license in favor of a $500 desktop license is… heartbreaking. I’d be devastated if I were still in that situation.
I’m not trying to be an apologist and I’m definitely not telling you to suck it up. But what would you like me to do instead? Do you expect me to stop renewing a product that my business relies on and costs only 1% of my sales?
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I just renewed my Lite license. I had not planned on renewing right now, but was planning to renew every couple of years. Xojo has priced me out of the market, being a hobbyist. I am toying with going back to VB community addition.
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Yep, another hobbyist here. I don’t create apps for anyone but me. The cheapest new license for me in Aus dollars will be around $750 per year. I’ve got a license good till Aug 2026 but after that I’ll be done.
I totally understand having to increase prices from time to time but it’s the “retirement” of one that allows those of us that don’t sell their apps to use the product I don’t get. Are we really that much of a burden on your profits? Do you expect us to pay 500% increase or leave?
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You guys could update the Lite license for a few years to lock in the old price.
Maybe ask support if they could do it for 5 years?
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This is I think what most concerns me. Xojo focuses hard on the “citizen developer” but these new prices really aren’t compatible with that. They won’t give pros the pro features we want, and price themselves away from hobbyists and citizen developers. Who’s the target now?
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I have an old pro license which still works and I will try to keep using it until it stops. Honestly at these new prices, I won’t buy a renew when it does. One grand is double the price of a visual studio professional license so I might as well invest the time to use that instead, which is honestly a whole different league.
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For comparison:
Purebasic lifetime individual license: $80
Enterprise wide license for all users in organziation: $500
Not to mention all the free/open source options out there.
Goodbye Xojo.
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I’m not telling anyone what to do. I congratulated you for your success and pointed out that, (regardless of how long it took you to get there), you are now speaking from a position of priviledge which has nothing to do with the reality of the majority of users of this tool.
At some point Xojo started catering to the rich. At some later point they introduced an even higher tier to cater to the super-rich. But, all the while they maintained their entry-level tier so the poor could also enjoy their tool. As long as the poor can participate, that’s fair.
Now they have removed that entry tier, the one that poor people can afford. So they have decided to be a tool for rich users. This same thing is happening everywhere in the US (my home country in which I’m glad I no longer to live). Cut help for the poor, end all programs that help anyone anywhere, it’s all about the rich, blah blah blah.
We know you can afford it, “Pro” users. Once again, congratulations! Good for you! The rest of us are left out to dry. Tough luck for us. That’s no longer fair. And no, I’m not whining. The reality is, this system is no longer fair, because simply doesn’t work for those who aren’t rich.
So I hope Xojo will reconsider and offer a tier for poor people again. It’s exactly this that I’ve respected most about Xojo over all these years. Sad to see them turn their backs on those who can’t afford to pay 5x the former entry fee.
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While I share your frustration and disappointment that the affordable Lite version is gone, I think you’re reading an awful lot into the decision and Thom’s comments. Xojo is hardly the class war combatant you make them out to be.
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My suggestion would be that they phase out the Lite license instead of yanking it without any warning. Perhaps give people a month to purchase it before it disappears from the website…? Plenty of business have purchasing pipelines where multiple approvals are involved; discontinuing a product like this is very disruptive and could cause Xojo to be dropped from consideration due to product line volatility.
Hobbist/part-timer here too. I guess this has priced me out as well when mine expires. I sell small strategy games on Steam/Epic Games, and can’t justify a 300x increase. a real shame. It also makes a bit alarmed for the future of Xojo that this was put into effect so quickly and with little notice (2 weeks away really).
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Zero notice, if you’re a new customer. Lite is gone from the online store.
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