Thisarticlewas written by Matthew Guay,Capiches founding editor and former senior writer at Zapier.
It almost felt like common knowledge that software was increasingly expensive.
Yet was it, really?
Our hunch was correct.
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Then came a global pandemic, paired with a boom in tech stocks.
Perhaps it wasnt the time to raise prices.
Perhaps the price was already right.
10% of software got more expensive this year, counterbalanced by the 8% that lowered prices.
The dramatic price changes from the switch to SaaS have stabilized.
Amazon AWSthe service thatd power much of the SaaS boomwas 3 years old.
So the world went SaaS, right around the end of the 21st centurys first decade.
Wufoo launched in 2006, Todoist in 2007, Dropbox in 2008.
Slack would come out 5 years later.
And at first, it was a win.
Some software even got dramatically cheaper over the decade, in almost Moores law for software.
File storage pricing stayed the same while giving you dramatically more.
Video calls got commoditized, as free services like FaceTime, Google Meet, and Zoom filled the market.
SaaS made you keep paying.
You increasingly had to commit to at least a year-long subscription.
When the price changed, you were stuck.
And the plethora of new business software meant you had an increasing number of software bills to pay.
Its not like boxed software kept the same price forever either.
This years not as bad as the average.
What changed in 2020s software pricing?
Others saw a 30-50% price bump.
PieSync went up the most, with its price nearly tripling since its acquisition by HubSpot.
Notion made their personal plans free, as did GitHub along with reducing all their plans prices.
AWS took 1-12% off their services.
GoToMeeting costs less than half what it did last year.
Drip and LucidChart had raised their prices in 2019, then brought them back down this year.
But the sticker price wasnt the only way software pricing changed this year.
Some products de facto became more expensive, as features were cut or annual became required.
Other software got cheaper in the same way.
Dropbox threw in HelloSign features for no extra cost, after acquiring them last year.
HubSpot kept list prices the same, but now charges 20% less for additional contacts.
you’ve got the option to explore the full data onGoogle Sheets.
Whats next for software pricing?
Strong competition can change that, though.
Thats Notion and GitHubs new pricing strategy, after originally charging individuals and teams alike.
Atlasssian did something similar this year, making their 10-user plan free after years of charging for it.
In-App purchases for work.Another common trend is charging more for extra features.
Basecamps new email app, Hey, offered shorter email addresses for an additional price.
Xero now has add-ons for projects and expenses, features previously reserved for top plans.
Thats one way software can charge more, while letting users feel like theyre paying for something new.
More expensive software from the start.Raising prices is hard; lowering is easy.
