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Another SSA Price Increase!

I've been off the boards for a bit, so I'm not sure this has been discussed previously, but...

There is another SSA price increase! For anyone doing the math, in 2022, 2023 and now 2024, in the span of 24 months, that is a 25% price increase.

 

Why Graphisoft?

 

I am still crashing on my MacTel machine. Even on the Apple Silicon version I have to restart every now and then when strange anomalies arise, only in ArchiCAD, and one that tech support says they can't solve.

How can there be justification for raising the price AGAIN when you've just put out a perpetually buggy version of ArchiCAD? Maybe the buggiest one to date. We Mac users to wait months after release for solutions to the crashing. This is seriously bordering on a breach of contract or lack of good faith on GS's part. We paid for software that we had a reasonable expectation of stability for, but to date, there seems to not be a crash proof version... and then you raise the price.

Graphisoft ( @Marton Kiss   @Akos Pfemeter) we need a legitimate explanation and most likely a repeal of this price increase. Again, this is the third price increase totaling around 25% in the past 24 months.

My suspicion is that this is a tactic by GS to force perpetual license holders (their most loyal of customers) onto their subscription model.

 

Operating system used: Mac Apple Silicon 14.4.1

Rex Maximilian, Honolulu, USA - www.rexmaximilian.com
ArchiCAD 27 (user since 3.4, 1991)
16" MacBook Pro; M1 Max (2021), 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 32-Core GPU
Apple Vision Pro w/ BIMx
Creator of the Maximilian ArchiCAD Template System
45 REPLIES 45

@proto wrote:

The whole discount to prepay 3yrs isn't a much of a discount, and the target push of that incentive is for something I don't actually use as a small company: cloud services.


As I have said many times, you do not have to change to the subscription (collaboration) model if you do not want to.

If you have a perpetual license and you are paying the annual SSA or Forward support fees, then you can continue paying those just as you do now.

 

Barry.

One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
i7-10700 @ 2.9Ghz, 32GB ram, GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11

Barry, we all understand that, for now, we are not required to switch to the subscription model if we pay the SSA/forward. The problem is precisely that: paying it, with a 63% increase in two years. The issue isn't about switching to the subscription model or not, but rather about stopping the SSA payment and holding out until Archicad stops working, while in the meantime, we look for alternatives.

I understand you are unhappy with the recent price increases for the annual support.

But is it still around 1/2 the price of the current collaboration subscription.

If you switch to the subscription, then sure, you will get it at the same price as current support for 3 years, and then possibly another extension for 3 more years (no guarantee that the pricing will remain the same for 6 years) ,but then you will be stuck with the full subscription cost (who knows what that will be in 6 years).

You will not be able to update your perpetual license by then as I understand it, you will have to pay the subscription once you start.

 

Stay with your current support now and you can keep updating with no difference to what you are paying now.

I have no doubt prices will continue to increase for both support and subscription in future.

How much - I hope not too much.

 

If you are happy with your current version then you can opt to no longer pay any support fees.

You will be saving money in the short term, but you will be stuck with that version for ever.

Should you want to later upgrade, you will have to take out the full price subscription.

Stop paying the subscription after that and you will not have the current version you are using at the time, just the one you had when you stopped paying for support - that perpetual license is yours for ever.

 

For me, I will continue to pay my current annual support, and hope it remains reasonably priced compared to the collaboration subscription.

I guess if the price increases too much, I may elect to stop all payments and stay with the last version I have at that time.

 

Barry.

One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
i7-10700 @ 2.9Ghz, 32GB ram, GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11
jl_lt
Ace

Did my best to not make more Dark mode Knight themed jokes. Experienced success for a while: It was a horrible feeling.

 

**Crashes into Graphisoft´s yearly shareholder cocktail party… 

 

-You know, i´ll settle for in-place reference editing

-We are not intimidated by long-time Archicad users!

-You know, you remind me of Revit…. I HATED Revit!

SUPH
Contributor

I have a perpetual license, so if i subscribe to the SSA and forward, do i get a discount on the SSA?

0r

is there an option to take forward only?

or

IF i have perpetual license and take a forward will the SSA be waved?

 

SSA and Forward are the same thing (different names in different regions I believe).

These are the agreements you have with your perpetual license for upgrades, support, insurance, some extras and add-ons, etc.

What you are paying now is what you will pay in the future (with annual increases I am sure).

 

The Collaboration Subscription is the new licencing scheme where you basically rent the software and no longer own it.

It includes all updates, as well as BIMCloud license I believe, and all extras and add-ons plus some features you won't get with SSA/Forward.

You will still have your perpetual license, although it will be locked at version 25 and you will have a cloud license for 26+ as I understand it.

If you are switching to the Collaboration Subscription, you can get a discount for 3 years and only pay what you are paying now for SSA/Forward.

Usually the Collaboration Subscription is much more expensive.

 

Barry.

One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
i7-10700 @ 2.9Ghz, 32GB ram, GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11

So if we do not change to the subscription model, and we have a perpetual license is it possible to switch in any given time in the future to the subscription of that time?

 

On the contrary, if one switches to the subscription model is the perpetual license also updated to the perpetual license of the subscribed model.?

Am i to understand, since i have a perpetual license and if i pay for the SSA i will get all the upgrades, add-ons etc and will not need a collaboration subscription.

IF  and when I stop paying SSA . I will be able to use the last upgrade perpetually.

Not all addons. For the moment starting with 28 the AI addon will not work for Forward/SSA users. Only for subscription users. Nobody knows which addons gradually will be inaccessible for Perpetual licenses..... 

Botonis Botonakis
Civil Engineer, Enviromental Design MSc., BIM Manager for BS ArhitectsVR
Company or personal website
Archicad 27. Windows 11. Intel Xeon 2699x2,64 GB RAM, Nvidia 3080Ti. 2 Monitors.

If this is true, regarding the AI add-on only available in v28 to subscription users, GS would be showing their true intent to strangle all SSA users for once and for all and to FORCE them into subscription models. GREED breeds descent. If they want to force our hand, for me and I suspect many other US clients, it would make sense to finally shift to Revit. One need only look at the percentage of employment ads in the US market seeking architects with Revit expertise vs. ArchiCAD, it's a no brainer to switch if the pricing is going to be similar. 

Robert Mariani
MARIANI design studio, PLLC
Architecture / Architectural Photography
www.robertmariani.com

Mac OSX 13.1
AC 24 / 25 / 26

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