New Unraid OS License Pricing, Timeline, and FAQs
unraid.net
Unraid has come out with their new pricing plan.
I have mistakenly said in some comments here before that they were doing away with their lifetime plan. They still have it, but it is just more expensive. They have introduced a couple of cheaper annual subscription plans.
If anyone is still on the fence about buying Unraid, you have a week until the new pricing plan comes into affect.
After seeing so many examples of companies really screwing up their pricing changes, it is refreshing to see Unraid do this so well.
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If you ask me, Unraid went the Plex way, enshittification ensues.
There’s no enshitification happening if the product hasn’t gotten any worse. It’s just a pricing change. In fact, if the pricing change does in fact lead to a better product then this is the complete opposite of enshitification.
You also, no matter the tier, still get a perpetual license. If you don’t pay the upgrade, you keep your current version and can download and install it forever. This is just a more streamlined version of the same business model software has been using forever.
It’s the same model JetBrains has for their IDEs. You pay for a year, you get a perpetual fallback license. You pay again, get another year of updates.
JetBrains (accurately) still calls it a subscription though.
Can I update every second or third year? Will the previous versions receive security updates?
Go read the link, I’m not a TL;DR bot mate.
No worries.
For those who were wondering:
On the security updates:
Yes they'll provide some security updates for some time even out of contract. No time frame given, only in relative release numbers:
Version -2 of currently released minor version goes EOL. The cadence is not explicitly provided
On not renewing or renewing later:
Yes, jump in any time.
Fewer people will get into unraid. Natural churn will happen. The OS will slowly die, and as it dies usability will get worse.
Not many people are going to choose the subscription Linux over a free Linux.
I am personally not a huge fan of unraid, but their new licenses seems based.
One time purchases are not a sustainable income source for long living and updated software products like unraid.
Since they (for now) keeping the 'legacy licenses', offer security patches for some time after the license ends and do not restrict access to the system after the license ends means they do not fully follow others like Plex to the enshitification.
I’m always left scratching my head every time I hear this line. Software subscriptions are a relatively new trend. The majority of software has been single-purchase until then over the last handful of decades. Why did it suddenly stop being sustainable to do so?
Because they released a new version every year or two. Look at Microsoft Office, Windows, Adobe Suit (Or any other successful software that is still around) All had a new Version every few years where all the new shiny features were locked behind.
Yes there are exceptions...
Very few companies are able to offer only lifetime plams for as cheap as they did and still be profitable.. Was cool that they did but obviously wasn't very beneficial for them in the long run. No enshittitfication making sure your company survives..