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Disappointing price policy change


Sergio
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A few years ago I choose Enpass over competitors like 1Password and others because of the pricing model twined with the product architecture model: rather than a subscription to pay forever for a cloud service, a simple amount to pay for a license of a software that relies on the user storage (no matter if cloud or local based). I've been very happy to pay the license on each platform I have (currently 3: macOS, iOS, Android) and, after all, now I could be very happy to have received a "complimentary" subscription too. But how long will it last? Only God knows, I have is no communication from Enpass on this. So as this price policy change arrived without any prior notice, another one could take place in the (near? distant?) future canceling my complimentary subscription.

Nevetherless my trust in Enpass is starting to decline, because the new policy has been really a surprise to me, based on the fact that prior the change the claim on their site has always been:

Quote

Simple Pricing. No subscription required. Just download and use.

 

Enpass, was it too imperative?

Also the way they changed the price policy is really disappointing: neither a message in the app nor an email in my inbox to communicate the news and give me a chance to reply. 

Last but not least, the new price policy cancels the major difference between Enpass and its competitors: now 1Password could gain interest again to me, especially the "family" plan...

 

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well enpass does have a (granted, more expensive if you use less platforms) one time purchase though

 

I mean even though they say and probably do (didnt try yet) make the desktop versions fully featured fully free, you basically pay as if you would buy for all 5 platforms (win, mac, lin, ios, droid)

Edited by My1
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The real point of my disappointing is about trust: we are dealing with a password manager tool, I need to trust the company at 1000% and any statement he makes (no matter if commercial or technical) must be reliable in the long-term. They failed to do so and this results in a (too) big uncertainty for the future.

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Sergio, I agree that trust with a password management programme is very important. That is why I changed to Enpass, after 1Password started trying to push people to their online-version (using amazon servers at least at that time, so a US-company under US laws, which I did not want to have even when encrypted) with almost missionary zest, although I would have liked to stay with 1Password. Admittedly, I also do not like the subscription model very much.

However, I think it would be wise to distinguish between statements that contain a guarantee that it will be like that for ever and those which are only valid for a certain time. In a world of change, statements related to prices are prone to go with that change, and I do not think one should expect otherwise - a company must be able to sustain itself, and the people working for it will not only want to "barely manage". So reasonable pricing is... reasonable.

And they do stand by their promise that if one bought (and during the transition period still can buy) a mobile version once, one would be able to keep it without paying anything more. But I do not think they have promised that what you have been quoting ("no subscription") would stay so forever, did they? So I do not think one has to see here a breach of trust. 

And, while I think the reasoning for the change should not have started with changing user habits (I severely dislike when companies tell me, that because of "habits" of "users" they change into a direction I dislike, for I am a user, too, and have not even been considered, especially if one has to pay more in the end because it would be what "users" want, so to speak, I would appreciate coming forth with the - in my eyes - core argument at once (they do have raised the point in their blog post, though, just not as the first argument, but they have), which is: they need to earn money), they do still offer a non-subscription purchase option, as My1 has pointed out.

So, when I try to be fair, I think it is an acceptable decision - although, as I said, I dislike subscriptions and would prefer companies to stay away from that as "just the price of one Starbucks coffee", as often, then, is the justification, simply very quickly adds up. And I just want to know that the purchase is done once I have - once! - paid, until I actively decide to pay for a new update, for example. 

By still offering both options, Enpass has, in my eyes, tried and managed to find a balance that will stustain it, which is good for the users. We may not like parts of the way how it is achieved, but in my eyes, they do try to make it fair and gracious. That at the moment some may have difficulties signing up, if you look through the forum, is unfortunate, but can be forgiven in this transition period, I think.

Of course, everyone has to decide for himself - but I just wanted to point out that if it is about trust, for me, in this, it has not been broken. It is our expectations that may have been disappointed, but promises I do see kept, as far as I can see.

 

 

 

 

Edited by starlight
better expressed
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I support the concerns of the author of the topic.
Any lifetime license ends with the release of a new product (e.g. Enpass XS), to which it does not apply, and the old program ceases to be supported. Formally, everything is according to the law, but essentially it is a mockery. If a company changes its principles, it can no longer be trusted.

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I understand your concern.

But if you were the executive of the company what will you choose between this: keep the principles of the company but went bankrupt, or break some principles of the company but keep it alive?

Company strategy tends to change overtime, you can't force them to stay the same forever. And they never promised us thay'll stay with one-time payment forever either.

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