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Should Cartoon Animator 5 Release a Subscription Service?

Posted By Deborah Hearne 2 Years Ago
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Should Cartoon Animator 5 Release a Subscription Service?

Should Cartoon Animator 5 Release a Subscription Service?

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Deborah Hearne
Deborah Hearne
Posted 2 Years Ago
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Now, there is a debate as to whether Reallusion should add a subscription service for Cartoon Animator 5. I see both points of the argument. I voted that Cartoon Animator 5 should also be available as a subscription service if the perpetual license is still available. I think a fair price for the subscription service should be $9.99 a month or $69 a year. I voted for a subscription service for the following reasons:
  • It allows people who only need it for one project to have access to the software without paying full price
  • People can test the software for longer than the free trial period
  • People who can't afford to pay for a perpetual license can pay a small monthly fee to use the software
Sophus
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I propose three options.

  • Perpetual license, pay upfront.
  • Rent-to-Own, meaning you subscribe until you pay the full perpetual price. After that your payment will be stopped and you can use your license permanently.
  • Subscription, pay a lower price than the first two options, but lose your license once you stop paying.

The subscription takes your projects hostage. I will never buy a pure subscription license.
AutoDidact
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A subscription service for a program that typically costs less than $300 USD depending on what content bundle you buy?
Most would consider looking at the free 2D animation solutions before buying into rentware I think.




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2 Years Ago by AutoDidact
animagic
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Given that a typical release cycle for a version is 3 to 4 years, I wonder if you would save much with a subscription. And with a perpetual license you at least own the software.


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Deborah Hearne
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Sophus (8/26/2022)
I propose three options.

  • Perpetual license, pay upfront.
  • Rent-to-Own, meaning you subscribe until you pay the full perpetual price. After that your payment will be stopped and you can use your license permanently.
  • Subscription, pay a lower price than the first two options, but lose your license once you stop paying.

The subscription takes your projects hostage. I will never buy a pure subscription license.


I think this would be a great idea. They could use Apple Pay or Affirm for payment plans. There are several websites that are now offering Affirm as a payment option.

Deborah Hearne
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animagic (8/26/2022)
Given that a typical release cycle for a version is 3 to 4 years, I wonder if you would save much with a subscription. And with a perpetual license you at least own the software.


I think for some people it would save them money if they didn't need to use Cartoon Animator daily but for certain projects. For example, if they have a project that is six weeks and the subscription price is only $9.99 a month for the pipeline version, they will pay less than $20 per license to complete the project. If they had to buy the perpetual license, without a sale, they would spend $199 per license. With multiple people working on a project, the cost can quickly add up

A subscription is better for people who can't pay the full price all at once or they infrequently use Cartoon Animator. For example, a team of people who already have licenses but for a project they need to add one person to the team. The person will be working on a single project for a brief period. It is better financially for the team to buy a subscription for the temporary team member than to buy a license.

The perpetual license is a better deal for people who frequently use Cartoon Animator.
Deborah Hearne
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AutoDidact (8/26/2022)
A subscription service for a program that typically costs less than $300 USD depending on what content bundle you buy?
Most would consider looking at the free 2D animation solutions before buying into rentware I think.


I don't think most would turn to open-source software over Cartoon Animator. There isn't an open-source competitor to Cartoon Animator. The Adobe version of Cartoon Animator, Character Animator is only on the subscription model. It costs $54.95 a month yet people still pay that price. There is no perpetual license. It has more advanced features than Cartoon Animator 4 but hopefully many of these features will come in Cartoon Animator 5. For example, you can import ai files as vector files. Cartoon Animator only supports flash vector files. 

Comparison of Cartoon Animator and Character Animator.
animagic
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Deborah Hearne (8/27/2022)
 
I don't think most would turn to open-source software over Cartoon Animator. There isn't an open-source competitor to Cartoon Animator. The Adobe version of Cartoon Animator, Character Animator is only on the subscription model. It costs $54.95 a month yet people still pay that price. There is no perpetual license. It has more advanced features than Cartoon Animator 4 but hopefully many of these features will come in Cartoon Animator 5. For example, you can import ai files as vector files. Cartoon Animator only supports flash vector files. 

Comparison of Cartoon Animator and Character Animator.

The $54.95/month you quote is for the Adobe All Apps plan, which includes things like Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, and many more. You can not get Character Animator on its own.


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toonmanbill
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I don't like subscription services, so NO to subscriptions.  I would rather pay for upgrades. I like supporting the developers for bringing mayor upgrade releases and making the software better.  
Thanks!

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2 Years Ago by toonmanbill
Deborah Hearne
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animagic (8/27/2022)
Deborah Hearne (8/27/2022)
 
I don't think most would turn to open-source software over Cartoon Animator. There isn't an open-source competitor to Cartoon Animator. The Adobe version of Cartoon Animator, Character Animator is only on the subscription model. It costs $54.95 a month yet people still pay that price. There is no perpetual license. It has more advanced features than Cartoon Animator 4 but hopefully many of these features will come in Cartoon Animator 5. For example, you can import ai files as vector files. Cartoon Animator only supports flash vector files. 

Comparison of Cartoon Animator and Character Animator.

The $54.95/month you quote is for the Adobe All Apps plan, which includes things like Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, and many more. You can not get Character Animator on its own.

I understand. To better clarify, if you only wanted to use Character Animator, the cost is $54.95 a month because it is not a standalone program. Getting Photoshop, After Effects, etc. is a bonus but if you only need Character Animator you will still pay $54.95 a month.



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