When did app subscriptions become so expensive?
Posted by Shangos_Wolf@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 80 comments
I cancelled my YouTube subscription as I saw it was going to be £16.99! It doesn't seem that long ago when it was a fiver! It's sad that there will be people, especially those who are old or with mental health, having completely forgotten about all these different app subscriptions and are just bleeding their accounts dry.
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
Smart tube for fire stick Brave browser for all other devices
You no longer have any need for YouTube premium
SmellyBallZ9@reddit
YES BRAVE BROWSER!!! No adds 😎
APithyComment@reddit
VacuumTube for SteamOS / Linux
ProfessionalWitty949@reddit
+1 for smart tube, no adds or sponsorship segments
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
I only appreciate just how good the sponsor block is when I'm watching via brave on my phone or laptop!
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Nice 1!
Truewit_@reddit
subscriptions are all predatory honestly
Azuras-Becky@reddit
I call it the "gym model". They rely on people forgetting they've got these subscriptions, or have otherwise convinced themselves that they need to keep them even if they don't use them.
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
I subscribed to Ancestry and forgot. I felt sick when about £70 was taken. Thankfully I disputed it and won but in all honesty I forgot. Now I cancel soon after I subscribe to anything.
nathderbyshire@reddit
Look for a bank that has virtual cards, starling does and you can sign up to subscriptions with that while keeping the pot with a couple quid to make sure trials get accepted if they need a card sign up. Then when it comes to renew it should send a notification before the money is taken giving you time cancel, but if not nothing will be in the account anyway.
Even a backup account would the same if it isn't storing too much money
I also make a reminder event when I subscribe to something that goes off a couple days before
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
YouTube is good for using the same payment card for different emails so can stretch it out with a bit of ducking and diving haha 😄
No-Storm5440@reddit
I got refund on amazon prime after speaking to CS about how confusing it is for me to check out with out subscribing to prime 😳. Did it again the other day but cancelled today.
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Yes Prime I only want for deliveries but then when I don't buy anything I want to cancel then try and dispute haha 😆
No-Storm5440@reddit
Haha - its a bit bad but they have more than enough money 😂. It's worked a few times for me but what.. its 8.99 right?
Shot_Net3794@reddit
Gyms were the canary in the coal mine
Azuras-Becky@reddit
It wasn't even a secret. Everybody knew that gyms couldn't function if three-quarters of their members had either forgotten about their membership or had convinced themselves that they needed to keep their memberships or they wouldn't go back for two weeks in January. Staff at my gym even called them 'resolutioners'.
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
I joined a gym once. Was one of those old school ones and I got a year for free as my direct debit wasn't renewed. The owner didn't even say anything. I'm going to surprise him one day and pay him for that year I'm sure he will be buzzing with the honesty. At the time I was young so didn't really think that deep just thought what a winner haha 😆
koloqial@reddit
Slightly hyperbolic.
Morganx27@reddit
Not really. What subscriptions aren't?
Spotify! £10 a month for all the music in the world, excellent deal! But... if you bought a CD a month with that same money, you'd have an impressive music library of all the music you actually listen to.
They all use the drug dealer business model. Eradicate all your competitors, then jack up the price, then make the product worse.
IzzyOHA@reddit
It’s not just streaming services either. My partner signed up to a Tesco delivery subscription last year, however we no longer shop there due to it becoming too expensive. I asked if he could cancel the subscription and he said you can’t as you have to have it for 12 months - £7.99 coming out of our account each month for nothing!!
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Absolute 🍑holes!
oldskoollondon@reddit
TV, software, music, all outrageous, but I get it. Then we have the printer ink subscription. Barely used printer, with a nearly full cartridge of ink. Can you use it? Not unless you've renewed your sub. I mean WTF?!
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
I bought an expensive truck driving Garmin... Yes you guessed it. After a couple years it needed a subscription. Thankfully I left the job and gave it away. Rather use Google maps.
Technical_Front_8046@reddit
Adgaurd. Block YouTube ads for free
Duckboythe5th@reddit
Sail ye ol' seas me hearty! 🏴☠️🦜
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
At least email addresses are infinite 😇
srm79@reddit
I remember when Netflix was about a fiver and was chocker block with content, then Prime came along for not much per week. It felt like these were all you'd ever need.
It's an absolute shame we now need about 7 subscriptions for around 5 times the cost just to get about 2 thirds of what we used to get
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
It's a choke hold on our liberty!
crazydinosaur671@reddit
I remember many years ago when I was a kid I did a free trial for a guitar tuner. I forgot to cancel it, and the subscription auto enrolled for a year’s subscription for £300! Luckily my mums card declined, I was mad stressing. How scummy is that, to skip the monthly subscription onto the yearly?
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Yeah and I have the same app and can just swipe and bypass to the tuner part anyway but can see it's easily done!
OptionalQuality789@reddit
YouTube premium is the only one I reckon is actually decent value.
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
I feel I've exhausted the videos now. Listened to all the Samurai, Ninja and Machiavellian motivational videos. I think I've hit my YouTube peak. Cinema is £6 on Mondays so getting on that now 🤣
Ok-Profit5226@reddit
Just quit them all. It's not worth it.
getabath@reddit
When you became poor
Jimbobthon@reddit
Funny thing, we all canned cable to save money and took out subs.
Now they're costing more than cable depending on which ones you take out
noctenaut@reddit
I know - I work in the fashion industry and it’s shocking how expensive it’s become to use the adobe products now…
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Crazy they want money just to tune a guitar now but can be bypassed but someone with a low IQ will end up paying. Bet people are bleeding pure money out.
Low-Captain1721@reddit
Yeah it's ridiculous. Many services want you to pay for the privilege of no ads too which is a growing trend.
I used to subscribe to Spotify however it went up & up. Now I just keep doing the rounds of the free trial periods with a different bank card & IP.
It's not just individual consumers either, I started doing the accounts for an SME couple of years ago and discovered nearly £4k pa on software subscriptions we didn't even use.. The previous employee just couldn't be bothered to cancel..
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Last time I had Spotify was listening to a reggae playsuit and they played the most graphic sexual song I have ever heard! Imagine if I had a child in the vicinity! Won't be going back!
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
Sounds like the reggae slipped into bashment
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
The sound was old school reggae but the lyrics were I'm going to stick my **** in your mouth etc etc was nuts.
Low-Captain1721@reddit
I thought Alanis Morissette was graphic 10 years ago & was quite shocked however way it goes now
Footner@reddit
What do you use instead of Spotify? I pay 17.99 a month for me and my gf and I’m over it
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Only on YouTube now. I listen to a lot of old music so YouTube is fine. A lot of new independent artists can only get on Spotify though but luckily I'm not too bothered. Will be using a new email for a bit of Premium haha.
Low-Captain1721@reddit
I do the rounds - Apple music, Deezer, Tidal, Spotify & YT premium. All free somehow..
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Yes different emails etc hahaha 😆
Low-Captain1721@reddit
You got it 👍. I haven't paid for one in a few years 😇
HyperActivz@reddit
Turkish iCloud and subscribe to yt with that. I think I pay £30 a year for Family.
Aggravating-Sir-242@reddit
Revanced is still working for me... Although I believe there is an alternative for those it no longer works for.
yazshousefortea@reddit
I paid for InShot for the year. Half way through that 12 month period, they introduced a new tier payment level so even though I’ve paid, all my videos now suddenly have an InShot watermark on them and I have to go up to a premium amount to take them off again. When I have already paid for the year!!
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Sneaky barstools!
badger906@reddit
Because you paid for it through your App Store. It’s £12.99 if you subscribe via YouTubes website. 30% App Store tax
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Ah yes was on another device I noticed the price. You are right!
a_sword_and_an_oath@reddit
I remember a time when you could watch every video on YouTube in a single week and it was free.
Monetising it makes sense. But I concur the hikes seem disproportionate.
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
People at top want their big money!
Captaincadet@reddit
App dev here with a subscription business plan
Basically economics. Use to be you brought a piece of software and that software would last 2-3 years then you would buy the next version, say office
Larger businesses have shifted their mindset to Software as a service and that you don’t own a perpetual license. In the early days of SAAS, perpetual licenses were offered however, people generally went to SAAS
For current mobile apps, Apple and Google expect us to support the latest phones and OSes and those changes can be quite a big undertaking. For example apps are expected to use Liquid Glass on iOS and Apple has previously rejected apps that use old frameworks. A lot of apps have undergone an UI rewrite and redesign which costs money
People also expect a purchased app to keep working forever. Even with no new features, we need to update our apps which can be a total pain
For me, the app costs about £100 a month for the servers, which are needed to operate the app (I have a lot of large resources that I can’t wrap up to the app). I then have to pay Apple £99 a year to just have the app on the App Store. So I need to make £1300 a year just to break even before my time
Don’t get me wrong, I hate it myself but unfortunately if I did a £5.99 app, nobody would really buy it or if they did, I would be in 3/4 years out of money to run the app
nl325@reddit
I used to work for an app. Subscription based SaaS as most are.
The space is a miniaturised personification of everything wrong with capitalism, sped up about 10x and put on fucking steroids.
[Market becomes saturated between company and competitors]
[Literally no more room to expand]
Enshittification but with dickhead tech bros fucking around with investor money.
Watching so many crash and burn in 2022 was fucking glorious.
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
I remember the days of no ads on YouTube everything free can search for anything what a time to be alive.
nl325@reddit
It's funny you use YouTube as an example as it's probably the one subscription where I routinely see people say it's still worth paying for
Dangerous-Frosting00@reddit
I agree that it’s ridiculous, but if you’re using an Apple device and subscribing through the YouTube app it is usually a couple pounds more, I guess Apple adds a surcharge? It’s cheaper if you subscribe through the YouTube website directly. Probably best to just stop rewarding bad behaviour, though.
Thin-Butterscotch468@reddit
“You will own nothing and you will be happy”
Brendan_Lopez@reddit
No Claus!
sighqoticc@reddit
am i the only one who wouldn’t pay a fiver either?
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Haha well I could definitely stretch to that but it's all gone obscene.
CranberryCheese1997@reddit
Most subscriptions have operated at a loss or near enough break even compared to their inital investment for many years with their main goal being growth in subscribers. Now many subscription services are at or near their peak growth wise in subscribers, they're upping the prices of subscriptions to not just break even or barely making a profit, but to make huge amounts of money. This was the plan from the start. Start off cheap to get the customers then slowly increase the price over time.
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
They should take more off these silly YouTube bloggers that harass the homeless etc.
LeonardoW9@reddit
The phase of audience capture/growth is over, and now they harvest. There is zero need to compete when you are the market.
Unfortunately, many apps are in the same phase, which makes finding a better alternative even more challenging.
Stickers688@reddit
Look into 'Morphe App' for YouTube if you're on Android
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Muchas gracias!
Character_Savings966@reddit
I deleted tik tok and YouTube next will be this and start living again 😅
FlippingGerman@reddit
YT Premium Lite appears to have just come to the UK; good if you don't care about music, £8/month.
Competitive-Estate69@reddit
When big companies stopped charging flat fees and now we’re piling subscriptions for every little thing we want to use
Winston_Carbuncle@reddit
XaaS is the only way they can get investment it would seem
Minimum_Airline3657@reddit
Change your vpn country to Albania or use brave browser. No ads.
Shangos_Wolf@reddit (OP)
Muchas gracias.
Pizzagoessplat@reddit
Since the 90s when sky started to become big
QueefInMyKisser@reddit
Go through your bank and credit card statements every month and make sure you’re still getting value for money for any subscriptions
silly_capybara@reddit
people keep paying and shareholders demand constant growth
ZestyMonstera@reddit
Because of the growth obsession. If they can't recruit more subscribers, they add subscription tiers and make it more expensive.
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