Yearly Plugin Fees

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My Disneyland Annual Pass

I, along with my wife and kids, have a Disneyland Annual Pass. It's fantastic for several reasons.

Because we're only about an hour away it makes a great meeting place when out of town friends come to Southern California. They may not make it to our house, but they'll get to Disneyland.

I can also go as often as I like without worrying about costs. And that's perfect for my kids too. We can go for a few hours if they need rest, or hang all day if we have the time.

Sure there's a fee once a year but it pays for itself all year long. I wouldn't buy it to come 2-3 times a year. But when I come 10-20 times, it's fantastic.

A Recent Comment

I recently had a comment on the site tell me that they were never going to buy certain plugins again because of yearly fees. Immediately I thought of my Disney Pass. The guy who wrote it may have only used it once or twice, and if that's the case, I get it.

I don't mind Yearly Plugin Fees

Of course if he just had a problem with the notion of yearly licenses, on principle, then that's where we'd part ways. Because I don't mind yearly licenses for some plugins.

Here's why:

  • Clients may not want to pay extra for something I think is critical. Having a license means I can roll it in without convincing them to buy the plugin.
  • I can use as much or as little of a plugin's features as I need to on a site. It's only goal is to save me time and my time is money, so it's worth it.
  • I can use it on as many sites as I like. But if it's just one or two, it isn't worth it. On ten or twenty, it totally is!

Do you see why the situations were so similar to me?

Plugins I Recommend

Now one trick I do when new plugins first come out is, assuming it looks good, to buy the initial developer's license. This often includes a lifetime license, making everything I've written a bit null. But it works for me.

So while I would buy these two plugins yearly, I don't have to because I bought them as they first came out.

But two I highly recommend are Gravity Forms and Types & Views (now Toolkit).

Do you value your time?

If you're getting ready to stop reading because I'm suggesting that you invest a few hundred dollars in your work each year, then I have a whole different challenge for you. When these plugins save you hours on each project, how much are you thinking you're worth?

So go now and check those plugins out!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I'll get a commission, at no cost to you.