I am Puneet, a WP developer, consultant and coach.
I pen down my thoughts here on various topics including WP, web design, freelance business and other random stuff that makes me think. Gone are the days, when buying a lifetime license for a plugin was all set and done job. Recently (or I should say, in last few years) the business model for WordPress plugins has changed.
Only today I came across this post about Better Optin Plugin – it’s now available for free on WordPress.org
The old business model
When saying, “Old” I don’t mean to turn down anyone’s business approach. It’s just about the trend. The most common practice is/was to offer a single/personal and developer license package or a lifetime package. Let’s take an example of Gravity Forms. Which offers the same kind of packages. But, what sets them apart is the recurring fee. In order to receive updates and support, users must renew their license annually. This is very reasonable and practical for ongoing maintenance and further development of the plugin.
Carl Hancock (Gravity Forms Dev.) always delivers sound business advice and I like reading his comments, here are some:
- A Hypercritical Analysis of $35 WordPress Themes
- WordPress Plugin Prices Are Too Low
- Major Pricing Changes At WooThemes
- ThemeForest new submission guidelines
I have noticed a similar business model followed by Thomas Griffin for his popular Soliloquy and Envira Gallery plugins. In fact, Thomas has tried several pricing plans with Soliloquy but ended up following Gravity Forms. I read about his final choice about the pricing structure in an e-mail newsletter and it was truly worth the read.
The new business model
Free plugin. Paid addons. Yes, that’s the latest trends. Look around and you can find a number of plugins following this new approach. Be it Ninja Forms, WooCoommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, AffiliateWP or the new kid around the block, Better Optin.
In all theses cases the base plugin is free, 100% functional and no less than a premium plugin. The addons have been built smartly to cater requirements for different users.
What you should chose?
If you are a plugin developer and building a plugin that’s limited to certain functionality it will be good to go with the standard business model of lifetime/developer/single user license packages with a renewal fee. A renewal fee is good to build a sustainable business.
If you see an opportunity of extending your plugin with features that might not be required for every user. Then building and selling individual addons is a good plan.
Final thoughts
I have been a long time user of Gravity Forms. And that’s the reason why I have used Gravity Forms and Ninja Forms as an example for two different business models. Personally, I like the add on approach. I pay for the addon I like.
But, then sometimes it becomes a pain to pay renewal fee for each addon. Pain not in monetary terms, but in terms of managing individual licensing and renewals. I remember receiving the renewal notification for an EDD addon few days back and I forgot to renew it.
Personally, I prefer the mix-and-match approach of pay-as-you-go plugins. Not only does it give users a taste of the plugin in action, it also makes them used to depending on the plugin for that particular function. When someone who built their store using WooCommerce needs to expand it as their business grows, they’re much more likely to buy an add-on than a whole new plugin. It also does wonders for marketing and goodwill towards the brand!
Hi Puneet,
I’m Julien, one of the developers of BetterOptin.
We have been selling BetterOptin on CodeCanyon in the past, and we still sell some of our plugins there. However, as you highlighted, the more and more popular freemium model was very appealing to us. Some very well known plugins (such as WooCommerce or EDD) have been extremely successful with this model.
The main advantages, from my point of view, are (obviously) the pricing as we get 100% of our sales, and most importantly the control we have on our products and on the marketing. Sure we don’t have access to the 4M+ active users Envato claims to have, but the sales for BetterOptin commercial addons have been going very well since we took the plugin off of CodeCanyon.
Hello Julien,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I agree that CodeCanyon or any other Envato Site gives exposure to a wide range of users.
But, as you said, freemium model is quite impressive and useful for users. I use a number of plugins and invest on addons as and when required. EDD is one of those.
And I would like to thank you for making Better Optin a free plugin. 🙂