Paid vs Free

labern

So I'm going to have a bit of a rant.

I have been using Onshape since the Beta days and I really love it, Awesome bit of software and since I have joined i have encouraged a lot of people to also jump aboard in which many have.

I am using the Free plan and have now used up 1GB of space. So well within the limits.

The annoying thing is I keep getting calls from Onshape telling me I have used up a lot of space and should use the paid version. The guy goes on and on that I should move to the paid plan.
these happen quite often even though I am well within the free limits.

I never use hacked software like the so many people out there with hacked versions of solidworks and I am a believer of paying for things.
The reason why I use the free plan is because I use it for my hobby in which i don't make money on. I actually loose money from designing stuff that I then need to buy materials, tooling and pay others to create the part.
For this reason I cannot justify paying for the Pro plan.

I have now been told that the limits of the free plan are going to be reduced again so I should reduce mine and new features will be released soon which will only be for the paid versions.

So Please Onshape, If you don't want Makers using the free plan then create a limited maker plan that people like me who don't make a profit from our designs can still afford to use your software without breaking the bank.

øyvind_kaurstad

Is it really true that Onshape is going to limit the free plan more than it currently is today? If so, then please tell me that there will also be a cheaper plan that's suitable for makers and hobbyists. Something like $20/month, giving access to at least the same storage space as the free plan is today, but also allowing for a larger number of private documents (say 50 or something).

Could someone from Onshape please comment on this? Is it true that the free plan is about to be further reduced without any option other than the full pro plan (which is just too expensive for people that do not monetize on their Onshape work).

michael3424

+1 on wanting to see a response from OS.

Jlabs

I also had a sales rep call me asking about my usage. When I suggested a lower price-point plan for makers and hobbyists he told me they don't have any plans to do that any time soon. I'm also a hobbyist and can't justify $100/mo for a software I use infrequently and only when I have time. For contrast, I use a significant portion of Adobe Creative suite in my full time job and it costs half as much a month for every app adobe makes. 

I too would be perfectly willing to pay for OnShape, but OS needs to recognize the market potential of non-professional CAD users, most of whom are using Fusion 360 for 25$ a month. I think OnShape is a better tool, but if OS decides to limit the toolset in the free version, further reduce storage, and insist on only a single professional $100/month price point, I guess 360 is the direction I'll go. 

labern

I also like Onshape better then fusion and will in the same boat if I'm forced to pay $100 or end up to restricted. Moving to fusion 360 will end up being a pain but Fusion also has fairly good CAM which is another plus.

øyvind_kaurstad

Still a deafening silence from Onshape on this. Please comment, or else the silence might be interpreted as a confirmation that you no longer want makers and hobbyists to be part of the Onshape community.

@Jlabs: Regarding Fusion 360, as far as I know, it is actually free for hobbyists and makers, not 25$/month.

Jlabs

Ah I didn't realize that. I haven't looked at Fusion in a while, I'll have to take a look again soon

øyvind_kaurstad

Anyone from Onshape (@NeilCooke, @lougallo, @john_rousseau, @jakeramsley) : Please don't ignore this thread. Provide at least some comment, even if it is "No comment", just so we know you have read it.

john_rousseau

Hi Øyvind. We definitely read these posts. We absolutely (and obviously) want makers and hobbyists as part of the community. I think the ability for any user to sign up for free and use the exact same Onshape that our pro users use speaks to our support of the maker / hobbyist (and educational) community. As mentioned above, there is no plan for an additional tier between our Free and Pro plans.

øyvind_kaurstad

@john_rousseau: Thanks for replying, but you forgot one detail: Are you planning to further reduce the limits of the free plan, as the OP mentioned that he had been told? This is important to many of us, because I don't really want to keep on investing my time into Onshape if I know that the free plan is going to be more restricted.

I regret that you refuse to recognize the need for a middle tier plan, but as long as you don't reduce the current free plan I will continue to support (and endorse) your work.

øyvind_kaurstad

@john_rousseau: Please don't dodge the question. I'd like a clarification as to whether there is a plan to reduce the free plan limits further from what they are today.

Darren_A_Henry

øyvind_kaurstad   Onshape extremely values the maker and hobbyist community.  It is for that reason our Free plan has the identical CAD and data management functionality as our Professional Plan. I know you have specific questions, but as a policy, we do not publically discuss our future business strategy.  With that being said, I would love to have an offline conversation with you about how you are using Onshape's Free Plan and how we can make it better for you. If you are interested in discussing, please reach out to me directly at dhenry@onshape.com.  -  thanks, Darren

kevin_raley

Now this thread seems like some brilliant foreshadowing....