New IPS prices and license terms for self-hosted customers

[simonweb]

Without a proper announcement, IPS has recently overhauled their pricing structure for self-hosted customers.

The old price for the full suite of Invision Community with all their add-ons was $850 upfront and $300 in renewal-fee per year. And the new pricing is $499 upfront and $199 per year. You can find the new plan here: https://invisioncommunity.com/buy/self-hosted/

But while their new self-hosted plan will give you access to all of their official add-ons (Forums, Blogs, Commerce, Events, Pages, Gallery, and Downloads), you will no longer be able to pick and choose which add-ons to get for your community. Which will increase the cost of IPS significantly for self-hosted customers.

In the past we sold Invision Community with the option to choose which of the various apps you wanted. This was great for purchasing flexibility but limited our ability to provide a cohesive experience. We have streamlined our offerings by combining the entire suite into a single package. Now you can really have it all at a more affordable price.

Speaking of affordability, we have increased our payment flexibility and are now offering monthly payments of rather than the 6-month renewal term. Just $19 per month gets you the entire Invision Community Suite. If you prefer to pay annually, we offer a discounted renewal rate of $199 per year.

Previously, you would spend up to $300 per year in renewal fees, but now with this new flat rate, you can pay as little as $199 per year.

Charles from IPS have said in a forum post over at their official community that this is in preparation for IPS version 5:

We no longer sell Invision Community Classic with individual applications. This is in preparation for v5 where there will no longer be a separation for the "applications" like there is now. It will just be all bundled together and more tightly integrated.

But wait, there's more! As an existing self-hosted customer, you will need to "upgrade" to the new Community Classic suite and accept their new licensing terms. Here's how you do that in your client area: How to switch to Community Classic terms.

If you decide to upgrade to the new Community Classic suite, please be aware that you cannot revert your licence to the old terms and pricing. And licences that expire without payment will immediately lose access to support, upgrades, spam prevention, geo location, and more. And if your community licence is not renewed after 24 months your licence will expire permanently, and you will not be able to renew it again. If you later decide you want to upgrade your community to a newer version, you will need to purchase a new licence again for the full amount of $499. IPS explains that:

Reinstating a license will require catching up on any missed monthly payments or pay a full year renewal. Licenses not renewed after 24 months will be expired permanently and cannot be renewed, but you may purchase a new license for full price.

I have three IPS forums running, this website is one of them. Two of them I'll probably move to another forum software as I have no need for any of their other apps, and I'm not willing to spend that much on licence fees for these sites. Maybe I'll finally give Xenforo a shot. 🤔

But for my third forum I'll probably switch to Community Classic as I already use their Blog, Gallery and Pages add-ons on that site. Before I paid $90 every six months and, if I've understood it correctly, I now have to pay $199 a year. That's only a $19 increase, which I'm okay with.

 

[Ravenfreak]

That's quite a price cut! It's still out of my price range currently, but I am glad they have decreased the price of their software.

 

[Cam]

This is an interesting business move by Invision, and I've read a lot of grumbling about it over on a few other webmaster forums. The price cut is cool, and I'm sure their major clients will benefit from it. Still, your hobby forum owners may not need the entire IPS package, so I'm sure a lot of these people won't appreciate being forced to pay for the whole shebang.

Also, I will personally steer clear from the terms regarding expired licenses now. I can't believe that your license can expire permanently.

 

[Demon_skeith]

I wonder if Xenoforo's continued success made them cut the price?

 

[simonweb]

Also, I will personally steer clear from the terms regarding expired licenses now. I can't believe that your license can expire permanently.

Yeah, I don't like it that your license expires permanently if you don't pay your renewal fees. But at least your site will continue to work and won't be locked down if your license expires.

I wonder if Xenoforo's continued success made them cut the price?

I'm sure they have lost a lot of self-hosted customers with recent changes, and this is a way to retain and bring back some of them.

 

[Deleted member 29780]

IPB is shifting gears, probably because their previous model wasn't working out for them. I like the idea of a price cut, but the expired licensed policy is crazy. It's like, what if you forget to renew it? Imagine paying $300 every year, if I'm understanding that properly.

 

[simonweb]

Imagine paying $300 every year

It's actually $499 if you forget to renew your license. 😭

 

[Deleted member 29780]

It's actually $499 if you forget to renew your license. 😭

Even worst omg 😭 knowing me I’d be paying that every year

 

[Jay™]

Still better software and more updates than others 🙂

 

[Thomasss]

For $200 a year, you get all of the add-ons instead of the normal price that’s way more than $200. I ended up renewing and switching my subscription to IP5 and got it for a year for $69. It works for me; especially given the new sneak peeks of IP5! Seems like a winner to me.

 

[zappaDPJ]

There are clearly winners and losers with these changes to the licensing terms and pricing. While I very much like the direction the software is taking in terms of development I really don't like the attitude one of the senior members of the team has towards their customers. e.g. 'one huge area of abuse on the old way was people not renewing for 3 years, paying $50, and then getting 3 years worth of new software.'

For that statement alone I will no longer be using (or abusing) their software in future.

 

[JoelR]

I have three IPS forums running, this website is one of them. Two of them I'll probably move to another forum software as I have no need for any of their other apps, and I'm not willing to spend that much on licence fees for these sites. Maybe I'll finally give Xenforo a shot. 🤔

But for my third forum I'll probably switch to Community Classic as I already use their Blog, Gallery and Pages add-ons on that site. Before I paid $90 every six months and, if I've understood it correctly, I now have to pay $199 a year. That's only a $19 increase, which I'm okay with.

There are going to be winners and losers.

The winners will be those who already utilize and pay for some of the apps. You now get the full suite at a major discount and it can be a way for you to grow your community with additional apps.

The losers will be those who only needed and used forums, and there are plenty of other options out there that are forum-only (or focused primarily on forums).

To give everyone a little bit of background, IPS privately shared that their average self-hosted client was actually paying a little bit more than $199 / yr, so this is a discount to the average IPS client. Once again, some people will pay more, but most clients will end up paying less.

This move kind of makes sense if you looked at the development of v4, which was a Core + App model. For anyone who is new to IPS, you wanted to buy Forum + Pages at a minimum anyways. The Pages application is extremely powerful, and contains 4 separate modules all in one: a template builder, a block builder, a page builder, and a database builder. You can build an entire link directory, or resource section, or custom forms, all using that one app.

 

[Joshua Farrell]

Well, if I decide to start using the software for my own stuff, I now know I will pay less for the built in stuff, as most of those items I would end up using anyways with a license.

 

[Jay™]

I don't think there will be many losers as most running Xenforo have been asking for years for things like clubs and a better page system which IPS has all of it.

 

[Cam]

There are clearly winners and losers with these changes to the licensing terms and pricing. While I very much like the direction the software is taking in terms of development I really don't like the attitude one of the senior members of the team has towards their customers. e.g. 'one huge area of abuse on the old way was people not renewing for 3 years, paying $50, and then getting 3 years worth of new software.'

For that statement alone I will no longer be using (or abusing) their software in future.

I assume you're referring to some of those discussions that were going on over at TAZ, and that attitude bothered me as well.

Regardless, I will say that I'm very impressed with the software. Been playing with a demo.

 

[zappaDPJ]

Regardless, I will say that I'm very impressed with the software. Been playing with a demo.

Version 5 is certainly looking like a major upgrade. I also been very impressed with what I've seen so far I just wish they would be a little more respectful to their customers and potential customers.

 

[EddieY]

No way can I afford that, my site makes pennies and it's just a hobby. I may have to switch to XenForo and see how that is. I see this site is running XenForo and its very appealing to the eye and its quick!

 

[KensonPlays]

No way can I afford that, my site makes pennies and it's just a hobby. I may have to switch to XenForo and see how that is. I see this site is running XenForo and its very appealing to the eye and its quick!

Yea, I've been using XF off and on since like 2012 or 13. It's definitely a great piece of software, probably one of the best for paid scripts, but #1 for me personally since its so much more affordable.

For free scripts, I recommend SMF.

 

[TechWiz18]

Yea, I've been using XF off and on since like 2012 or 13. It's definitely a great piece of software, probably one of the best for paid scripts, but #1 for me personally since its so much more affordable.

For free scripts, I recommend SMF.

I'm actually pretty impressed with how actively developed SMF is...I feel like it went through a period where they weren't doing much .

 

[KensonPlays]

I'm actually pretty impressed with how actively developed SMF is...I feel like it went through a period where they weren't doing much .

The last update was June 2023, and before that it was Nov '22. But also, they've been on 2.x since June 2011! That is a long time with no major updates, tbh.