XYplorer Beta Club

I did a search on "upgrade cost" and I found this thread. The reason I searched is the principle of the thing. When I discovered XYplorer even existed -- I had finally looked for a replacement for the lame thing that Windows comes with -- I didn't know whether to pay $35 (one year of upgrades) or $70 (lifetime upgrades). I at least wanted to test out the product more. That led to some messages back and forth with "support," and I decided to purchase the product since during my testing I was becoming impressed with the product and "support was good." I have now become more familiar with XYplorer (although I've more or less only scratched the surface: XYplorer Help, as advertised, is voluminous) and I can wholeheartedly endorse what others are saying: buy lifetime, if for no other reason as a sign of support for XYplorer. I don't need to tell anyone how amazing XYplorer is -- you all know -- but I did want to at least give that endorsement. So what is this message about? It's, again, the principle. When I bought the $35 license, aside from the fact I thought it would be $35 to upgrade, I didn't know XYplorer is actively maintained and updated. And I didn't know and/or didn't have time to search for pros and cons of which license to buy. I decided this evening to go lifetime, and was shocked to see a $52.xx cost, not $35. I feel like I'm being penalized for "buying low" (cautiously) the first time. I read that there are sales. I don't know when they occur. I have nine or so months left on my current license, so I guess I'll wait and see what develops. But, again, bottom line: if you can afford it, go lifetime ($70) when you purchase XYplorer.

Interesting. I did not expect a 25% discount to make you feel punished.

I wouldn't feel punished at all if the upgrade cost was the difference between the lifetime and one-year licenses!

I bought the one-year version and within a day or so of playing with XY concluded it was the best piece of software I had seen - so I upgraded to the lifetime license. I did not regret paying for a year plus upgrade which was a bit more expensive than lifetime first off because I figured the developer of XY deserved my support.

Go lifetime anyway.

I had just re-found XYplorer, last used it when it was version 10!!

So glad I had purchased the lifetime license, downloaded latest version, contacted support (who were amazing and cos I couldn't spell my own name), registered version and away I went! I now have it installed on 4 of my machines!

Go for the lifetime, it really is!!

I'm not sure if the DEV has a preference, because they still offer the lifetime option, but given the continued development, I'd argue for the yearly upgrades. Lifetime licenses with free upgrades generally do not exist outside of labor of love projects like this. But it's for good reason. As long as the software is actively developed, you're paying for the continued improvements and giving incentive for them to continue. Plus when you have a developer who is active with the community like they are here, that's all the more reason to support them!

I think it is especially important for small teams like XYplorer, where they are less likely to have sustained growth, and it will decline at some point. I'd be curious how much they are making at this point. Only so many people can learn about XYplorer. I know everyone hates the subscription model everything has moved to, which is more or less what the yearly option is, but if it's software you love and it's going to a good team, it's worth it in the end.

I can think of one reason to go with the 1 year vs lifetime....my age! I am 75 and the current version of XY is just great and works well for me. I do plan on getting the 1 year upgrade which should be fine for me - unless of course should there be a sale on the lifetime version...

I do wish I would have found XY earlier - the File Explorer in Windows 11 is a pathetic POS that takes forever to update itself when adding files. I have a large folder with 37,670 tiff files (of scanned 35mm slides) that are about 60 megs each. File Explorer chokes on that while XY is extremely fast.

My first post here as well

Ted in Mesa AZ