PAToyota
Red Skull Member
I'm guessing that most of us - including me - using Fusion360 are using the free version for personal stuff, but I got a notice that they're hiking the price of the subscription by nearly 40% annually.
Last year I had posted about my disdain for everything going to subscriptions (LINK). When you purchased a copy, if you didn't find value in the latest updates you just didn't have to buy the new version. Now they have you locked in and your current version disappears if you don't keep your subscription. As I said in my other post, the big thing for me is that all of these "improvements" are likely things I'll never use - "you can unify data, technologies, and workflows across your entire organization, move seamlessly between Autodesk products, and extend your reach through 3rd party applications, partnerships, and APIs." Absolutely none of that applies to me.
The other issue is that you have to keep updating - you can only "snooze" an update for 14 days: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/snooze-feature-fusion-360/
Which becomes a problem when your hardware no longer supports the latest update: https://www.autodesk.com/support/te...s-these-devices-and-operating-systems-OS.html
Again, if you "bought" a copy of the software, you could decide not to update if you weren't ready to upgrade your hardware - or delay the software update until a hardware update makes sense.
As I said, I use the free version. Mostly for "sheet metal" designs to be cut out on a plasma table (or taken to a laser cutter). Yes, I could get away with just a simple 2D CAD program, but I have to admit that Fusion360 makes bending flanges and such easier to calculate, but I'm likely using less than 10% of Fusion360's "power" for what I do.
However, I also know a guy with a small CNC operation and there are some things I design to have him machine on his mill or lathe. Like me, he is never going to use those "improvements" listed above, but he has to pay the subscription both due to their terms as well as to access certain features (multi-axis machining being a main one). So that immediately catapults him into the same category as multi-million dollar businesses from AutoDesk's standpoint. Yeah, an extra $200 a year is a drop in the bucket in the big picture, but it is just another hurdle for the little guy - particularly when you look at the other associated costs of continually updating. There have been days (weeks) where this guy has basically been shut down because an update didn't work the way it was supposed to - or moved things that he had to then find again.
Honestly, for what he (or I) am doing, we could continue to happily use the software from a couple years ago without ever noticing a difference in not having the "improvements." It would be nice if they offered a "legacy" version for a one-time purchase price that doesn't have all the "latest and greatest" updates and minimal support for those who aren't multi-million dollar corporations. Their start-up license is $150 for a 3-year single term access to Fusion per individual for businesses with ten or fewer employees that generate less than $100,000 per year in revenue - after that if you make over $1000 a year you're supposed pay $700 of that for a subscription each year. It's like the IRS wanting to drop the 1099-K reporting to $600 from the $20K/200 transactions for online transactions. Again, it was basically either you aren't making any money or you're lumped in with the multi-million dollar corporations.
Sorry for the rant, but just another example of "the man" trying their best to squash out the little guys...
This year at Autodesk University 2023, we further communicated the Fusion industry cloud vision where we have committed to building a future where you can unify data, technologies, and workflows across your entire organization, move seamlessly between Autodesk products, and extend your reach through 3rd party applications, partnerships, and APIs.
As a result, we are rebalancing the price of Autodesk Fusion to represent the value it delivers. Effective January 30, 2024, the annual subscription price will increase to $680 USD SRP.
If you purchase an annual subscription before January 30, 2024, you will receive a renewal price lock at the current price of $490 USD SRP until February 6, 2027. For more information about these changes, refer to the following blog post and FAQ.
Last year I had posted about my disdain for everything going to subscriptions (LINK). When you purchased a copy, if you didn't find value in the latest updates you just didn't have to buy the new version. Now they have you locked in and your current version disappears if you don't keep your subscription. As I said in my other post, the big thing for me is that all of these "improvements" are likely things I'll never use - "you can unify data, technologies, and workflows across your entire organization, move seamlessly between Autodesk products, and extend your reach through 3rd party applications, partnerships, and APIs." Absolutely none of that applies to me.
The other issue is that you have to keep updating - you can only "snooze" an update for 14 days: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/snooze-feature-fusion-360/
Which becomes a problem when your hardware no longer supports the latest update: https://www.autodesk.com/support/te...s-these-devices-and-operating-systems-OS.html
Again, if you "bought" a copy of the software, you could decide not to update if you weren't ready to upgrade your hardware - or delay the software update until a hardware update makes sense.
As I said, I use the free version. Mostly for "sheet metal" designs to be cut out on a plasma table (or taken to a laser cutter). Yes, I could get away with just a simple 2D CAD program, but I have to admit that Fusion360 makes bending flanges and such easier to calculate, but I'm likely using less than 10% of Fusion360's "power" for what I do.
However, I also know a guy with a small CNC operation and there are some things I design to have him machine on his mill or lathe. Like me, he is never going to use those "improvements" listed above, but he has to pay the subscription both due to their terms as well as to access certain features (multi-axis machining being a main one). So that immediately catapults him into the same category as multi-million dollar businesses from AutoDesk's standpoint. Yeah, an extra $200 a year is a drop in the bucket in the big picture, but it is just another hurdle for the little guy - particularly when you look at the other associated costs of continually updating. There have been days (weeks) where this guy has basically been shut down because an update didn't work the way it was supposed to - or moved things that he had to then find again.
Honestly, for what he (or I) am doing, we could continue to happily use the software from a couple years ago without ever noticing a difference in not having the "improvements." It would be nice if they offered a "legacy" version for a one-time purchase price that doesn't have all the "latest and greatest" updates and minimal support for those who aren't multi-million dollar corporations. Their start-up license is $150 for a 3-year single term access to Fusion per individual for businesses with ten or fewer employees that generate less than $100,000 per year in revenue - after that if you make over $1000 a year you're supposed pay $700 of that for a subscription each year. It's like the IRS wanting to drop the 1099-K reporting to $600 from the $20K/200 transactions for online transactions. Again, it was basically either you aren't making any money or you're lumped in with the multi-million dollar corporations.
Sorry for the rant, but just another example of "the man" trying their best to squash out the little guys...