As I keep getting asked about the product pricing, I decided to write a blog post that explains everything as well as it’s in my powers.

When you purchase an app from me, you are purchasing a license code that does not expire. It is not bound to a month, year, or any other period, it’s bound to that application’s major version. This means that if you purchase Downie 4, it will work with all Downie 4 versions, if you purchase Permute 3, it will work with all Permute 3 versions.

When a major upgrade comes along (such as Downie 5 one day – likely in 2024 or even later – EDIT: I’ve been asked about this date several times – there is no specific timeline and 2024 was a guess when writing this article, but as it’s 2024 now, it is clear that there won’t be Downie 5 in 2024 and most likely not even in 2025), you will not be forced to upgrade in a sense that you will not be charged and you will be free to keep using the older version for as long as you want. This said, please keep in mind that:

• There will be no further updates to that previous version, i.e. after e.g. Downie 5 is released, there will be no further updates to Downie 4.
• I can’t predict future and some future macOS upgrade may break the app.
• In case of Downie, please note that it integrates with 3rd party online services 3rd party online services that get updated just like regular software, but you don’t see that there are any updates unless they also update the UI. The updates usually, however, affect the configuration files, layout of the website or resource locations, which will break Downie’s integration with the site as Downie is programmed to look for the information in certain places and it can no longer find it there. This means that various site integrations can stop working over time without the updates.

If you decide to upgrade when that time comes, you will be offered an upgrade discount (this offer does not expire), or if eligible, the upgrade will be free. Here are dates that make you eligible for a free upgrade:

• Downie 2 -> Downie 3: purchased after Mar 1, 2017
• Permute 2 -> Permute 3: purchased after Jan 1, 2018
• Downie 3 -> Downie 4: purchased after Jun 1, 2019

The upgrade discount is always fairly high to make the upgrades affordable – in case of Downie, this is 50-75% off (i.e. you pay 25-50% of the retail price for the upgrade), in case of Permute, the discount is 30%.