Pro Tools Perpetual License VS Subscription: Avid U-Turn

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Perpetual/lifetime licenses for Pro Tools are back. In a major u-turn due to the backlash from Pro Tools users after the move to subscription only earlier in 2023, we can now buy without a subscription again.
For full context, feel free to watch the video I made on this back then - • New Pro Tools Subscrip...
This is good news for Pro Tools users, but let’s see what the new pricing looks like vs. the subscriptions. And I’ll give my thoughts on which plan is worth going for based on your situation.
What's Changed - 0:00
Pricing - 0:50
Perpetual License VS Subscription - 2:00
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[@chaddychaddychaddy]

Exactly what I was looking for! Great work. keep ‘em coming 🔥

[@deandre22]

Definitely getting that $99 deal

[@DJ_ACE_D.]

thanks mate, you've made it easier for me to decide what route i wanted to take with pro tools and understanding the difference between the two. i suppose not having access to certain updates would not be that bad of a trade off in my opinion. I was always skeptical about subscribing for the software considering how expensive that can be. I'm quite interested as to how much of a defference recording would be between pro tools and FL.

[@JoeAtClaricast]

Glad it helped! I'll be sticking with perpetual and upgrading probably every 3-5 years when the updates are worth it. Providing they keep selling them.

[@Ryan93Lion]

Preciate you clearing this up for me man.

[@EHall-yx9xy]

Studio One GANG!!!!

[@JoeAtClaricast]

Studio One is a great option 👍

[@LouneyG]

Hey! Hope your doing well! If I’m running Monterey on a 2014 Mac and probably won’t be able to upgrade further will the perpetual license continue to work for me years to come? What’s the best option for people on older machines? I have an i7 Mac mini 2014 16gb ram

[@Brhudsonjr]

That's my question also.. I'm running Mac Pro late 2013 on Monterey but had to revert from 2024.3 back to 2023.12.1 for my M Audio to work because the upgrade removed the driver..

[@LouneyG]

@@Brhudsonjr i honestly just ended up getting the base model 8gb mac mini 2024 for a good deal on amazon and havent looked back fam.....my video editing was hendered before too cuz i couldnt use AI tools properly so im doing great now. good luck with everything

[@Brhudsonjr]

@LouneyG thanks for the feedback back. Most likely, that will be my next purchase also.. Glad everything is working out for you!

[@tonycarrera69]

Seems like something good😁

[@sirwilliamkarl5591]

It's there something about losing plug ins if you don't update? I'm really confused. Using PT 8 and I'm long overdue for an update.

[@JoeAtClaricast]

You shouldn't lose the stock plugins that are already part of PT 8. You just won't be able to get updates or customer support.

[@AngelicStreak]

You should add the Avid themselves still are not selling perpetual. It's only their resellers. And it might happen that they just allocated a fixed limited quantities to them, after which they will switch to sub-only again. Maybe that's their tactics, to introduce artificial scarcity.

[@JoeAtClaricast]

Very good point regarding the limited quantities of licenses. It'd be a big mistake for them to keep flip-flopping over this!

[@DaleC1980]

What basis do you state that they only have limited perpetual licenses? Why would they do that?

[@AngelicStreak]

​@@DaleC1980 1) they already did that, and 2) Why? To instill the feeling it is rare and that people who don't have it should feel compelled to grab it ASAP before they stop issuing the license codes to resellers (again).

[@jasoncruizer]

You never own software !!! Reason just announced unsupport for every version other than there current one.

[@nimrod7785]

Still no upgrade from Studio to Ultimate it seems. If you at some point want Ultimate, you will need to buy it full price and you will left with a Studio license unused.

[@BigHomieDJ]

But how when they all still say yearly ? It’s confusing , I want the full version and I get the student discount and don’t want the subscription version… please help

[@JoeAtClaricast]

The perpetual licenses are only available through reseller sites - not through Avid (as far as I'm aware). They also might have limited stock of these licenses.

[@djmicelli]

How can I buy the perpetual license

[@JoeAtClaricast]

There are a few resellers that sell licenses. E.g. Gear4Music and Thomann in UK/Europe. You'll need to check what the stores have available though. I imagine they might hold a limited number of licenses, too.

[@sunnyboner676]

Unfortunately, I gave up on Pro Tools and moved over to Logic Pro X. It also turned out much easier to use for a novice like me!

[@JoeAtClaricast]

That's fair, I think a fair few users moved over for sure! I work on Windows but I've spent a fair amount of time with Logic elsewhere and it's great.