The Subscription Graveyard — tools that used to be yours
Eight tools you could once buy, or use freely, that moved to subscriptions. The dates and prices below are the public record — the answers on each card are ours.
Adobe Creative Suite · 2013
Was: Perpetual license (CS6 Master Collection, ~$2,599)
Now: $55–90/mo Creative Cloud subscription
In May 2013 Adobe announced it would stop selling perpetual licenses for its creative tools and move to Creative Cloud subscriptions. CS6 remained the last version available as a one-time purchase. Creative Cloud plans now run roughly $55–90 per month depending on the tier.
Postcraft Templates ($19 once) · Slidecraft ($29 once) · Cutaway ($24 once) · Iconforge ($15 once)
Sketch · 2020
Was: Perpetual license with free updates
Now: License renewal required to keep receiving updates
Sketch was the poster child of pay-once Mac software: buy a license, get updates. In 2020 it moved to a model where the license includes one year of updates, and renewing is required to keep receiving new versions — a subscription in all but name.
Iconforge ($15 once) · Paletteforge ($15 once) · Mockcraft ($19 once)
Notion AI · 2023
Was: Free core app; AI launched as an optional add-on
Now: $10/seat/mo AI add-on, later bundled into pricier plans
Notion's core app has a free tier, but when Notion AI launched in 2023 it was priced as a per-seat monthly add-on (around $8–10 per member). Notion later bundled AI into its higher-priced plans, raising the effective price for teams that wanted it.
Loom · 2023
Was: Free tier plus affordable Pro
Now: Acquired by Atlassian; free Starter plan capped at 25 five-minute videos
Loom popularized instant screen recording with a generous free tier. Atlassian acquired Loom in 2023; the free Starter plan remains capped at 25 videos per person and five minutes per video, with paid plans starting around $12.50 per user per month billed yearly.
BloomRecorder ($29 once) · Captionly ($34 once) · Clip Pipeline ($49 once)
Ulysses · 2017
Was: One-time purchase (~$44.99 for the Mac app)
Now: $5.99/mo subscription
Ulysses, the much-loved Markdown writing app, switched from a one-time purchase to a subscription in August 2017. The move was one of the earliest high-profile examples of a paid-once Mac app going subscription-only.
1Password · 2021
Was: Standalone one-time licenses sold alongside the subscription
Now: Subscription-only ($2.99+/mo)
1Password long offered a standalone license you bought once. With 1Password 8 in 2021–2022, AgileBits dropped standalone licenses entirely, making a membership subscription the only way to use the current app.
Parallels Desktop · 2018
Was: One-time purchase with paid major upgrades
Now: Subscription-first ($99.99/yr Standard)
Parallels Desktop was traditionally sold as a one-time purchase with paid upgrades between major versions. The company shifted to a subscription-first model, with the Standard edition listed at $99.99 per year, and new macOS compatibility tied to staying current.
Postman · 2021
Was: Free desktop API client
Now: Free tier limited to 3 users; paid plans $12+/user/mo
Postman started as a free, local-first API client. Over 2021–2023 it moved to a cloud-account-required model with collaboration features priced per user — paid plans start around $12–14 per user per month, and the free tier is capped at three users.
Hookscope ($69 once) · Docsmith API ($29 once) · Wrangle ($15 once)
Pricing-model history as publicly reported; linked products are ours.