Got an email to purchase 2019 upgrade and it's also stating upgrades are ending??? Is it going the dreaded "subscription" (rent, never own) model?!
After reading the many bugs and problems with 2019, very reluctant to move on to that one. I'd hate to purchase that 2019 upgrade and they leave it to die and NEVER fix it, but force me to SUBSCRIPTION after they take my money.
CorelDRAW Upgrades are Ending!
Now is your last chance to upgrade to CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019. Later this year, upgrades will no longer be available.
Hi everyone. I want to provide a bit more context. As everyone knows, we pride ourselves at Corel in offering choice for how to get CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. For some, that means subscribing. For others, that means buying a perpetual license. The only thing that is really changing later this year is the "open upgrade" whereby users of any previous version can buy the perpetual upgrade license of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019. We will still provide the opportunity for current version owners to get into the latest version without having to subscribe or pay the Full version price. In the past we have changed the upgrade policy where only certain recent versions were eligible. Right now, the policy is wide open. But that is the only element that is changing later this year. As for Upgrade Protection, if you choose to go that route, it is valid for a period of one year from when you purchase it before it would need to be renewed to remain eligible for new versions as they come out. Thanks.
John Falsetto said:We will still provide the opportunity for current version owners to get into the latest version without having to subscribe or pay the Full version price.
Can you please "elaborate" on this very important part?
Typically it has usually been $199 (or $159 or so as I have seen at the lowest on sale) for an UPGRADE.
What are we looking at now?
We have not finalized any specific details in that regard, but the plan is most certainly for it to be available for current version owners at much less than the Full version price.
Thanks.
John Falsetto said:to be available for current version owners
So "current" would be v2019? correct?
So if I have X7 or 2017, I am NOT eligible correct for that "much less than Full version price"? I would have to pay FULL price for 2020 version? Or purchase the LAST v2019 upgrade before it's gone?
Right now, 2019 is considered the current version, that's correct. But until later this year and the policy changes, any version owner can buy the upgrade version of 2019. When the policy changes later this year, only 2018 version owners will be eligible to buy 2019 at a discounted price compared to the Full version price. When the next version is released, then only 2019 owners will be eligible for that discounted offering. So once the policy changes, it will be the previous version only that will be eligible.
Upgrades from the "current"-version-only on an annual release model at approx 1/2 retail only postpones the pain/commitment for a year and is more expensive long term. The $99 subscription fee (even paid forward as it is) would be a better long-term option.
If you do not subscribe, but still exercise the "current" version-only upgrade option each year, you are paying double every year as compared to the subscription.
But, you can only enter the subscription at the point of purchase. So the first upgrade (from 2018 or 2019) would cost approx $300, as you are paying forward the $99 and then again 1 year later. So the First new release will still cost you $200, but at least you are now in the subscription program.
IMO, Corel is cynically following the path of Adobe, Intuit, and other software publishers who have a certain segment of the industry trapped into their tools with limited options. This will certainly be at the expense of more casual users (such as myself). I had always maintained a relatively recent version of CorelDraw as an alternative to Adobe. When Adobe went subscription, Corel became more important. But in effect, Corel will be effectively subscription as your "perpetual" copy will be abandoned with its bugs in only a year or two.
When you do the math and unwind the options, there really is no option except commit to a pseudo-subscription program or abandon the tools. Are you proud of those choices, John?
A CorelDRAW subscription is not $99 per year. It is $198 per year. They say $16.50 per month in the advertising but the subscription is billed on an annual rate.The only way you get to a $99 per year arrangement to "subscribe" to CorelDRAW is by paying nearly $300 up front for the CorelDRAW 2019 upgrade ($199) plus the "upgrade protection" subscription ($99). After that big hit up front it takes another 2 years and 2 upgrade cycles before you start saving any money versus paying for a flat $16.50 per month subscription. Considering all the issues with both the Mac and PC versions of CorelDRAW 2019 it seems like a more financially sensible move to just stick with the older versions of CorelDRAW I have at home and my workplace. I can wait 4, 5 or more years to buy brand new full versions when need be. Maybe by that time the folks running Corel will change this absurd policy on upgrades (that is if Corel survives that long).