Over the last 25 years I've spent thousands of dollars on Corel software and now they have decided not to allow me to upgrade anymore. They decided I should rent their software instead, I don't rent software, ask Adobe I quit their software for the same reason. Does anyone know another software package?
MSE, I can share your concern as I likely spend more than $20,000/year on CorelDRAW licenses so losing out on the ability to upgrade a perpetual license is a bummer! It does seem they've decided that you SHOULD rent, but that doesn't mean you HAVE to. You can still buy perpetual licenses, but you don't get upgrade pricing anymore. While I'm disappointed in whoever it was that made that decision, especially for not making it more known that the changes were coming, I still make my living using CorelDRAW Graphics Suite without the need for other design software, so when I can turn a $499 cost into $400000 in sales I'd say I'm still getting my money's worth!
We bought our first CorelDRAW license in 1989 for $495 retail, and the price today is $499. I'm not sure why they've chosen to not raise their prices much in 30+ years on the full license, but again whether I'm paying $249/year for a subscription and get the latest version every year, or pay $499 when I want to upgrade (which since this is in a 2017 Forum it looks like you're 4 years behind the current version) I still find it very worth every penny! There are plenty of other software packages out there, some for free or less than $50, but I don't think you'll find a comparable product at such a great value as CorelDRAW Graphics Suite.
There are things in the latest version that are NOT in 2017 that I use every day to speed up my workflow, and I have easily gotten a return on my investment. To name a few, vector feathering, inside shadows, perspective on bitmaps, resample with AI, Font Manager with access to 4700+ Google Fonts, etc. etc.
I've already started looking for replacement software, I'll use what I have until get everything moved over. They've just lost a customer who had been with them from version 1.0.