In this guide, you’ll discover which payment option might be best for you based on how you plan to use our software.
Subscription or Perpetual License?
Find out the differences between our payment options and the cost of ownership for you.
A subscription is for you if:
You always want to have the latest version of Capture One Pro and get all new features and updates as soon as we release them. If you choose our annual payment option, it will be the cheapest option for you.
When you stop your subscription, you will lose access to the software. However, our subscriber Loyalty Program allows you to purchase a perpetual license with a 20% discount for each year you have been a subscriber (yes, that means after 5 years you can get it for free). That way even if you stop your subscription, you will always have a version of Capture One Pro to keep and that supports your catalogs and sessions.
Read more about how our Loyalty Program works here.
A perpetual license is for you if:
You don’t need new features and improvements and don’t plan to invest in new camera hardware any time soon. The copy of Capture One Pro you have will continue to work as long as your hardware and operating system support it. You are happy to buy a new copy of the software if you want to get the latest version.
You own the software outright and it will continue to work as long as your hardware and operating system support it. You are happy to buy a new copy of the software if you want to be on the latest version.
Please note that our Loyalty Program allows you to purchase a perpetual license at a discount if you stop a subscription. You’ll get 20% off for each year you have been a subscriber (yes, that means after 5 years you can get it for free). That way you will always have a version of Capture One Pro that you own and supports your catalog.
Read more about how our Loyalty Program works here.
Which option is best for me?
I want new features and updates as soon as they’re ready
An annual subscription is always the cheapest option for you.
I want new features and updates as soon as they’re ready, and have access to my catalog after I stop my subscription
The cheapest option for you is to get an annual subscription, and then get a perpetual license through our Loyalty Program when you want to stop the subscription.
I don’t need new features right away and I don’t buy new camera gear often
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If you would like to get new features and updates more than once a year, it will always be cheaper for you to have an annual subscription and then buy a perpetual license through our loyalty program when you stop your subscription.
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If you would like to get new features and updates once a year and plan to use Capture One Pro for at least three years, it will be cheaper for you to have an annual subscription and then buy a perpetual license through our loyalty program when you stop your subscription.
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If you would like to get new features and updates once every 2 or more years, a perpetual license is the cheapest option for you.
I don’t want a subscription
A perpetual license is the best option for you.
What are the differences in the cost of ownership?
For those of you that want to dive into the details, we’ve done the work for you. Here is a breakdown of how much it will cost you over 6 years, including the difference after changes to our perpetual licenses coming on 14 February, 2023.
Annual Prepaid subscription vs. Perpetual License
Prices are in USD and are indicative. Prices may vary in your local currency set by our payment provider. Prices are excluding sales tax / VAT. If you have a business number this charge will be removed on checkout.
Annual Prepaid subscription, then move to a Perpetual License vs. Perpetual License
Prices are in USD and are indicative. Prices may vary in your local currency set by our payment provider. Prices are excluding sales tax / VAT. If you have a business number this charge will be removed on checkout.
The Terms and Conditions of your license purchases (made via our web store) are always accessible from your Capture One account under the 'Plans & Services Management' section:
Comments
221 comments
Nice naming :D "The Capture One Loyalty Program"
Actually everything has already been said here. Compare your price for an admittedly good program with the price for the Creative Cloud. I love your program, but seriously, your price isn't right anymore.
completely confused and in English .I think it's time to go.
I love CO, I have updated probably every couple of years, retired and not a professional photographer. It suited me perfectly. Came to CO after Aperture died. I had no intention of doing subscription, so I ruled out Adobe. Now I have to look at other options. This graph is as clear as mud and I used spreadsheets the last 15 years of my working life.
Well I guess you think along the lines: customers will scream and shout, but eventually they will just accept the new pricing. This is what mostly happened when Adobe changed their pricing. However, remember a few things:
1. You are not Adobe
2. Your software has not really been improved over the last couple of years
3. LR & PS have improved a lot over the last couple of years
4. Fortunately there are some other interesting options out there
I have upgraded to C1-23 but I have now subscribed to LR/PS and I have started to move all my work over to that platform. I have done some comprehensive testing in LR and I can easily match the outcome of my work with what I did in C1.
C1 is history for me, unless you will change over to some more reasonable and competitive pricing in the very near future.
I am not so sure about that. There have been quite a lot of Adobe refugees who migrated to C1, some time ago, here in the forum, so I think people actually are willing to abandon software if they are upset with changed license policy or prices.
For now, only perpetual license holders are negatively affected, and probably such users never upgrading anymore or only once every few or only after many years will not show up in C1 books very soon. Which means they cannot really verify the consequences of their policy changes now. Which means they need to rely on their current projections.
But, they might possibly find themselves in the situation where revenue stalls or declines in 2023 or 2024 (compared to last year) and they have to give generous discounts at Black Friday sales or alike to increase revenue again. Who knows.
Time to move to Darktable full time I think.
Oh and it is free. How good is that!
Christine M., I've noticed you've updated the tables but the data for the 'Perpetual License Upgrade with update program (Old) is still incorrect. You are forgetting the extra pre-upgrade discounts (20% for the last upgrade) and other 'special deals' (such as a 40% Black Friday discount on a full perpetual license).
Frederiksberg, you've got a problem.......
What a fucking mess! As much as I like this software, my ten years of loyalty to Capture One ends here.
mhm ....
the Loyality-Program means, after 5 years we will pay nothing for new updates (when staying in the subscription-modus)?
@Wilfried Schoder
No, after five years one does not have to pay anything if one is happy with the features and bugs existing at the time. In other words, one only gets a perpetual licence for free.
To keep getting updates, one will have to keep paying the subscription fees.
ok ...
now I understand: this 20% discount per year is the price for a perpetual license if I stop subscription.
THX a lot.
@Wilfred Schoder
Yes, that’s how it sounds to me so, you have to decide if the updates that you think you will see in the next five years will be worth the cost of the subscription over that period of time. Or, you can just leave now, with the perpetual licence you already have and forego any future updates. Of course, we have no road map for the updates that they expect to be offering even over the next few years.
If they offered a future roadmap of enhancements then I would be more tempted but quite honestly this new pricing plan is more likely to drive me to another solution/software.
Weighing up what you get from Adobe I’d say £5 a month would be a reasonable amount for C1 to charge
I don't want to criticise the decision taken by C1, for sure they must have a good reason to change their business model. However, the explanation and the comparison tables provided are terrible, sorry to say that. Instead of explaining in a clear and transparent way, you are doing things more complicate.
What a complicated system! C1 is history for me! Good bye!
Just thought you C1 marketing/accounting folks should know that DxO have just released version 6.3 of PhotoLab - that's three new version with new features I'm getting after I upgraded in November last year - just sayin'....
Can I use my captureone styles to DXO 6?
Hi Fitz - no, unfortunately not.
I've watched a few yt videos on DXO Photolab 6, looks a compelling option, definitely worth a look when I think it's time to upgrade my C1 perpetual licence.
You have a great product but seem determined to lose your customers. I have complained every year about the ridiculous cost of an annual upgrade that offers very little improvement to the programme. Why not one charge for outright ownership and then charge a reasonable price for major new features as they are released. Users can then decide if they want the the new extension or not. In the meantime I'm trying to learn Luminar Neo and Affinity to see which is best for me.
Ralph Stutchbury. Exactly.
I’ve paid roughly $200 per year (BF/B&H) for a full new license with all the features, camera and lens profiles, coding, fixes in the program, etc. But now I am expected to pay nearly that amount again every year for very minimal improvements?
Without a product roadmap I don’t see why I should commit to 5 years of subscriptions to get a ‘free’ license.
O szok! O co tu chodzi? Mega słabo C1
Well today I downloaded DXO Photolab 6 and had a good test trying different workflows.
Result is I'm going to stick with my C1 23 and use for as long as I can without upgrading.
DXO gives good results but just isn't a fast enough workflow for when I'm editing my sports photos. If I was just doing landscape and nature I'd probably go over to DXO, the Deeprime XD noise reduction is far superior to C1 noise reduction.
If I subscribe for 5 years I can get a perpetual licence free.
So why don’t you offer perpetual licence holders that upgrade every year for 5 years the next upgrade for free as part of this loyalty program ?
This disclaimer says it all
No guarantee subscribers will continue getting 20% discount and eventuality a free copy after 5 years
*Capture One may change the terms and benefits included as part of its loyalty program at any point in time. Capture One shall notify affected users in writing no less than 30 days before any change.
I started my relationship with C1 when I bought a Fuji and tried out the free Fuji Express version.
Decided to buy the full Fuji version, then upgraded to V11 Pro as I also have Canon cameras.
Upgraded to V12 and each subsequent version to my current version of 23.
Does this make me an un-loyal customer that has contributed nothing to C1 profits ?
I can’t really see the loyalty program they have introduced for subscribers is particularly good either. If you are already a subscriber I guess you’ll carry on subscribing anyway and nit convert to a free or discounted perpetual licence.
Surely a better way of rewarding a subscriber would be discounted future subscription fees
as far as I see with this model a subscriber only benefits if becoming disloyal !
I was one of your most loyal customers, having jumped off of the Adobe bandwagon due to my HATRED of subscriptions. I have happily promoted C1 to all photographers I meet as a wonderful, ethical alternative. Congratulations for stopping me in my tracks. I am beyond unimpressed at this turn of events and no, I will never be a born again subscriber. Biggest own goal I have seen a company commit in a while. Greed never ends well.
Got to agree with so many people who have responded.
CaptureOne Pro was a unique product that I was happy to pay £150-175 per year and to support the beta test program. Most beta programs give a free copy to the tester as a thank you. Not PhaseOne or CaptureOne! Hmmm..
I dont like or do subscriptions but given the choice I will now use Adobe Lightroom as the DAM is faster and better.
I feel let down by CaptureOne. I am sorry but this is very poor handling of customers.
Back to Adobe.
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