How to Choose The Best Lifetime Deals ? Buy or Skip Guide by Henry Hoe

When it comes to softwares, lifetime deals are popular option because of how attractive they are in promising that you to never have to pay again as they gives lifetime access to the software. But are LTD scams or pure hype with underlying terms and conditions that are not outright presented?

I have been an avid lifetime deal buyer and maybe some would call me collector as well as a huge reviewer of these softwares on my Youtube channel. I have over 400+ lifetime deals and have reviewed over 300+ softwares. I have gotten scammed, but I have also made tons of money and saved lots of money using these softwares. Let’s explore the world of lifetime deal today and find out how to identify the best lifetime deals.

I didn’t start out being a lifetime deal addict. I was going for free plans of different softwares to use for my business. As much as paying some money would make my processes much better, I was too cheap to do so. I have always been a big WordPress user, and WordPress plugins sold on a one-time purchase was how I got started. However, it was during Black Friday 2020, that I got introduced to the world of lifetime deal when someone recommended me to check out an UpViral alternative that was on Appsumo. One thing led to another, I ended up buying Viral Loops as well as Labrika, Airmeet and a couple of other softwares that have mostly served me well till today.

Lifetime deals are services that are sold at a one time fee to use for life. This means that you save a lot of money by buying them instead of subscribing to a service that requires frequent purchases (monthly / annual subscription). Usually these services are sold on a recurring subscription or requires frequent purchases such as online games, membership, flights, freelance work and more. Imagine being able to pay only once for a lifetime of Netflix subscription or that infamous Airpass lifetime membership (a real story!).

However, most of the time when we talk about lifetime deals, we’re talking about software deals with lifetime subscription. Softwares that are similar to tools like Ahrefs, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, ManyChat, Airtable, Clickup, Notion, Zapier and more but probably new in the market. Well-established companies with large customer base obviously have no reason to offer a lifetime deal because of how hugely successful they already are, but for new software companies who wish to compete with them, may consider running a lifetime deal.

Most lifetime deals are only ran for a short period of time as a special offer, but some may go on for years and maybe even permanently such as Infinity, Switchy, Pabbly Connect, pCloud and ThriveCart.

Perpetual licenses gives you access to the software up till the current version but not for the next major version. For example, if you purchase Adobe Photoshop 2020, you don’t have access to Adobe Photoshop 2021 when it is released. However, you can continue using Adobe Photoshop 2020 for as long as you want. Lifetime licenses are much broader, meaning you get access to all future updates and versions as well.

Perpetual licenses still exist today for offline applications, but they are less common today, as most softwares are now cloud-based and turned into an ongoing subscription or membership. Be careful when purchasing lifetime deals as sometimes perpetual licenses may be marketed as lifetime license.

Software companies run lifetime deals for a variety of reasons. The two primary reasons are either to get users or to get money within a short span of time.

Getting beta testers for softwares is incredibly difficult today especially if there is no incentive for the tester. Running a lifetime deal however, is a great marketing “scheme”, where “beta testers” pay to test and provide feedback to you, while in return get access to your software for life.

Lifetime deals are also an attractive way to raise funds quickly. These funds can then be used to fast track development and maturity of the software to go after subscription customers. So, if you’re a software developer looking to bootstrap and grow your SaaS business, this can be a great way to fund your development.

Lifetime software deals (LTDs) are a great way to save money, but there are some things to consider before making the purchase. It costs software companies money to allow LTD Users to continue using the software without ongoing fees for lifetime of the company. This includes new features, ongoing customer support and ongoing usage of software.

Over the years, due to many founders reneging on their sales agreement as well as a software companies that have failed, the community has also started to push back with negative reviews, resentment and other counter measures. To avoid any potential pitfalls, take a look at these important factors.

If the company is dedicated to release a software on lifetime deal that is with minimal bugs, feature rich with great user experience, then the software is likely going to last for a long time for you to reap the benefits from your lifetime license. If a company has put in so much effort into the software, it is less likely that they will abandon it as it would have wasted a lot of money and effort into creating in the first place.

Many softwares are released prematurely on LTD to gather users and raise money to keep the project going. LTDs are similar to Kickstarter campaigns except you get access to the product instantly but the product needs continuous development. I would say that nowadays with the volume of LTDs surging, you need at least 18 months for a software to be fully developed and mature enough to compete with the top of the line softwares in it’s own niche.

Hence, differentiation comes into play. By differentiating a software from the rest of it’s competitors can much easily carve out it’s own niche, customer base and make them stand out to investors. If a software is differentiated well, that means the founder has set a long term vision, which makes it harder to give up.

With big companies like Hubspot, ActiveCampaign and more, the company doesn’t depend on the CEO. However, most startups are actually run by one founder – who is almost 100% in control. If the founder is dismissive of positive feedbacks, am not grateful or does not value LTD owners, lacks the foresight in planning the pricing, features and limits of the LTD and changing the terms midway, or is not answerable when he/she commits a mistake, those are usually big red flags of which you should stay away from. Good founders know how to leverage LTD owners to help them improve their softwares and be their mouthpiece for marketing, or whistleblower for abuse because ultimately, LTD owners are invested in their software, and making sure the business survives, ensures that their softwares will continue to work.

As much as most LTD buyers hate to buy based on roadmaps, if a founder does not have a roadmap whether public or private means that do not have a vision of their product. The world is constantly changing. A software that has it’s uses today, does not mean that it will continue to be useful years later. By having a roadmap and planning features in advance today, helps the software to stay ahead in the competition. However, if you are solely buying based on roadmaps for 100% of the features, be sure to get a confirmation that you as the LTD buyer have full access to these features.

Use case means how a software can be used in a situation. If you have an immediate use case, likely the software is already going to be getting you returns in savings of money or time, or make you a profit. For example, just few days ago, a new caching plugin was released on lifetime deal. I had a client whom was using EWWW Image Optimizer (still a great plugin by the way), had a conflict with his theme. I was able to replace the caching plugin. The client is happy, and his payment to me covers the cost of the plugin itself. I was also able to replace all my Klaviyo accounts to Vbout. Although I lose some features of Klaviyo, but it did not affect the revenue and the overall value of not paying an ongoing subscription makes better financial sense.

Utility frequency refers to how often a software would be used. Very often, people purchase tools like video creators, mobile app builders on LTD but they never actually got around to set them up and use them everyday. Whereas tools like web analytics, page builders, uptime monitoring, scheduling solutions these are the ones that get used every single day, once you’ve set them up, ensuring that you get the best returns on them.

When a company gets funded, it can mean good or bad news for the LTD buyers. If the funding is well-received, then this is a great news for sellers as they will likely continue to see growth in their business. However, if the funding is excessive, it could spell a sign that the founders are planning to exit the company. In such cases, the LTD might be voided, made invalid or left without updates. Hence, if you see a company raising too much funds, and the founder does not seem to be as passionate as he/she should be for their software and business, then you might end up being played out on your lifetime deal.

Appsumo does a great job in misleading us with their ads. “Pay one-time and use for life!” as they preach. But yet, many times, they never put their money where their mouth as they do not refund you after a year of purchasing the software and the software does not work, or you’re being shortchanged by the software company. Not getting yourself educated on lifetime deals, might open up a pandora’s box of outrage and resentment if you start buying them without first considering the applications.

As subscription users continue to pay for the software, the company may start to value them over lifetime customers. This means that lifetime users start to become a burden to the company rather than a helping hand.

When it comes to lifetime deals, customers should be aware that they may not always receive the best level of customer support. In fact, some companies might even block you out from their services altogether! Some softwares would hide their chat widget from lifetime license owners.

Hence, rather than relying on someone else to help you with the software, being self-sufficient is a good-to-have quality if you’re planning to start delving into LTDs. This means learning to help yourself by accessing helpful tutorials and knowledgebase articles online. Doing so will make life a lot easier for yourself in future while dealing with LTDs!

Companies who run or have ran LTDs tend to release updates more frequently – often due to the need for quick improvements. However, it is not uncommon for ungrateful founders to block out LTD buyers from access to updates, resulting in frustrated users and damaged relationships with the company itself.

LTD softwares usually have bugs that need to be fixed and you are the tester. You always need to keep in mind that the software you depend on, may fail on you, until they are good enough.

When you are huge successful SaaS company like Cloudflare, Zapier and the like ones, the failure of the software could impact billions of dollars with just a few hours of downtime. However, these companies are able to back that up with liability insurance and funds when such a scenario happens. If a situation like this happens to your client however, you are the one liable. It may not necessary be helpful to cut corners for clients who can afford not to.

Is lifetime deal a good deal? If you have the right expectation, then particular LTDs can be a best lifetime deals for you. You may encounter bugs, terrible UI/UX, downtime and sometimes even a complete loss of data. Lifetime deal should be seen as a long-term investment, and not a cheap one-time purchase. Contributing to the development of the software by providing feedbacks and suggestions will end up benefiting you back more often than not.

If you’re going to expect the same kind of experience you get with Ahrefs, Hubspot, ActiveCampaign etc, then LTDs are definitely not for you.

It’s important to note that if you want to run your business solely on lifetime deals, you have to have backups and failsafes in place such as having an alternative software to the one you are currently using, or backup your data some where else.

Lifetime deals are amazing when you have very little to pay ongoingly to maintain your business.

Imagine running a business with $0 running cost. How would that make you feel? Every dollar you make from your customers, goes into your pocket. Imagine having the most advanced technology to grow your business without an ongoing fee. That is what selecting best lifetime deals can do for you and your business.

However, LTD is a journey. It will take time before you can remove every single paid subscription software you have for your business.

After accumulating over 400 different LTDs worth more than $50,000, I am now down to just paying a low yearly license for Elementor, domain names and web hosting servers with amazing software’s that gets me excited every single day I show up to work.

I will end off this piece of article by telling you that, LTDs are completely worth it, if you go in with the right mindset while considering above buy or skip guide.

If you’d like to learn more about utilizing your LTDs for your business, be sure to visit DecisiveMarketer.