Text replacement utilities like TextExpander can make a big difference in the amount of time you spend typing. From email signatures to emails for clients, I used TextExpander for all of sorts of things. TextExpander's licence meant that I was only paying a minimum amount for the desktop tool, but it's where I used it the most.

When I first heard about TextExpander's price change to a subscription model I was hesitant to make any fast reactions. Over the days that followed though I was increasingly convinced that the new pricing model was not for me.

I don't have any problems paying for the software I use. If it has value and is reasonably priced then I'll keep paying. Regardless of whether it's a monthly subscription or intermediate upgrades. It's the only way that you can support the makers of the software that you find valuable.

A big change to the TextExpander app was that your snippets are sent to TextExpander servers so that they could be pushed to your other devices with TextExpander on it. I didn’t find the need to use that particular feature so I started to think that maybe TextExpander wasn’t a good fit for me anymore.

TextExpander's change to a subscription model might be okay for others, but for me it was a step in the wrong direction. I understand that they have a business to run and that relies on a steady revenue but what was wrong with more frequent releases of their desktop app? I would gladly have paid for a single license for the cost of a year as long as it came with frequent updates.

At the end of the day I just didn’t find the value in paying for the features of a software product that I would rarely use.