Subscriptions for simple usage only make sense for a true service with an ongoing cost to the provider; cloud storage, email, movie streaming, etc. A subscription for a general-purpose application is incongruous; you’re purchasing a finished product with no ongoing costs, like a pair of shoes or a book, and it should cost a one-off fee that reflects the cost that went into producing it.

What subscriptions are theoretically paying for is *updates* — the ongoing cost of supporting new technology, fixing bugs, and adding features. Requiring additional payment for additional work is totally fine, and some apps successfully use this model (Agenda (https://agenda.com) and Nova (https://nova.app) are two that come to mind, and I’d be interested to hear of others).

Requiring ongoing payment just for continued usage is predatory and leads to a perverse incentive where developers don’t actually need to provide updates or new features; they’ve got you as long as you still need the app’s basic functionality. It’s rent-seeking behaviour and it will prove to be as toxic in the digital realm as it is in real life.