In this article, we are going to explore the benefits of buying into Pro Tools as Avid offer two ways to buy Pro Tools software...

• Buy a perpetual license, which will always work, and then take out an upgrade plan so you always have the latest version.

• OR

• Buy a rental subscription plan which includes an upgrade plan which will only continue to work as long as you pay the rental subscription fee.

What's Included With The Rental Subscription Plan?

• Software/plug-in installers and user guides

• 1 GB Collaboration Cloud Storage

• 2 GB high-quality loop library

• 60 Virtual Instruments & Effect Plug-ins

• 25 bonus plug-ins, including all Pro Series plug-ins, Space, Stompbox Emulations and Eleven

• ExpertPlus support through Avid Customer Care

• $850 USD in bonus gifts: BioTek, Pro Sound Effects | First, pureMix tutorials, and Sound Ideas royalty-free music (found in your Avid Master Account for download after purchase)

What's Included With The Perpetual License For Pro Tools?

• Software/plug-in installers and user guides

• 1 GB Collaboration Cloud Storage.

• 2 GB high-quality loop library

• 60 Virtual Instruments & Effect Plug-ins

• Comes with a one-year Annual Upgrade Plan, one year access to bonus Plug-ins and a 7-day Installation Support.

• Includes 12 months of software upgrades.

• $850 USD in bonus gifts: BioTek, Pro Sound Effects | First, pureMix tutorials, and Sound Ideas royalty-free music (found in your Avid Master Account for download after purchase)

Capital Expenditure Or Operation Expense

For those bigger facilities managing budgets, you will know exactly where you stand. You can choose whether to fund it from capital expenditure with the perpetual route or operational expenditure with the rental subscription route.

For smaller, one person operations, going down the rental option means it is an operational expense and can be recharged to the client.

Cost Benefits Of Rental Vs Perpetual Options

There have been some discussions about the cost of the Pro Tools Ultimate Standalone software at $2499 or to be able to rent it for $999 per year with one annual payment, rent is for 1 year paying $83.25 per month (equivalent to $999 per year) or you can now rent it for $99.99 on a month to month basis.

When it comes to Pro Tools Standard the perpetual license costs $599, whereas the rental options are either $299.04 per year, paying $24.92 per month or $29.99 per month on a monthly subscription.

So I thought it would be helpful to do some analysis over 3 years to see how the costs for both Pro Tools Standard and Pro Tools HD Standalone plan out...

A Comparison Of Rental With Perpetual & Upgrade Plan Over 3 Years For Pro Tools Ulimate Standalone

When Avid changed the prices on July 1st 2019, reducing the annual rental subscription from $999 to $799 as well as increasing the price of a Pro Tools ultimate Software license from $2499 to $2599 and these changes affected the numbers and the break-even point for Pro Tools Ultimate software.

After 3 years it is still cheaper to rent the Pro Tools Ultimate Software rather than buy a perpetual license with an ongoing upgrade plan saving $27.78 per month.

The breakeven point is around 6 years when the scales tip the other way and it becomes cheaper to buy the perpetual license with an upgrade/support plan, as you save $3 per month.

A Comparison Of Rental With Perpetual & Upgrade Plan Over 3 Years For Pro Tools Standard

Avid Increased Prices On July 1st 2019

This changed the value proposition here when Avid chose to increase the upgrade plan pricing for Pro Tools Standard from $99 per year to $199 per year.

Pro Tools Standard With No Upgrade Plan

When it comes to Pro Tools Standard after 3 years the rental option is a little more expensive than going for the Perpetual option with the upgrade plan. But the Rental plan comes with support as well as upgrades, whereas the Perpetual option does not include a support plan.

However, until December 31st 2019 if you chose not to buy an upgrade plan you had the option to get back on board and buy a reinstatement plan.

Then in November 2019, Avid announced that they were discontinuing Reinstatement Plans, which meant that from January 1st 2020 if you allowed your upgrade plan for a perpetual license to lapse then it would no longer be possible to buy a reinstatement plan to get back on board with upgrade plans. The only options for you would be to crossgrade to a rental subscription or buy a new Pro Tools perpetual license.

Pro Tools Standard With Upgrade And Support Plans

If you factor in the support plan at $199 for the 3 years then the monthly figure for the perpetual license with upgrade plan and support plan comes out at $27.69 as opposed to $24.92. This means the breakeven point is 4 years when the monthly price for the perpetual license with an upgrade plan and support plan comes out at $24.92.

Other Reasons To Consider Rental Over Perpetual

Cost and Cap Ex Vs Op Ex are not the only criteria.  Rental is good for shorter periods and with the rental option you do know exactly where you are and it is the same amount every month, with the Perpetual/upgrade plan option you have a larger outlay at the start - $2499 and then payments of $399 at the start of each subsequent year for Pro Tools HD Standalone or $599 and then either $99 or $198 at the start of each subsequent year for Pro Tools Standard. 

Either way, the good news is that you can plan for either model and build those into your cash flow projections. 

Myth - Perpetual Means I Own It

This is a myth. With any software whether its Pro Tools or Microsoft Office, what you pay for is a license to use the software. Unlike hardware, you don't own it. There are sorts of terms and conditions in the license agreement, that we all click that we have read it but most of us never do.

I hope this article will help you decide which way of buying into Pro Tools will work best for you, rental or perpetual.