Prusa goes Subscription
Who would have thought... Last year I cancelled my order for a Bambu printer when they announced the new lock-down mechanism in their firmware, restricting access to the printer from 3rd party tools. I thought I saw the writing on the wall that this was just the first step to making some services and functionality billable via a subscription model.
And now Prusa, of all companies, is the first consumer 3D printing vendor to offer subscriptions if you want more storage space or better video streaming?? https://subscription.prusa3d.com/
This sounds like a great way to generate rather limited income but alienate a lot of longstanding users. How does this align with your "you buy it, you own it, no strings attached" marketing message? Yes, I get it, users still own their printers and basic functionality remains free (for now). But can we talk about "mixed messages" for a moment?
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
Cloud storage / internet streaming costs money so why would you expect to get it for free?
Also, no functionality was lost for free users, but if you need more cloud storage than until now you gotta pay.
I don't see how this is problematic behaviour...?
RE:
You know what? Screw it. I really don't care. I don't use subscriptions services or the cloud. Quit getting roped into these online "give us your money forever" scams.
Vehemently against AI. I've seen that film. It ends badly.
RE:
You need an account to use PrusaConnect from the beginning. They are offering subscription tiers above what you currently get for free. The free tier is not losing functionality. Also, you don't need to put the printer in a special "developer" mode to continue to use PrusaLink or OctoPrint. The firmware (for now) is still open source. Not really sure what the problem is.
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
Not really sure what the problem is.
My problem with this is twofold.
- It's bound to be a first step only. I don't necessarily expect them to restrict the free tier functionality. But there will be new functionality that becomes available only under subscription, where previously it would have been "continuous improvement", available for free.
- Prusa were supposed to the the good guys, with the straight business model: Buy our printers, and by the way, you might also like our filament. That's it. It seems absurd to me that they are now the first ones to step onto that slippery slope of subscription services.
Well, not strictly "my problem" anymore, for the time being.
RE:
- Prusa were supposed to the the good guys, with the straight business model: Buy our printers, and by the way, you might also like our filament. That's it. It seems absurd to me that they are now the first ones to step onto that slippery slope of subscription services.
I think they kind of have to though to survive in this world by finding new revenue streams. I can imagine being in their management meetings and their accountants telling them they need to find ways of stemming cashflow loss beyond cutting staff. They no longer inhabit a world where they are the premiere, go to brand. Bambu owns this now. I suppose to borrow a maxim, in business good guys finish last.
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
Yes, I can see the economic pressure. But how much revenue will this generate? Prusa are not actively advertising it at all, from what I can see -- probably for the same reason which I also see as the major downside, namely their "good guys" image taking a hit. In my perception it was a key differentiator for Prusa that they don't play this game.
That's what I meant with my comment in the original post: It looks like a bad balance of small revenue benefit, significant reputation hit.
I might well be misjudging this. So far I have seen only one Youtube channel pick this up, and maybe the users are divided between "I don't need any extra functionality anyway" and "Sure, give me more subscriptions any day; between Spotify, Netflix and the three sports channels I subscribe to, I am totally used to them".
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
Yes, I can see the economic pressure. But how much revenue will this generate? Prusa are not actively advertising it at all, from what I can see -- probably for the same reason which I also see as the major downside, namely their "good guys" image taking a hit. In my perception it was a key differentiator for Prusa that they don't play this game.
That's what I meant with my comment in the original post: It looks like a bad balance of small revenue benefit, significant reputation hit.
I might well be misjudging this. So far I have seen only one Youtube channel pick this up, and maybe the users are divided between "I don't need any extra functionality anyway" and "Sure, give me more subscriptions any day; between Spotify, Netflix and the three sports channels I subscribe to, I am totally used to them".
You mean all those subscriptions for "content" you used to get way cheaper with cable? Yea. Progress.
Vehemently against AI. I've seen that film. It ends badly.
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
It might look differently from a corporate user's point-of-view. E.g. a slicing service means I don't need a local installation of PrusaSlicer which means I don't need to vet the software - all the licenses, management of personal information, scanning the binaries of course - if this sounds ridiculous, welcome to 2026 corporate (sur)reality.
I wouldn't bash them for offering services that seem useless for enthusiasts. And, hosting / storage / camera stream feeding are associated with real-world costs. Getting that for free "forever" after buying the printer seems actually quite nice.
BTW, paying for "more freedom" over the "free" subscription is just hilarious 🙂
RE:
Completely different thought: "Slicing as a service" could be effective at bypassing GPL license restrictions on slicers (e.g. extend the code without "giving back" added source code). Not my field of expertise, though.
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
Completely different thought: "Slicing as a service" could be effective at bypassing GPL license restrictions on slicers (e.g. extend the code without "giving back" added source code). Not my field of expertise, though.
If a business does come up with a "pay to slice" business model, Bambu will be first.
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
If a business does come up with a "pay to slice" business model, Bambu will be first.
But isn't that exactly what EasyPrint is, "pay to slice"? The new Basic subscription buys you extended slicing times up to 120 seconds, and Premium up to 240 seconds. Another "first" in 3D printing for Prusa! 😉
RE:
But isn't that exactly what EasyPrint is, "pay to slice"? The new Basic subscription buys you extended slicing times up to 120 seconds, and Premium up to 240 seconds. Another "first" in 3D printing for Prusa! 😉
Have not tried EasyPrint since I don't see why I need to slice from my phone. I've also learned a hard lesson of not being near my printer, setting up a remote print, Buddy camera decides it didn't want to work and coming home to a spaghetti monster.
Anyway, if EasyPrint starts to diverge too much from PrusaSlicer and the later gets neglected then you definitely have a point.
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
Completely different thought: "Slicing as a service" could be effective at bypassing GPL license restrictions on slicers (e.g. extend the code without "giving back" added source code). Not my field of expertise, though.
Is that partially in response to proposed legislation then? Are they preparing for future bullshittery requirements?
Vehemently against AI. I've seen that film. It ends badly.
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
Part of the reason I chose to buy a Prusa printer is that I didn't need to use any sort of online service to use the printer, literally computer -> home network -> core one.
I'm sure the mobile apps, etc have their uses but sort yourself a vpn connection back to wherever the computer is connected to your printer is and you can bypass any sort of online services including any subscriptions.
I can understand them charging for premium services as it costs money to run the infrastructure but in reality it is a trap for the unwary as you can become reliant on them and when they either lose interest and shut it down or start bumping the cost up you're stuck.
RE:
Completely different thought: "Slicing as a service" could be effective at bypassing GPL license restrictions on slicers (e.g. extend the code without "giving back" added source code). Not my field of expertise, though.
Is that partially in response to proposed legislation then? Are they preparing for future
bullshitteryrequirements?
Did that "proposed legislation" not turn out to be just lame clickbait?
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
Did that "proposed legislation" not turn out to be just lame clickbait?
If you are referring to those youtube talking heads: "loyal moses' and Joel then yeah, it's a lot of noisy clickbait.
RE:
Did that "proposed legislation" not turn out to be just lame clickbait?
If you are referring to those youtube talking heads: "loyal moses' and Joel then yeah, it's a lot of noisy clickbait.
I never bothered to watch them. I haven't been following it that closely. Any title that says "This is worse than we thought" with no context or even explanation isn't worth the effort.
Part of the reason I chose to buy a Prusa printer is that I didn't need to use any sort of online service to use the printer, literally computer -> home network -> core one.
I'm sure the mobile apps, etc have their uses but sort yourself a vpn connection back to wherever the computer is connected to your printer is and you can bypass any sort of online services including any subscriptions.
I can understand them charging for premium services as it costs money to run the infrastructure but in reality it is a trap for the unwary as you can become reliant on them and when they either lose interest and shut it down or start bumping the cost up you're stuck.
USB stick > Cloud. Every single time.
Vehemently against AI. I've seen that film. It ends badly.
RE:
I never bothered to watch them. I haven't been following it that closely. Any title that says "This is worse than we thought" with no context or even explanation isn't worth the effort.
The worst offenders is stuff like this: "Law passed in California banning 3D printing". If you do even 30 seconds of google you find out: "Law drafted by local state congress woman and before initial panel to decide next steps"
RE: Prusa goes Subscription
It just occurred to me that the new subscriptions put a different spin on Prusa's decision to implement full-spectrum printing in EasyPrint first, while it is not available in PrusaSlicer yet.
I initially assumed the reasoning was: "Users who like to print colorful trinkets are increasingly using EasyPrint instead of a local PrusaSlicer, so let's give those guys full spectrum printing first." But maybe it's more about "Let's push new features into our online offerings first, to get more users interested in the online subscriptions." Maybe slicing for full spectrum prints is more likely to exceed the 60 second time limit of the free package?