&gt; they try to achieve a relatively modest increase<p>Looking at their (current) pricing model for this, it seems like a drive for more predictable income, instead of additional profit. The ability to depend on getting X dollars per month makes it a lot easier to hire employees on, and justify working on the products.<p>And for many folks, Jetbrains will be getting less money out of them, since they&#x27;re offering quite a deal for anyone who works with more than one of the products.<p>&gt; fairly unjustified SaaS model<p>Except that they are providing constant, incremental upgrades to their tools as part of the model. That alone acts as fairly strong justification for a subscription model.<p>&gt; Instead of driving sales with innovation, they now drive it with fear<p>Anybody who fears being unable to pay a $20 monthly bill is very unlikely to have paid $200 up front for the tool in the first place. Double that for any company who fears this new cost; they&#x27;re already ponying up over ten grand per employee, another $20 isn&#x27;t going bankrupt them.<p>To go back to the woodworker analogy - the woodworker who can&#x27;t afford to replace the worn blade in their bandsaw has bigger problems than the monthly cost of consumables.