It&#x27;s a one time cost. The others are monthly costs. 
Most likely they&#x27;re paying for a redistributable licence which is much more expensive than other licences.<p>For instance, take a look at this font I&#x27;m currently integrating into the app I&#x27;m working on:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.myfonts.com&#x2F;fonts&#x2F;intelligent-foundry&#x2F;averta&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.myfonts.com&#x2F;fonts&#x2F;intelligent-foundry&#x2F;averta&#x2F;</a>
<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.myfonts.com&#x2F;fonts&#x2F;intelligent-foundry&#x2F;averta&#x2F;buy.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.myfonts.com&#x2F;fonts&#x2F;intelligent-foundry&#x2F;averta&#x2F;buy...</a><p>If you want to put these on the web, you&#x27;re paying $200 per font type. 
If you want to buy the whole family, that&#x27;s almost $1200.<p>Companies with a design focus are happy to pay this in order to differentiate themselves from others.