Hi all,
I’ve been using free version of Sketchup for a long time and finally decided to do some “commercial” modeling with it, however I was extremely unpleasantly surprised that option to get a permanent license is no longer available and the only possibility to get license is this silly annual subscription which costs half the price of what the price of a permanent license used to be (LOL). Is there any way to get a permanent license or I better invest some time into learning Blender?
The Classic “permanent” license was discontinued some time ago and announced a year or so before that.
Yes, unfortunately I do not follow the news about SketchUp, for me this is just one tool I use among may others. But ok, subscription is there, but why it’s so ridiculously expensive comparing to the former price of the permanent license? I see there is a lot of things included into subscription I do not care like
The core functionality I need and use remains unchanged since before Trimble times. Is there any way to get only “core” subscription and do not pay for things I do not need?
Think of the 80 / 20 rule as it applies to computing. One will only use 20% of the capabilities of the product. I know this applies in my situation with all the software I have.
It’s not when compared to other software out there. Oh, also it’s worth it.
Yes the company rent a laggy piece of software that uses 1 CPU core only in 2021 for 400 euro per year just because everything else is more expensive 
I’m sure It’s great for the company shareholders but I’m not one of them.
I’m looking at the situation from the potential customer perspective. I’m using SketchUp 2017 Make version currently and it has all the features I need, I’d gladly pay some money and use the same software for commercial use. I do not see what features 2021 “annual” version gives me to justify 400 years annually. From my POV functionality of the app remains absolutely the same for the last 10 years or so So I’d say it’s not worth it at all.
What 3D modeler uses more than one core?
So you are entitled to your opinion. No one is forcing you to use it. Let us know what 3D modeling package you find that uses multiple cores for modeling and works better for commercial use.
You’re right nobody forces me to get this subscription. What I do not understand is why SU community seems to support this move with normal licenses removal. Subscription makes sense for products that get some regular updates and features, Microsoft 365 being a great example here.
As per modeling tool that uses multiple CPU cores, it seems blender can use more than one. Even if it cannot it’s free so I can tolerate this.
There aren’t any. Many packages use multicore for photorealistic rendering but modelling is single threaded. In 1994 or 1995 Autodesk issued a white paper where they promised an imminent release of a multicore version of 3D Studio Max (the Pentium processor and motherboards for two or four CPUs had just been released). We are still waiting. Both Blender and 3DS Max use multiple threads only for noninteractive rendering.
Ok, maybe I’m being too capricious here, and modeling is a thing that cannot benefit from multiple cores, but, I have some experience with Revit (I have some professional affiliation with architecture), for example, and it works sooooo much better. I understand it’s much more expensive, but at least it’s understandable what this price is for.
Anyways, my original post is not about SU not being able to use more than one core, but about it’s annual price which not even 2 times less comparing to it’s former perpetual license price. It looks to me like a robbery for a tool that does not get any visible and important for me upgrades in decades.
I’d give an example of Microsoft 365, which costs a fraction of its full price if one subscribe annually, at least in my country. Even Archicad costs 3 times less per year comparing to it’s perpetual license and it gets some new features over time etc. I understand in the USA people used to pay times more in total but with small monthly payments, but I live in Eastern Europe, people here still use Autocad 2008 with absolutely no issues.
Because they determined it was worth more than what it was several years ago. And it allows them to add more to the Pro package with more regular updates.
It looks to me like it costs about $25 a month, which if you’re doing commercial work, doesn’t resemble robbery at all. In fact, it’s a very reasonable cost for doing business.
Why are you assuming SketchUp isn’t getting regular updates and features? I suppose if you haven’t kept up with the advancements and have been using the old version for this whole time it might seem like that to you. Also, MS Office is not really a great example considering it has the same core functionality it has for the last couple of decades too. What it’s added are things like cloud storage, just like SketchUp Pro.
Can you please stop asking all of us to justify this to you? We all paid. You haven’t. Just move along and get a different product.
In my country it costs more than 33 euro per month (40 usd). If you buy a license for say, 700 euro, and use it for 10 years it costs you around of 6 euro per month. And you can keep using it. Also there is no guarantee that the price for subscription will remain the same for long.
nobody asks you personally to reply. just move along
You asked the entire forum, and you also asked if you should move on to Blender, a different product. I think he’s answering your question directly.
Exactly. You asked a forum. I’m part of that forum. I’ll be staying, thanks.
True, maybe I have not. As I said I’m pretty happy with the functionality I have, and I’m quite disappointed I cannon simply get a license for it, that’s it.
Is there a list of say 5 the most noticeable changes added to SU within last say 5 years somewhere? Could you please let me know?
Except you literally cannot do this. Not with this product or the others. Maybe in times past, but cars used to be cheaper too. I can’t go into a dealership and just say I don’t think it’s worth the cost, expecting to get a cheaper car.