Invision charges a renewal fee every 6 months?

[NYCGuy76]

I was browsing Invision looking at their prices and their features and saw that every six months you have to pay to in order to have access to the support forums? Am I missing something? Even Xenforo and Vbulletin don't do that. What makes Invision so special that they do that?

Our self-hosted licenses renew on a six-month basis, and provide ongoing access to support, software and services. If you do not renew by your expiration date, your software will continue to function. However, support, software downloads and additional services will be unavailable until you renew.

 

[haqzore]

The price is reduced to account for that. It allows greater flexibility. Sure, IPS could double the $$$ and double the duration, but that doesn't benefit me (the end user) at all.


For the many who dont maintain constant licenses 100% of the time, it's cheaper to renew for 6 months - get your support, updates, addons, whatever - and be on your way.


We don't have to commit to an entire year, but we can if we want.


I have live sites on both XF and IPS, and I prefer the renewal policy of IPS.




Think of it this way - why is a 1 year renewal "right"? Probably because you're just used to it being that way.

After being an IPS customer for many years, 12 month renewals feel a bit like a cell phone contract or similar. Not exactly of course, but after enjoying the greater freedom of a 6 month commitment for so long, I 100% prefer it.

 

[NYCGuy76]

The price is reduced to account for that. It allows greater flexibility. Sure, IPS could double the $$$ and double the duration, but that doesn't benefit me (the end user) at all.


For the many who dont maintain constant licenses 100% of the time, it's cheaper to renew for 6 months - get your support, updates, addons, whatever - and be on your way.


We don't have to commit to an entire year, but we can if we want.


I have live sites on both XF and IPS, and I prefer the renewal policy of IPS.




Think of it this way - why is a 1 year renewal "right"? Probably because you're just used to it being that way.

After being an IPS customer for many years, 12 month renewals feel a bit like a cell phone contract or similar. Not exactly of course, but after enjoying the greater freedom of a 6 month commitment for so long, I 100% prefer it.

I don't know may you have a point. It kind of surprised me.

 

[haqzore]

I'd rather pay one price and not have to pay a renewal fee every 6 months. If you're running a forum for over two years think of all that money that you spent for having access to their forum for support.

Did you actually read my post?

Did you pay any attention at all to the #'s on the sites?

• IPS: $200 license, $25 renewal x2 (for a year) = renewals at 25% cost.
• XF: $160 license, $55 renewal = renewals at over 34% of the cost.

Not only is IPS more flexible due to the term, its cheaper.

I'm struggling to see your downside. Maybe I'm interpreting what you're saying wrong?

 

[NYCGuy76]

Did you actually read my post?

Did you pay any attention at all to the #'s on the sites?

• IPS: $200 license, $25 renewal x2 (for a year) = renewals at 25% cost.
• XF: $160 license, $55 renewal = renewals at over 34% of the cost.

Not only is IPS more flexible due to the term, its cheaper.

I'm struggling to see your downside. Maybe I'm interpreting what you're saying wrong?

Ah I never noticed that Xen charges a renewal fee as well. Yeah you make sense. The Xen renewal fee changed my opinion. Regardless where did you see 200 for a license? I read 100 plus 45 every six months for invision.

 

[Jeremy8]

Ah I never noticed that Xen charges a renewal fee as well. Yeah you make sense. The Xen renewal fee changed my opinion. Regardless where did you see 200 for a license? I read 100 plus 45 every six months for invision.

For a basic forum you start with 100 for the "suite core", then add 100 for the forum part. https://invisioncommunity.com/buy/self-hosted/

 

[NYCGuy76]

For a basic forum you start with 100 for the "suite core", then add 100 for the forum part. https://invisioncommunity.com/buy/self-hosted/

Now I see. Thanks for pointing that out. I’m considering purchasing a forum from them after all these years for my new project.

 

[tony45]

Yep. Under the new renewal policy invision is cheaper AND provides you a lot more value than xf. You get clubs, pages, a subscription module (commerce) and their mobile app (currently in beta version). With invision you need less 3rd party stuff than using Xf as their core product is more feature rich than Xf

 

[Jeremy8]

Yep. Under the new renewal policy invision is cheaper AND provides you a lot more value than xf. You get clubs, pages, a subscription module (commerce) and their mobile app (currently in beta version). With invision you need less 3rd party stuff than using Xf as their core product is more feature rich than Xf

That's not necessarily true because all some of those things you listed add to the price and renewal price.

edit: some, not all

 

[tony45]

That's not necessarily true because all of those things you listed add to the price and renewal price.

Are you familiar with invision?
Clubs and mobile app are core features so you only need forum module to get them (licence $100 + 25 renewal).
Sure, Pages costs 100 bucks + 15 for renewal, but you can build lot of stuff with it, saving more money. Anyway it isn't mandatory.

 

[haqzore]

Yep. Under the new renewal policy invision is cheaper AND provides you a lot more value than xf. You get clubs, pages, a subscription module (commerce) and their mobile app (currently in beta version). With invision you need less 3rd party stuff than using Xf as their core product is more feature rich than Xf

Also elastic search, which XF charges for.

That's not necessarily true because all of those things you listed add to the price and renewal price.

Agree with you here. There is surely a price consideration for each thing "included".
There ain't no such thing as free lunch.



That said, IPS is my platform of choice & a big reason for that is the smaller need for addons.

 

[NYCGuy76]

Also elastic search, which XF charges for.




Agree with you here. There is surely a price consideration for each thing "included".
There ain't no such thing as free lunch.



That said, IPS is my platform of choice & a big reason for that is the smaller need for addons.

What makes it better then let’s say Xenforo? I mean what are the advantages? You mentioned elastic search and I saw clubs etc. What else is there to it that makes it a better software? I really am asking out curiosity.

 

[haqzore]

What makes it better then let’s say Xenforo? I mean what are the advantages? You mentioned elastic search and I saw clubs etc. What else is there to it that makes it a better software? I really am asking out curiosity.

As mentioned, a primary reason for me is what comes in the core. I much prefer the platform have more capability than I need. Then, if my community grows into it later, I can make a few clicks and have added functionality (vs having to rely on 3rd party addons).

All in all, I didn't / wouldn't say IPS is better.

Both XF and IPS are great scripts. It boils down to what you DO need (now), what you MIGHT need (future), and which platform best sets you up for success with those needs.

 

[NYCGuy76]

So Invision as is doesn't require many add ons? If that's the case I might try it for a month on their cloud and see how it goes. If I end up liking it I can buy the software as is migrate it to my vps.

 

[haqzore]

So Invision as is doesn't require many add ons? If that's the case I might try it for a month on their cloud and see how it goes. If I end up liking it I can buy the software as is migrate it to my vps.

It depends on what you want.

IPS offers, indisputably, more first party addons than any other.

First party addons are preferable for many reasons, including guaranteed compatibility, guaranteed updates and the security of knowing its not just 1 talented 3rd party developer who might lose interest & abandon the product. All of that risk is eliminated with first party addons - and IPS has more.

But - if you don't need those first party addons, this doesn't mean as much. If the addons you need are only offered by 3rd party devs on both platforms - you need to weigh other things.


If nothing else - spin up a demo at IPS. That's free to do.

 

[Tracy Perry]

What has NOT been mentioned in this thread (that I didn't see) are a few important differences.

XenForo - no active license, you can STILL download your old version up to license expiry, you can get peer support on the forum (and sometimes even developer response), you have access to the resource manager and can download add-ons

IPS - no active license, you cannot post in any of the support forums for peer support, you CANNOT download the version that was current when your license was last active, nor can you access any marketplace files you may have paid for, or that are available.

 

[haqzore]

What has NOT been mentioned in this thread (that I didn't see) are a few important differences.

XenForo - no active license, you can STILL download your old version up to license expiry, you can get peer support on the forum (and sometimes even developer response), you have access to the resource manager and can download add-ons

IPS - no active license, you cannot post in any of the support forums for peer support, you CANNOT download the version that was current when your license was last active, nor can you access any marketplace files you may have paid for, or that are available.

Very relevant.

To maybe avoid derailing this thread, there is another discussing this very in-depth.

After 10 years, I'm done with IPS

The direction in which Invision has decided to take with their software has left me with no other option but to seek other venues unfortunately. I will most likely be switching over to Xenforo because of the availability of support and access to 3rd party developers. With the recent changes at...

www.theadminzone.com

 

[NYCGuy76]

It depends on what you want.

IPS offers, indisputably, more first party addons than any other.

First party addons are preferable for many reasons, including guaranteed compatibility, guaranteed updates and the security of knowing its not just 1 talented 3rd party developer who might lose interest & abandon the product. All of that risk is eliminated with first party addons - and IPS has more.

But - if you don't need those first party addons, this doesn't mean as much. If the addons you need are only offered by 3rd party devs on both platforms - you need to weigh other things.


If nothing else - spin up a demo at IPS. That's free to do.

Actually I signed up to use their Cloud for a month and see if I like it. If I do I'll purchase a license and have it hosted on my vps. Thanks for the info.

 

[Joel R]

Actually I signed up to use their Cloud for a month and see if I like it. If I do I'll purchase a license and have it hosted on my vps. Thanks for the info.

That's the recommended course of action. Don't commit to any of the apps at first; use the cloud for several months to play with the entire suite. You are allowed to export your data if and when you do switch to self-hosted.

You're a good match for IPS if:

• You focus on the community-building side, not so much on the server-administration tinkering.
• You can budget or self-sustain your community for ongoing license renewals.
• You want first-party, professionally supported and wholly integrated apps. I highly recommend you read and explore Pages, no other forum provider offers the same level of page customization and database building tools as this app.

IPS is an acquired taste. The company policies, support policies, and Marketplace are geared towards more professionally-run communities. There are a lot of impassioned people on TAZ who have very legacy views on forums and forum communities, and there are other options out there for them.

 

[NYCGuy76]

That's the recommended course of action. Don't commit to any of the apps at first; use the cloud for several months to play with the entire suite. You are allowed to export your data if and when you do switch to self-hosted.

You're a good match for IPS if:

• You focus on the community-building side, not so much on the server-administration tinkering.
• You can budget or self-sustain your community for ongoing license renewals.
• You want first-party, professionally supported and wholly integrated apps. I highly recommend you read and explore Pages, no other forum provider offers the same level of page customization and database building tools as this app.

IPS is an acquired taste. The company policies, support policies, and Marketplace are geared towards more professionally-run communities. There are a lot of impassioned people on TAZ who have very legacy views on forums and forum communities, and there are other options out there for them.

This is true hence why I'm trying the cloud but I'm already not liking. Limited to what I can do and their support forum is practically empty unlike xenforo and vbulletin where you get a response fairly quick. That to me is a big negative. I'm most likely just going to stick with Xenforo.