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Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

about.gitlab.com

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Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#11

Post by toomuchtodo »

daxelrod wrote: post #9
jacquesm wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's true. Companies that persist in giving away their product have only one route to safety: an exit. A company that charges for its product has an immediate extension of its runway, corporate credibility and both of those add up to being around longer than if they're free. Transitioning from free to paid can backfire if you depend on the free users for some critical way and gitlab is leaving all tha…

They've been selling GitLab Enterprise Edition for quite a while. Were you concerned that this wasn't enough of a revenue stream? https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-ee/

Recurring > one time revenue.

EDIT: My knowledge of their pricing is inaccurate. I thought EE was one-time on-prem charge.

Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#12

Post by jacquesm »

kbutler wrote: post #10
jacquesm wrote: post #2

Paid subscriptions are a really good reason to start using gitlab because it promises that they'll be around in the long run.

This is a common meme, but unless you are privy to the company's internal financials, you really can't say whether a paid subscription model is more sustainable than others. Just ask newspapers and magazines. There are many products and services I've paid for that are no longer provided. Sometimes companies even cancel profitable services that are a distraction from their core business.

Having run a couple of companies both with and without an income stream judging by that experience I strongly believe that companies with an income stream are generally speaking more solid than those without. Yes, of course there are odd ducks but as a general rule it is a pretty good one.

And given that this is their core business I don't see them canceling it any time soon.

Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#13

Post by jacquesm »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #11
daxelrod wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've been selling GitLab Enterprise Edition for quite a while. Were you concerned that this wasn't enough of a revenue stream? https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-ee/

Recurring > one time revenue. EDIT: My knowledge of their pricing is inaccurate. I thought EE was one-time on-prem charge.

GLE is also recurring ($199 / user / year).

But more is better.

Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#14

Post by mydigitalself »

smarx007 wrote: post #8

Plans don't seem to have a monthly payment instead of annual: https://customers.gitlab.com/subscriptions/new?plan_id=2c92a... P.S. Why do I need to enter my login again after signing in via Gitlab API? P.P.S. Group pricing seems unfair. I will be paying 4x for 4 users with the same amount of CI minutes split across 4 users?

We're currently only doing annual billing, we may look into monthly billing in the future.

The billing application is a separate app and effectively oAuths with GitLab - you should just be able to click on the login button and if you are already authenticated, grant permission to the billing app.

Interestingly, we've found little to no correlation between the number of users in a group and CI usage. Moving forward, the plans are going to be much more feature-centric than just CI minutes, hence the per user per month pricing model.

Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#15

Post by wasbutatest »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #11
daxelrod wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've been selling GitLab Enterprise Edition for quite a while. Were you concerned that this wasn't enough of a revenue stream? https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-ee/

Recurring > one time revenue. EDIT: My knowledge of their pricing is inaccurate. I thought EE was one-time on-prem charge.

Gitlab EE isn't even close to one time, did you even look at their pricing model before replying?

Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#16

Post by jacquesm »

daxelrod wrote: post #9
jacquesm wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's true. Companies that persist in giving away their product have only one route to safety: an exit. A company that charges for its product has an immediate extension of its runway, corporate credibility and both of those add up to being around longer than if they're free. Transitioning from free to paid can backfire if you depend on the free users for some critical way and gitlab is leaving all tha…

They've been selling GitLab Enterprise Edition for quite a while. Were you concerned that this wasn't enough of a revenue stream? https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-ee/

Given how fast their free tier was growing, yes.

They're in no holds barred exponential growth territory and I don't know the ratio of corporate customers:free customers but I suspect that the free tier is growing faster. So they really need more sources of income, and preferably b2b ones.

Companies like gitlab become mission critical for the customers that depend on them (one reason why github (not gitlab) is now in the 'too big to fail' category, if they were to go under there would have to be a rescue operation of sorts).

Gitlab has a narrow base and broadening that base is really good.

Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#17

Post by ascendantlogic »

watty wrote: post #5
jacquesm wrote: post #2

Paid subscriptions are a really good reason to start using gitlab because it promises that they'll be around in the long run.

I mean, I get what you're trying to say but in no way does a paid subscription "promise" they'll be around any longer than if they were free. Sometimes transitioning from free to paid can backfire and actually shorten the lifespan of a product.

I feel like that's an edge case. Presumably given the stated growth of Gitlab they weren't going to get unlimited resources from Digital Ocean forever so they have to do something to cover the costs and, presumably, attempt to become a business that attempts to make a profit.

Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#18

Post by Mz »

kbutler wrote: post #10
jacquesm wrote: post #2

Paid subscriptions are a really good reason to start using gitlab because it promises that they'll be around in the long run.

This is a common meme, but unless you are privy to the company's internal financials, you really can't say whether a paid subscription model is more sustainable than others. Just ask newspapers and magazines. There are many products and services I've paid for that are no longer provided. Sometimes companies even cancel profitable services that are a distraction from their core business.

Just ask newspapers and magazines.

They never made the majority of their money from subscribers. They made it from ads. And ad revenue has been under heavy assault of late, while publishing has been moving increasingly to the internet and away from the dead tree version. Your example does not really support your statement.

Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#19

Post by jacquesm »

mydigitalself wrote: post #14
smarx007 wrote: post #8

Plans don't seem to have a monthly payment instead of annual: https://customers.gitlab.com/subscriptions/new?plan_id=2c92a... P.S. Why do I need to enter my login again after signing in via Gitlab API? P.P.S. Group pricing seems unfair. I will be paying 4x for 4 users with the same amount of CI minutes split across 4 users?

We're currently only doing annual billing, we may look into monthly billing in the future. The billing application is a separate app and effectively oAuths with GitLab - you should just be able to click on the login button and if you are already authenticated, grant permission to the billing app. Interestingly, we've found little to no correlation between the number of users in a group and CI usage. Moving forward, t…

I think if you bill your customers per year it would be fair to list the prices per year as well rather than 'per user per month'. You're setting up an expectation of a monthly billing cycle with the option to cancel monthly as well. Principle of least surprise and all that.

Re: Introducing paid subscriptions on GitLab.com

#20

Post by StavrosK »

kbutler wrote: post #10
jacquesm wrote: post #2

Paid subscriptions are a really good reason to start using gitlab because it promises that they'll be around in the long run.

This is a common meme, but unless you are privy to the company's internal financials, you really can't say whether a paid subscription model is more sustainable than others. Just ask newspapers and magazines. There are many products and services I've paid for that are no longer provided. Sometimes companies even cancel profitable services that are a distraction from their core business.

No, but I can tell that a company with a subscription model is more sustainable than the same company without.
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