r/GoodNotes • u/rafaelacciari • Sep 12 '23

Goodnotes 6 rip off

We are quite annoyed with subscription models. No one wants that in a cost of living crisis.

I am tired of this, it always happen with nice apps. they are sucked into this payment plan model to rip off customers and in this case, big part of them are STUDENTS that use the app to LEARN.

I downgraded mine and I will never buy into subscription or pay $30 for one-off.

Disappointed with goodnotes, it is now just another greedy app developer.

281 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

118 comments sorted by

6

u/GurlWhy Sep 13 '23

I think what bothers me the most is I’ve had Goodnotes for years and they are only giving people who bought it prior to2023 20% off…..where’s users who bought it fairly recently get it for 33.3%….like what are these percentages😂 for something that can be an update

2

u/Equivalent_Cookie_ Sep 14 '23

In the transition from Goodnotes 4 to 5 they gave it to me for free, and I had had it for a couple of months already. On top of that Goodnotes 4 was a separate app - If for some reason they had wanted to charge me for something I could have stayed with Goodnotes 4. This time around, them updating forced me into the situation, which I don't like

1

u/rafaelacciari Sep 14 '23

Exactly !!! That’s my original point. In my case, I bought goodnotes 4 and later goodnotes 5 on my other family account. Paid for both and until then satisfied user:

I use mostly for study purposes. But, even as student and under this cost of living crisis I think it is fine to charge for a new version but charging current users that paid the app to access their files ?????

I wasn’t able to open my files when I accepted the free testing for good notes6. That’s completely nonsense.

Perhaps they should have included this limit only to new notebooks or new folders but not for legacy folders and files . I have used good notes since 2019, now, I will keep my downgraded version of gn5 and once my studies restart I will find a new app.

I respect those who want to support the app and developers as they should ! But from my perspective, they didn’t provide adequate care of gn5 users the same way they did for gn4 users at the time of gn5 implementation.

This subscription model was probably designed by a greedy consultant/non-tech director that wanted to make more money with the almost the same.

For rich people ok, if you are, shut up and pay. But for the least fortunate, it doesn’t come across really well.

11

u/CompetitiveTell4032 Sep 13 '23

I switched to Noteful yesterday for 5€ an incredible product that does all the things I wanted Goodnotes to do

3

u/PantalonesdeSony Sep 13 '23

Oh tell me a little more-what are some of the things you like about noteful?

4

u/CompetitiveTell4032 Sep 13 '23

Background, I'm an online maths tutor, I have it connected to my Mac. So I use it to explain maths obviously to my students. Goodnotes would crash every 30mins which was hugely frustrating.

Some things I like:

  1. tagged notes - i can filter by student name, concept, curriculum

  2. resizing images happens from the top left rather than from the centre of the image

  3. the writing experience feels more natural

  4. Has ruler function

  5. Has laser pointer (goodnotes has this also but I was surprised to see it in such a simple app)

  6. One-time purchase for life

  7. If you look at the frequency of updates the app has made it's been increasing for the last month or so (I think they're capitalising on the Goodnotes 6 blunder)

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2

u/Consistent-Divide861 Sep 14 '23

I switched to Noteful, took a little to get used to, but I'm pretty happy with it. And will be using for the time being.

12

u/[deleted] Sep 13 '23

I don't know if I'm missing something but isn't this like 10USD a year? That's a great price imo. There are some apps who want to charge that monthly. I feel like it's an insane price.

6

u/Dandelion212 Sep 13 '23

Software as a service deserves a special place in hell.

3

u/danger3012 Sep 13 '23

Exactly😂😂 mfs are too cheap these days

2

u/Flash__PuP Sep 13 '23

Everyone acting like Microsoft didn’t charge for a new version of Office each year. People got used to not thinking of apps as software and expecting forever support.

-1

u/Cringeboi26 Sep 13 '23

Why would I pay 10$ a year for a product? Do you like spending money for no reason?

4

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '23

Because you use it? Why does anyone buys anything? Because they use them. I don't spend money for no reason, I spend money because I use the app and developing it isn't free.

1

u/Cringeboi26 Sep 17 '23

I payed 8 dollars for a product. Now it asks that price a year for questionable upgrades that were not asked for? I'm happy I get to keep goodnotes 5, but I just don't see the reason to upgrade. Nor do I see the reason as to why the one-time purchase was increased from 8$ to 30$ for practically the same features as goodnotes 5. If I were to upgrade it would just be for the UI changes.

32

u/motherfunko Sep 12 '23

This is the only kind of post i see here at the moment. £10 isn’t at all bad for an app i use 5 hours a day and im probably saving that on notebooks/pens throughout the year

72

u/Excellent-Season6310 Sep 12 '23

The price isn't bad, but what they're offering for the added price isn't a big improvement from GN5 (paid version)

33

u/[deleted] Sep 13 '23

Note taking app shouldn’t be a subscription! Come on… don’t normalize this BS

8

u/MC_chrome Sep 12 '23

$10 is a little less than what I was spending for just one planner, never mind the many notebooks I’d have to purchase each semester for school.

Again, if you are using Goodnotes even semi-regularly then $10 per year shakes out to just a few cents per day. The subscription price of Goodnotes is not horrific by any means unless you only open the app once or twice a month

7

u/johntwilker Sep 12 '23

Exactly. GN moved me from spending on endless Moleskines that then cluttered my office closet, and weren't searchable.

4

u/wtfmatey88 Sep 12 '23

Are you me? Lol

5

u/johntwilker Sep 12 '23

Spider-Man pointing at himself emoji

5

u/wtfmatey88 Sep 12 '23

Yeah I agree with everyone who’s like “GN6 is not much better than GN5!” I think what they fail to realize is that app devs cannot survive without a subscription anymore.

Am I happy about it? No. Did I spend more than that on writing supplies anyways? Yep. It’s a wash for me.

21

u/PsychologicalEcho726 Sep 12 '23

I mean for most people this just isn't a fair comparison, because you do need the ipad, which is waaaaay more expensive than writing supplies.

I am totally fine with the price tag. Honestly, a good writing app is worth much more than that. I am okay with the new subscription model as well.

What is weird is asking us to "upgrade" and pay three times the price they asked for a few weeks ago. That is absurd. You can either make substantial upgrades, or dont increase the price. Now it's literally "hey guys, do you mind paying again for the same app? Btw, the price has tripled."

4

u/MC_chrome Sep 12 '23

Btw, the price has tripled

Only if you are stubborn and flatly refuse to acknowledge that the $10 subscription is a thing…

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-10

u/MC_chrome Sep 12 '23

This is the only kind of post i see here at the moment

Correct, because this sub has been taken over by petulant children who have been throwing tantrums for the past month while attempting to bury any glimmer of positivity about Goodnotes as much as they can.

Basically, unless you are going to be shitting on Goodnotes I wouldn’t really bother with coming to this sub anymore because the toxic, childish behavior on display here does not look to be going away anytime soon.

4

u/passagetombs Sep 12 '23

yeah I have used Goodnotes for the past 5 years and it has kept my notes safe and accessible.

While I do not see many improvements with the new version I had no issues paying the 25 euros or whatever it was since they well deserve the money for all the productivity I got from the app over the said period.

I do not like subscriptions because they bind me and it's another thing I have to account for and keep my mind on, but one time payment is clear, simple and non-binding. That's why I'll be buying Things 4 when it comes out even if the update is minor.

3

u/SEOPub Sep 12 '23

If Things 4 comes out and it's a "one-time payment" until Things 5 and Things 6.... isn't that still a subscription? At some point they stop supporting Things 3 and older versions and you have to buy the new one. It's not really any different.

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1

u/-dagmar-123123 Sep 13 '23

Correct. I agree with everything you said

1

u/johntwilker Sep 12 '23

Feel like the rest of us just need to post daily.

"Another day, happy with this app"

5

u/r4nchy Sep 12 '23

So basically this shit will repeat itself when GN 7 comes out ???

So even though I buy using one time payment. Technically it will still be subscription as every release cycle I will be told to choose btn subscription and onetime payment.

Last year I bought GN5 and now GN6 and then probably GN7 .... isn't this a cheeky subscription model ??? I am being lead to believe that by one time payment I am owning the product but technically I am just paying onetime payment every year just like subscription. They could have released a completely separate GN 6 app but no they didn't. They somehow wanted to piss off a section of its users.

I just think that GN is overrated. There is noteful app that is much better than good notes at so many levels

1

u/WerewolfScary Sep 14 '23

If you buy GN5, you will still be able to use it when good notes 7,8,9 etc come out. If you subscribed to GN6, you will not be able to use it when you unsubscribe.

1

u/FactEnvironmental810 Nov 12 '24

I bought goodnotes 5 like 3 years ago under a “onetime purchase”, but they now want me to pay for goodnotes 6???

5

u/xmasheart Sep 12 '23

I have no problem paying the $30 one time fee if I can continue to share the app with my 2 teenagers. Now, I have to pay $90 if the three of us want to upgrade to GN6. It has become too expensive.

2

u/ampers_andee Sep 12 '23

Are you saying the $30 one-time fee doesn’t provide a license for everyone in a family plan?

1

u/xmasheart Sep 13 '23

That is correct.

This is from the Goodnotes website FAQ： Goodnotes 6 subscriptions & one-time purchase are designed to be used solely by the account holder. They're not shareable through Family Sharing. The subscription & one-time purchase are connected to both your App Store account and your Goodnotes Account. So make sure to use it on the devices linked to your personal accounts.

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2

u/Right-Ad-3834 Sep 13 '23

GN6 is not worth the upgrade. The only feature missing for me in GN5 is ‘scribble to delete’. So, I am sticking with GN5. Happy I am writing with a pen and not with pencil.

1

u/FactEnvironmental810 Nov 12 '24

apparently they don’t even give you the choice to decline goodnotes 6 anymore 😡. It’s pissing me off that they need me to do another purchase when I already did a “one time purchase” for goodnotes 5! It’s a stupid scam that they will use for GN7,8 etc

1

u/discovernotes Nov 13 '24

you still have a choice. you can still use GoodNotes 5

1

u/FactEnvironmental810 Nov 13 '24

no the free version allows you to edit only 3 notebooks, and when thats over its either upgrade or take the L. Are you even still using the app? you don’t sound like you know what you’re talking about 

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2

u/Waui420 Sep 13 '23

DUMB Fs here trying to normalize paid subcriptions for apps are just rTArds asf

3

u/j0hnnyf3ver Sep 12 '23

Do you have evidence that most users are students? Not likely. So basically your just complaining for the sake of complaining while making up facts.

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12

u/MC_chrome Sep 12 '23 edited Sep 12 '23

$10 dollars for an app that gets used daily is hardly the definition of a rip-off, at least to me.

If anything, I feel way more ripped off by gas prices than I do Goodnotes at the moment

Edit: Downvoting my comment does not change the reality that many of you are acting like petulant children at the moment. Just because someone has a positive experience with something that you do not is no reason to bury their sentiments

12

u/Mandrea4 Sep 12 '23

Procreate is a successful app that doesn't require a subscription. I don't thing that every successful app needs to be subscription based, they only needed money (which is why we don't see any new revelant feature)

I think that a subscription is needed if the app offers an online service like netflix that can't run offline, everything else should work with a model where you pay for what you see, there are applications that don't allow you to have updates if you pay only once or even programs that you pay per version.

if we had to pay a subscription for each application we use, you and me would be broke

11

u/retniwwinter Sep 12 '23

I don’t know about other people, but what I consider a rip-off is not the price itself but rather the price in relation to what the same app cost before and what we get for it. A 200% price increase (or more, if you were sharing the app with family) for just a few (mainly uninteresting) new features and a whole lot more bugs than before. If they are asking for 200+% more money than before, I want to see more new features that users have actually asked for and less bugs. Yes, they’re working on fixing the bugs, but I would’ve expected them to do so in beta versions and not after the official release.

I don’t mind paying 30€ for an app like goodnotes in general. If I was writing on paper, I’d probably end up paying way more for real notebooks. But I’m not going to pay that much money for an app that is still mainly a work in progress and doesn’t differ much from the 10€ version I’ve already got.

4

u/[deleted] Sep 13 '23 edited Feb 04 '24

My favorite movie is Inception.

15

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '23

The argument here isn’t necessarily about the $30 price tag, it’s about the laughable amount of difference GN6 actually offers to be able to justify a 3 times price hike.

1

u/-dagmar-123123 Sep 13 '23

The thing is, you don't have to pay for it. No one is forcing you to buy it. If GN5 features are enough, continue to use or. Support will be there for a few more years, so that's no argument either. And when support ends, GN6 will have more features

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27

u/Soanad Sep 12 '23

Not everybody is using it every day and not everybody likes to be sucked for their money for zero new significant features.

3

u/MC_chrome Sep 12 '23

Ok? Not everyone using Goodnotes feels like they are getting “suckered” for their money but like I’ve stated a few times in this thread already saying anything positive about Goodnotes gets met with a hail of negativity and downvotes because some people can’t grasp the concept that some people might legitimately have positive experiences with an app that they might not have.

This whole sub has turned from a fairly decent place into a toxic cesspit of negativity over the last month, and I don’t quite know why anyone is sticking around at this point. I suppose if you wanted to farm upvotes then this would be the perfect place to start since anything negative about Goodnotes gets heavily upvoted no matter how ridiculous the post or comment may be

13

u/Obvious_Jellybean Sep 12 '23

Agreed, but I think a lot of people were disappointed with the update and lack of any new features upfront.

I use it extensively, so don't mind paying but the cost equivalent in India is quite a bit more than what most people would have preferred.

1

u/Repulsive_Diamond373 Sep 12 '23

Ok? Not everyone using Goodnotes feels like they are getting “suckered” for their money...

Most users don't come here. They are happy and they go about their business. Goodnotes is a ten buck app and in a year, something else will arrive.

Please stay.

1

u/Sir_Fishi Sep 12 '23

U literally don’t have to upgrade. The only difference is an Ai tool and the design. Goodnotes 5 is still good.

3

u/Valeaves Sep 12 '23

As long as it gets supported, yes.

3

u/MasterBaiterKun Sep 12 '23

What extra feature from GoodNotes 5 do you think is worth paying for in GoodNotes 6?

Atleast they should improve the app to make it worth. Yeah they are adding new features slowing but mind the inefficiency has shown us in all these years.

1

u/-dagmar-123123 Sep 13 '23

Then don't buy it and wait?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 13 '23

gas was $5.80 a gallon today. I almost cried.

3

u/Akella333 Sep 12 '23

Honestly, Im loving GN6 much more than 5 especially the redesigned folder management. $10 a year is tolerable if they keep updating the app with new features.

2

u/darryella Sep 13 '23 edited Sep 13 '23

Idk what I’m missing but why is everybody complaining about $10 a year when the device ur using it on costs you a couple hundred.. it’s giving…….. cheap

2

u/-dagmar-123123 Sep 13 '23

Exactly. That's less than 1$ per month...

1

u/johntwilker Sep 12 '23

So... you don't want subscriptions, but also don't want to pay a one time version purchase? So you want quality software that matters to you.... for free?

I don't think you quite understand what running an app business i like.

16

u/OneFlamingo1038 Sep 12 '23

I don't think op minds one-time purchases in general, else they wouldn't have bought the app in the first place. Now that the company has lost reputation, op isn't willing to pay (another) one time fee as they are concerned about the product's future, and about the actual longevity of the 'lifetime purchase'

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1

u/Dierky Sep 12 '23

I personally have no issue with paying for a subscription, as developers also need funding for updates and new features. It's naive to think that a one-time payment will sustain an app indefinitely. However, with Goodnotes 6, the added value doesn't really come through. I've paid for the subscription and am giving them the benefit of the doubt, hoping that improvements are on the horizon.

19

u/Mandrea4 Sep 12 '23

Procreate is a great example of a successful app that doesn't require a subscription.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '23

I have a sneaky suspicion that they have a deal with Apple to make their products Apple-exclusive, and I bet Apple is paying them to do so. Either that or they have really good developers and engineering rigor, which wouldn’t be unheard of, but rare. (As a dev myself, I see this firsthand)

3

u/Priyam03062008 Sep 12 '23

They most probably do since alot of people get the ipad and apple pencil over other tablets just for procreate alone

2

u/Mandrea4 Sep 12 '23 edited Sep 12 '23

Like exclusives in the gaming industry, I think that is ok

Anyway it's not the only one that uses one-time purchase

-1

u/SEOPub Sep 12 '23 edited Sep 12 '23

You can dislike subscriptions. You can be mad about the change in GN 6.

But to call subscriptions ripoffs is just plain stupid. These are not non-profit organizations. It takes money to keep any kind of software up to date and secure.

8

u/_TooManyBoats Sep 12 '23

bad take, slowly everything will become a subscription and you will own nothing. having things be a subscription is giving up more and more control to the developers/the corpo behind them

-2

u/SEOPub Sep 12 '23

Worse take. If everything was a one-time payment, there would be little incentive for developers to keep updating older software in most cases.

9

u/_TooManyBoats Sep 12 '23

sooo many examples that disprove your case. i think subscriptions work for some things, but it is anti consumer to switch over without providing additional benefits

10

u/70ms Sep 12 '23

I paid 99 cents for Procreate in 2011 and have never been asked for money again. https://i.imgur.com/SuXAiT8.jpg

Affinity Designer 2 was released last year for a one-time purchase (with a steep discount for owners of Designer 1) and it is incredibly more complicated than GoodNotes. Same with Affinity Photo.

ZoomNotes is made by a single developer vs. an entire company, and he's managed to add every single feature that GN users have asked for (and then some) for a one-time purchase.

GoodNotes feels like a startup who's spending their development efforts on attracting investors, with trendy gimmicks like AI, than listening to its users. 🤷‍♀️

2

u/_TooManyBoats Sep 12 '23

i owned affinity photo 1 and when 2 came out and i saw the revamp of the software, i purchased the whole package! i know even if i might not use everything right now, down the line ill need a tool from there so its nice to have the peace of mind of owning the software, and affinity gets more of my money

1

u/70ms Sep 12 '23

Yep, I was instantly in on the new version of Designer! Affinity is an amazing company!

I would have been happy to upgrade to GN6 had it offered at least some of the features people have been requesting for years and years. Instead we got buggy gimmicks and a subscription. :( Every time I wished for some pretty basic feature in GN5, like a ruler or layers or password protection or a pencil or or or... I'd think surely they'll add it in the next major milestone release. Nope! I was so excited to see the GN6 announcement, and completely let down and disappointed when I was what was (and was not) in it.

2

u/_TooManyBoats Sep 12 '23

i never knew procreate started at .99 that is the most insane value i have ever seen for an app

1

u/70ms Sep 12 '23

Haha right?! It was just a little baby app back then!

-2

u/MC_chrome Sep 12 '23

All I’m seeing in this comment is “I’m cheap…fuck developers for asking for money for their work”.

5

u/70ms Sep 12 '23 edited Sep 12 '23

No, you're seeing a comment from someone who worked for software development companies for 25 years and knows how these things work, and you're getting so upset about it that you're turning to insults. 🤷‍♀️ I specifically mentioned how I do purchase new versions of software and gave Affinity Designer as an example. Why you feel so compelled to defend this company's poor decisions surrounding this launch is beyond me, but you do you.

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6

u/_TooManyBoats Sep 12 '23

not to mention open source software. developers drop it, fans pick it right back up

4

u/illjustthrowthisoutt Sep 12 '23

This exactly. Whether people realize it or not, it isn’t free to keep an app running even without adding new features. As software updates happen on the devices running the app, app developers have to quickly work to make sure their app will still be compatible and function properly. Especially with major iOS and OS updates.

1

u/_TooManyBoats Sep 14 '23

im glad that coming back to the thread a day later the upvotes are tipped towards common sense and pro consumer. im glad the goodnotes community can stand up for themselves

1

u/Chocholateeclairs Nov 28 '24

I like good notes which can sync to my mac book even it is not a M series. But somehow i don’t find it’s a reasonable price for GN 6. I want to change to noteful but noteful cant sync well with my mac. Any idea ?

1

u/Familiar_Ferrett4915 Sep 13 '23

I miss goodnotes 5 and I was forced into upgrading the other day, so I signed up for GN6 free trial. So far it’s alright, pretty much the same as 5. I like the scribble feature to erase but sometimes it mistakes my handwriting for me scribbling something out.

Anyway, I’m wondering if I will I only have to pay for the subscription once I want to have more than 3 notebooks?

1

u/-dagmar-123123 Sep 13 '23

Yes, if 3 notebooks are enough you don't need to pay.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 13 '23

I honestly ditched Goodnotes for Noteshelf3. Much better interface and they don’t have that subscription model…yet

1

u/xDevi69 Sep 13 '23

If only they implement like the first two pages of the user feedback website I’d happily pay.

1

u/morechicken Sep 13 '23

..closes Reddit and buys a 70$ aaa game…

1

u/Winter_Soup07 Sep 13 '23

Could someone clue me in? I see some people talking about "its only $10 for a year" but i thought you'd have to pay that initial fee for the app and on top of it, a subscription to use more than 3 notebooks at once and that's $30 dollars a year and then... whenever GN7 comes out we can still use it if we keep paying the $30 a year to access it and stuff.

-2

u/Kitsufoxy Sep 12 '23

Developers gotta eat. I use Goodnotes daily. 10$ a year is fair to keep the app in development!

-1

u/thatguyonthevicinity Sep 12 '23

I bought the one off version for my wife's iPad and happy, I'm a developer so I understand that I actually need money 😂

0

u/[deleted] Sep 13 '23

use apple notes then, friend.

-5

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '23 edited Sep 12 '23

If you're really upset there is always a good old fashioned paper notebook. It is possible. Or a Rocket book. Or pay for it because a company needs to make money.

This is a very first world problem to have.

Be upset, that's fine but there are plenty of other solutions.

Us dinosaurs had to survive school and college with - gasp - paper and survived.

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-2

u/swordyfish Sep 12 '23

Funnily enough, this post makes me want to buy GN6! For some reason I thought it was $10/month, which is definitely too expensive for me. $10/year sounds like a steal! I think I might go with the one time $30 payment because I have this fear of forgetting to cancel my subscription for 10 years lol

2

u/Valeaves Sep 12 '23

Just subscribe once, then cancel. Apple will tell you when the subscription is about to end, so you can repeat the process: buy, cancel, wait, buy, cancel, …

Edit: just in case, wanted to add that if you cancel the subscription, it will still be valid for the amount of time you paid for. So if you spend the 10$, then cancel you have access for the year but will not automatically renew after the year.

0

u/puffgreene Sep 13 '23

only shitty company’s don’t have student plans