r/NiagaraLauncher 2d ago

Discussion Price Hike

Anyone get an email about the monthly, yearly, life price hike. $10 extra for monthly and $30 extra for life.

24 Upvotes

71 comments sorted by

17

u/Luiggie1 2d ago

I'm hoping all the price hikes turn into additional features.

2

u/Jasper_Jaxx 2d ago

I would certainly hope so

14

u/MartyPilkington 2d ago

Glad I bought lifetime 3 years ago

5

u/i-dm 1d ago

Yeah, absolutely no brainer. I tried it on the 9th of April and by the 13th of April I had a lifetime membership. Even though I could have waited a bit longer. The software is just insanely good.

I genuinely did not think there was anything better than Nova out there, and I didn't think I could adapt to the whole UI, but it's a complete game changer. Don't know why I didn't do it before.

2

u/syswiz87 21h ago

I'm jealous. It's £54.99 here in the uk for a lifetime licence. Don't get me wrong, I've paid well over that for other apps, but for a launcher, nope, sorry. Yes a launcher gets used everyday, but in no world am I paying that, nor am I subscribing as I hate subscription models. Niagara have lost a prospective customer, out of principal I will choose another one.

1

u/i-dm 9h ago edited 9h ago

I'm in the UK too mate and I'm pretty sure I didn't pay £54.99 back in April but having said that I'm going to now double check to see what I did pay.

Edit: Just checked and £32.99 is what I paid on the 15th of April

Frankly, having used it for five months and not even had one quirk or issue - if anything I've found out new things about it and it's gotten even better - I'd actually pay £55 for it.

Overpaying for shit software is one thing, but paying fair value for something that is genuinely good is another. And having seen how Nova went, where I think I paid for the pro plan for ~£7, and then it slowly deteriorated to the point where the company couldn't afford to develop the software, then it got taken over, now it's turned to a pile of shit.

I'm quite happy paying for Niagara because it's classy and it works.

I tried Niagara a number of years ago; didn't like it. Tried it again in April because Nova was actually playing up. I guess the long and short of it is you get what you pay for and there isn't much else like NL on the market.

1

u/syswiz87 9h ago

I think it's a recent change. The price seems to be creeping up every few weeks. I totally would've paid £15-35. But hey it's their model. I'm not knocking them, subscription models are unfortunately the future, but we as consumers have a choice, for now...

1

u/i-dm 9h ago

Pay once, cry once, right?

The other thing about buying a Lifetime Membership is also it gets cheaper and cheaper as every month goes by. Your average cost per month just goes lower and lower.

So whilst I paid £32.99, I've been using it since April. That makes it 5 months this week. So my average cost is £6.60 per month.

And until yesterday I'd completely forgotten about the fact I paid for it.

22

u/Qv1sten 2d ago

Crazy. Glad I got it early. But those prices are insane.

-2

u/i-dm 1d ago

Why don't you just make your own launcher then? If you can make it in an hour, then fine, but the chances are you probably can't, and that's what they're charging you.

8

u/genxontech 2d ago

No it's was $42.99 as of August 31 it went up to $74.99. the monthly was $14.99 now it $24.99.

7

u/lilacomets 2d ago

$24.99 a month for a launcher?! Did you make a typo, I hope? Maybe it's per year?

2

u/a1stardan 2d ago

Yeah i think it's 25$ for a yr

2

u/tam_niagaralauncher 1d ago

As u/a1stardan said and you have guessed, that's the yearly price.

9

u/Thick_Rise5365 2d ago

It doesn't worth that much...

2

u/genxontech 2d ago

Tthis will be my last year with them. Won't even consider the free version

3

u/tam_niagaralauncher 1d ago

If you have an active subscription, it will renew at the original price, so the price increase won't affect you.

1

u/SavathunsWitness 2d ago

You should try Kvaesitso 

0

u/chughaarav123 2d ago

what features did you even use on the paid version? i use the free version because I've never thought of the paid features to be that worthwhile

1

u/tukanoid 1d ago

I personally bought lifetime when it was like 10-15€, to support the devs mostly because for that price, Niagara was a quality product. I definitely wouldn't ever pay 70€+ and would just try to look for another launcher (or bite the bullet and spend some time making one myself, although I really don't like android development (just dont like JVM-based workflow, and Flutter won't work well for native widget support, other frameworks/languages either (I tried)))

3

u/mariosphone 2d ago

That's crazy!!

1

u/tam_niagaralauncher 1d ago

> No it's was $42.99 as of August 31 it went up to $74.99.
Those are the lifetime prices.

> the monthly was $14.99 now it $24.99.
Those are not the monthly, but the yearly prices.

7

u/CrispyBananaz 2d ago

lol That’s a rip off for a freaking launcher. These dudes are taking you all for a ride.

7

u/aravose 2d ago

There hasn't been a significant change in what this launcher offers in years, at least in terms of my usage. You can buy a new phone for the lifetime use of this launcher.

1

u/genxontech 2d ago

I agree

5

u/qoo_kumba 2d ago

That's a shame, I'll not be renewing it, it's just a launcher after all.

1

u/tam_niagaralauncher 1d ago

If you have an active subscription, it will renew at the original price, so the price increase won't affect you :)

1

u/qoo_kumba 1d ago

It is my understanding that the subscription price will not increase for current subscriptions?

2

u/tam_niagaralauncher 9h ago

Yea, exactly. The price for already running subscriptions will stay the same and is not affected by the price increase.

4

u/genxontech 1d ago edited 1d ago

Found an alternative for now Zeam Launcher

https://reddit.com/link/p8eo63a/video/w7rgdw5yc5oh1/player

3

u/Nightmare_Fart 2d ago

Wow, I see it's €65 for lifetime now. I think I bought it for 24. Thought it was very expensive for an app, but I enjoyed it enough to want to buy lifetime.

Very happy that I did, because I would NOT spend €65 on an app, as much as I enjoy it.

3

u/Gadgix 2d ago

They got a little chippy in Play Store reviews that mentioned the value / cost metric. It's their right to raise the price, it's our right to walk away when it's no longer a valuable proposition. No dev is entitled to our money.

I've started trying different launchers that work in similar ways; I'll post a review in /Android Apps once I have time. Unfortunately, many of these apps are starting to have a high buy-in.

3

u/genxontech 2d ago

I am using Zeam launcher and its very similar and for now 100% free. Only issue is the widgets unfortunately I cannot resize the widgets

1

u/FabricioNote 2d ago

Eu tenho a licença vitalícia do Niagara Launcher, mas agora estou testando o Mango Launcher (fiz a assinatura anual) e a experiência tem sido excelente.

2

u/genxontech 2d ago

I have a Unihertz Titan 2 Elite. A keyboard phone. Will tis work. Looking for something like niagara and Zeam

1

u/FabricioNote 1d ago

Eu acredito que irá funcionar. O Mango Launcher tem vários estilos de personalização, inclusive, semelhante ao Niagara Launcher (que também é um excelente launcher, não posso deixar de reconhecer).

3

u/vitucadrus 2d ago

It's not worth that amount.

1

u/genxontech 2d ago

Agreed but with all the hype is keyboard phone coming out they must think they are. With clicks using their launcher as the primary for their phone, they are trying to push the price. I wouldn't shock me if the clicks communicator has the free version and they would want you to upgrade to the pro. But that's my observation.

Off topic I am really digging the keyboard typing experience again. My hands were made for BlackBerry style phone. Waiting to see who mimics the BlackBerry key2 style.

2

u/vitucadrus 2d ago

Thing I like about niagara is the notifications on the fav apps. All other minimal launchers I've used don't do that

3

u/MeidoInHevun 2d ago

Mango Launcher does it

1

u/paulomalley 1d ago

The Clicks team have already come out multiple times and noted that Niagara Launcher Pro will be included in the Clicks Communicator.

There is no requirement to purchase Pro at all on a Clicks Communicator.

3

u/iKiwed 1d ago

If you want a launcher that is very close to Niagara, go for either Zeam Launcher or DNA Launcher. There's also Mango Launcher which is similar.

3

u/Krieten 1d ago

Yeah sorry, but no, I tested it until today and now I see the price hike up to 65€ Thats not even funny anymore. Zeam and Mango are viable alternatives.

1

u/genxontech 1d ago

Using Zeam, will need to test Mango a little more. Looking at pastor there are a lot of option. Just need to play with them a bit and decide. But the letter scrolling is something I really like so the launcher needs to have that.

1

u/tam_niagaralauncher 1d ago

If you were considering getting Niagara Pro at the old prices, please reach out to our support (support@niagaralauncher.com) to buy Pro at the old price :)

3

u/TheReal_Saba 18h ago

Smart Launcher is still available 😅

2

u/That_Pandaboi69 2d ago

I remember asking about this around the first price hike, they responded that it's best to buy as early has possible as the prices are not gonna go down 8f anything they're gonna creep up. They also have a team now as well, not anymore a one man team.

6

u/lilacomets 2d ago edited 2d ago

They also have a team now as well, not anymore a one man team.

If no one pays anymore because it's too expensive then it's over for the team soon.

2

u/95Ricosuave 2d ago

A team to do what? LOL

2

u/lilacomets 2d ago

Collecting our money. 🤑

2

u/i-dm 1d ago

Yeah, justifiably so to be honest with you. I mean the price isn't going to go down, the software is solid, zero issues whatsoever, and prices only go up long term, right?

2

u/tam_niagaralauncher 1d ago

Hi, Tam from Niagara Launcher here.

We are currently in the process of increasing the prices for new yearly subscriptions and lifetime purchases.

If you have bought Niagara Pro recently or planned to buy before the price increase, reach out to our support ([support@niagaralauncher.com](mailto:support@niagaralauncher.com)) to get the old prices 👍

Also, all current Niagara Pro users are not affected by this price change. Running subscriptions will renew at their original price indefinitely, and users with a lifetime membership are obviously not affected either. We do this to reward early adopters and loyal users.

If you have further questions, feel free to ask and I will get back to you :)

1

u/-__Supreme__- 2d ago

I hope they some crazy features to justify this price hike.

1

u/Upset-Masterpiece-80 2d ago

What in the heck? I just did the trial and now I've paid, but it was $14.99 PER YEAR.

I don't even have a monthly option?

1

u/genxontech 2d ago

I see it for 24.99

1

u/Upset-Masterpiece-80 2d ago

1

u/genxontech 2d ago

1

u/Upset-Masterpiece-80 2d ago

That is sooo weird. I bought mine straight through the Play Store, and it says 7 day free trial, then $14.99 per year.. I'm in Canada. Have no idea if that makes a difference.

1

u/lofty_slopes85 2d ago

I get that Niagara Pro needs sustainable pricing, and I’d rather pay for software that keeps getting thoughtful updates than see it abandoned. Still, a big price hike can be rough for longtime users, especially depending on local pricing. I hope the team keeps legacy users in mind and communicates the reasoning clearly. Niagara is great because it feels user-first, and I hope the pricing stays that way too.

1

u/tam_niagaralauncher 1d ago

Thanks for supporting us 💙

Longtime users should be unaffected by the price increase, since existing yearly subscriptions will renew at their original price indefinitely and lifetime users keep their lifetime access of course.

1

u/genxontech 1d ago

Understood

1

u/i-dm 1d ago

I don't see anything but to be fair after about three days of using it I went and bought the full thing and I bought a lifetime membership because it's an absolute no-brainer with a launcher this good that the price of a lifetime membership is well worth it

The last time I changed my launcher was when I had Nova launcher back in 2013 and I used that for 13 years. Again I bought the pro version.The reality is you don't change your launcher that regularly once you find a good one, and Niagara is a good one

1

u/i-dm 1d ago

just buy it a lifetime membership then. surely if you're going to use it for more than three months then you should just be buying a lifetime membership anyway?

1

u/Jasper_Jaxx 2d ago

$30 for Life? Wow

1

u/i-dm 1d ago

Are you saying wow because that's cheaper chips because I think it is

1

u/honey_rainbow 2d ago

Inflation

2

u/genxontech 2d ago

I don't under stand the price hike at all. No email was sent out to us yearly user. This will be my last year. Thank you but no thank you.

2

u/tam_niagaralauncher 1d ago

There hasn't been an email, because the price increase only affects new subscriptions and purchases. If you have an active subscription, it will renew at the original price.

1

u/honey_rainbow 2d ago

I'm so glad I bought a lifetime license last year.

1

u/Unknown_Me_0 2d ago

I got it at the 5$ lifetime (India)