I feel like I am really struggling to see the issue here with pricing, it is still a very cheap subscription and it does what we need it to do. And they were one of the ones that came out better in that recent security analysis of password managers. I see a lot of people upset here and I don’t get it.
Did they need to increase the price? Honestly I don’t know, without seeing their financials it is hard to say. But I would much rather they be able to be sustainable.
It likely doesn’t help that they are facing more and more free competition from Google and Apple. I know I have been considering a switch to Apple Passwords after the recent changes to it. I doubt this will excelerate it or anything because I will still want somewhere as a secondary area incase I loose access to my apple account.
I've been a mostly happy 1Password customer with a Family plan for quite some time. This may cause me to jump ship.
My biggest issue with 1Password has been 1) how intrusive it can be in the browser, especially on mobile when it's too proactive to show its dropdown and just gets in the way of my experience. I know this is challenging because a mobile device is a small screen, but it is incredibly frustrating. 2) how bad the Safari extension. It regularly fails to load at all.
Aside from that, while you're absolutely correct - 1Password is still relatively inexpensive, let's look at the improvements thet mention:
1. Automatic saving of logins and payment details
Isn't this what 1Password has always done or am I misunderstanding?
2. Enhanced Watchtower alerts
I haven't seen any of these alerts ever help me.
3. Faster, more secure device setup
This I have noticed. It is very convenient
4. AI-powered item naming
This is weak sauce. I don't care for "AI" to help me name my logins/accounts/etc.
5. Expanded recovery options
I'm not sure what this is and how it's different than what they've always offered on a Family plan.
6. Proactive phishing prevention
Fine, I guess.
Story time on the mobile proactivity.
I was buying a train ticket on Eurostar for my mother. I filled her name as the passenger. Scrolled down and used the 1Password data I have to fill my address and billing information. I proceed and pay. Later, when checking the ticket, I see it's on my name. 1Password changed the passenger details, and since the screen is small, I did not notice.
No 100% refund from Eurostar, but lesson learned.
I'm not leaving 1Password though. It's too convenient for my family.
I’ve had it do stuff like that and it’s very annoying when it’s an issue - which it sometimes is.
That and a lack of easy way to report a login page that doesn’t work perfectly would be my top annoyances (behind a 33% increase in a subscription that was already annoying me each time it came around).
To be honest I'm mostly fine with the price increase (it hasn't been adjusted for inflation in ages), the thing I do take issue with is that for over a year now (with the 'upgrade' to a new web interface) you can't easily create a password etc. anymore straight from the browser extension.
You click the button in the browser, choose what to create 'I want to create a password (or a note, or whatever)' and then get redirected to their web-app and be presented with a pop-up asking what you want to create (I just told you, didn't I?)
I get it, when you move to a new web-app some things can break. But after using stored passwords creating new ones is pretty much the only other thing you do in the app, it seems to be core functionality that's been broken for over a year now, it's kinda madness tbh.
Edit: To be fair they offered a 'solution' when I reported it: "Don't use the web-app, install our desktop app instead."
The manage to find the money to sponsor an F1 team, so I don't think the money is the issue.
Also, if they'd increase things by 5%, or did yearly 2% increases or something like that, I'd be okay with that (to cover the inflation). But the 33% increase combined with the list of features I don't care about -- that's just taking users for granted. Thankfully I didn't start using passkeys, otherwise I'd be locked within 1p without ability to export them.
> Also, if they'd increase things by 5%, or did yearly 2% increases or something like that, I'd be okay with that (to cover the inflation). But the 33% increase combined with the list of features I don't care about -- that's just taking users for granted
The price has been unchanged at least as far back as mid 2018. According to the inflation calculator at bls.gov [1] inflation over those 8 years was 31%.
[1] https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
> The manage to find the money to sponsor an F1 team, so I don't think the money is the issue.
I'm guessing they'd view that as a marketing expense.
In a world where everything is increasing in prices and salaries aren't keeping pace, you might be able to see it if you imagine what life was like making much less money.
1Password, like other subscriptions, becomes something for the middle class and up, not for the masses.
Vendor solutions become the only option.
YNAB has done something similar apparently, and things like actual budget are stepping up to take the slack.
> I will still want somewhere as a secondary area incase I loose access to my apple account
I'm quite content with Apple's Password app but I pay for 1Password only for the peace of mind of having a backup in case Apple ever locks my account. I will suck it up and pay the higher price.
Part of my migration plan from 1Password to Apple Passwords is making sure I have all the account recovery options possible.
I had risks with 1Password as well. If my house were to burn down, and my phone was also inside, I’d lose it all. I have offsite backups, but I need 1Password to get into them.
In China the median hourly wage is somewhere between 4 and 6 USD, whereas in India where most employment is ‘informal’ estimates of the median wage vary from about 50 cents to 1 USD an hour.
So to cover those twelve dollars, the average Chinese worker will have to work three to four more hours a year just to have the same functionality, whereas the Indian average worker will have to work twelve to 24 more hours a year.
Does that help your struggle?