Chauffix Team · July 11, 2026
Subscription vs One-Time Software Pricing: What Actually Costs Less?
One-time licences look cheaper on day one and cost more by year two. Here's the total-cost-of-ownership math for chauffeur operators.
The pitch
- One-time: "Pay £8,000 once and it's yours forever."
- Subscription: "£199/month, cancel any time."
What one-time actually means
- Fixed version of the software as of today
- No iOS/Android updates included
- No new features
- Paid support hours
- Hosting on your own server (see hosted vs self-hosted)
3-year total cost of ownership
| Line item | One-time | Subscription |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | £8,000 | — |
| Monthly | — | £199 × 36 = £7,164 |
| Hosting | £80 × 36 = £2,880 | Included |
| Updates & maintenance | £2,500/yr = £7,500 | Included |
| SSL, backups, monitoring | £500/yr = £1,500 | Included |
| 3-year total | £19,880 | £7,164 |
When one-time works
- You have in-house DevOps
- You never need new features
- You're fine locked to today's tech stack
When subscription wins
Everyone else. Especially small operators who don't want to be part-time software companies.
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