AgileBits today launched a $3-per-month subscription service for individuals running 1Password, a password manager particularly popular among macOS and iOS users.
The new plan extends the pay-as-you-go model beyond the work team ($4 per user per month) and family ($5 a month) deals the company had rolled out previously. The individuals' service will synchronize all copies of 1Password on all devices using the same hosted infrastructure that backs up the team and family plans.
For $36 annually, customers also receive rights to all 1Password apps and applications, which include editions for macOS, iOS, Android and, in beta, Windows. 1Password for macOS, for example, costs $65 on Apple's App Store, while the "Pro" version on the iPhone and iPad runs $10.
As with other software subscription plans, users will receive app updates and upgrades free of charge as long as they make regular payments.
Dave Teare, AgileBits' founder and creator of 1Password, pledged that the company would continue to sell traditional perpetual licenses while making plain that he thought subscriptions are the future. "Using our new service provides the simplest and most feature-packed way to use 1Password," Teare wrote in a post to the firm's blog.
Teare also promised that ending payments would not lock customers out of their password data, although the account will be frozen. Users will be able to "access, view and export" all data after letting a subscription lapse, an FAQ stated.
AgileBits is just one consumer software developer that's entering or experimenting with subscription plans, which have been all the rage among vendors, if not customers. Quicken, for instance, is testing a personal finance service that would run the Windows application from a remote data center.
AgileBits will offer six months free to customers who sign up for an individual plan at its website.
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