Let me start by saying that I love CC and their Support. I have been anxiously awaiting the details of the Responsive Program. Well, this morning, it was in the email. There are a couple of points that I think are worth mentioning though.
1. I see there was no link for a monthly subscription, even though one was mentioned at $39/mo. Only a 3 month offered in the link.
2. I was utterly shocked at the price of the subscription. I expected about 1/2 of that (around $20/mo. The reason that I say this is that if I subscribed to a monthly subscription at $39/mo, that would equal $468/yr. That is a LOT more than I spend yearly by purchasing every new piece of software that cc releases. At least, it seems like it. Just my 2 cents worth. I do have a choice, to take it, or leave it though... Just sayin' I usually don't write negative comments because of CC support being 2nd to none, so this is not meant to be a start. I would like cc to reconsider their pricing model on this. $39 from a few would be great, but $20/mo from a LOT would be FANTASTIC.

I for sure would like to pay less the $39/month, but after all the new responsive programs come out, it may end up being worth it, at least for the short term and depending how much you use the programs. The new menu builder is $39 now, but reg price is $69, the R Layout Maker will be $139 when it's out, plus the other programs along with all the themes, books, ect plus first dibs on help from support. It may end up being costly if subscribing for 2 years or more, but they do say can cancel anytime and keep programs.

I only have a few sites, which I will be updating as new programs com out, but since I do have allll their programs I couldn't let this deal go buy so purchased the subscription.

These programs have taken a huge amount of resources to create, develop and maintain. Menu Builder alone was over a year in the making! Our traditional (too) low price point just cannot be done with programs of this magnitude. Some of our responsive programs that are close to being released will have a price point of $100 or higher. Menu Builder is $69 and Layout Maker will probably start out at over $139, you are already at $208 right there.

There are a few things you need to also take into account:

1. Upgrades are free within 30 days of purchase and for minor updates (usually the same version number like 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 etc.). There might be charges for major upgrades (usually version bumps like 2.0, 3.0, 4.0). So $69 for version 1.0, $69 for version 2.0, $69 for version 3.0 and so on. We will offer some discounts for registered users, and upgrading is not mandatory but with the responsive program, upgrades are free.

2. With the responsive program you get ALL of our responsive programs. Right now it only contains Menu Builder, but soon it with all our Layout Maker and Web Designer. As we create more responsive programs, those are added to the program.

3. You also get Windows and OS X versions. That is 2 for the price of 1.

4. All of our themes are free with the responsive program. That is a huge savings!

5. After 30 days, downloads are no longer available in the customer care center. In the responsive program, you will always have them.

6. Free web space, hosting and form processing (S-Drive) is part of the program. You get it all.

7. You can also join and cancel at any time. Pre-pay for the first 3 months and if you want out, you can still cancel and keep the software. In the case of Adobe, the moment you cancel you will not able to continue to use the software for example.

For those who do not want to join the program, we do also offer it as à la carte. And as in a restaurant going à la carte is more expensive. When doing the math, take into account the cost for each new product, version, theme or resource we release and compare that to the monthly charge. We can not offer any credits on past purchases, so if you pay $69 now and want to get into the program, you end up paying the full price later.

I too was amazed at the cost of the LIVE program and the apparent change to the CC business model to software by subscription as opposed to the free lifetime update model that has existed for some time. This new model appears to be the plan for the future for many software companies, Microsoft, Adobe etc.

I can get the entire Microsoft Office 365 Suite, Word, Excel, Publisher, Outlook,Access, and One Note on 5 machines for $99 a year, so it appears that Coffee Cup's price for the Live @$39 a month is a bit extravagant. At least with the Microsoft products I got a free month to try it out....to see if it works or is worth the investment.

Because I do web design as a hobby and work only for non-profits, this pricing structure prohibits my pursuing the LIVE option at this time, forcing me in the near term to produce websites that are less than optimal.

Hopefully the management at Coffee Cup will reconsider this strategy. Just my 2 cents worth!

Scott, is there anywhere to subscribe for $39/mo, with the first month costing $39 instead of having to pay $100 up front. I would rather pay the lower price/mo instead of a large chunk at once. That will hold me from subscribing. I like to keep my credit card charges within reason, and have a monthly budget for software.

That would really be too cheap. We would end up giving away hundreds of dollars of software for $39 because you can cancel at any time. This would give you the ability to pay a low cost amount, download everything the responsive program has to offer and then cancel. Having to pre-pay a few months is a reasonable compromise.

Remember, we need to feed ourselves too.

With Microsoft Office 365, I'm paying $9.99/mo.

You misunderstood. The responsive program is not required to gain access to the software. You can still purchase the software individually like always. The responsive program gives you all that I outlined below. If none of that interests you, just purchase the software individually on our website as needed.

In over 15 years of making amazing Web Design and other software products, CoffeeCup has in general, delivered improved versions of the software free of charge. We will continue to do so, especially when a new version mainly consists of minor improvements and fixes. However, from time to time there will be new versions that require rewrites of the application or parts of the application. This process requires significant research, design, development and testing time. In those situations and on a case by case basis, CoffeeCup reserves the right to require a fee for upgrading to the new and improved version of the software. Given the resources it would take, we would hate to withhold implementing these improvements purely based on financial decisions; charging a nominal fee for updates is the only way to accomplish this.

If you don’t feel new functionality is worth the upgrade you can always stay with your current version. If you feel you always want to use the latest and greatest and want to have access to exclusive Responsive Web Design Apps, you should join The Responsive Program (coming soon). Either way, the choice is entirely yours!

I guess you could cancel after a month, but that wasn't my intention. Even if you had a per month charge with a 3 month minimum required..... Oh, well, I do still compare it with Office 365..... I

As far as I know, Office Live does not have any responsive web design software, so that comparison really is not a good one.

Remember, the responsive program is not mandatory. It is just a service available to you. If you do not like it, purchase the software individually like you would have done in the past. Nothing changed there.