What am I missing out on?

I have a vast Logos library, but have never bought a feature set. I have zero interest in original language study. My interest is preaching and personal spiritual formation through reading.

It would cost me circa $300 to upgrade to a full feature set. With the new subscription model I like the sound of a 5% discount on purchases, although much of my spend these days is on heavily discounted sale books and prepubs(which are excluded), so the 5% may not be worth the $300 investment. I also like the sound of an additional free book each month, although the potential interest to me of those books is unknown. In my mind I'm thinking perhaps I'd be better to continue to purchase resources that interest me with that $300.

I can't see any interest to me in the unowned feature sets.

But am I missing something truly significant in the capabilities I'll gain?

Most of my study is on my Android tablet and I mainly use my laptop when writing sermons in Word and use Logos on my laptop to copy quotes into my sermons.

I get the feeling most users own the feature sets and enjoy the "software" functionality, whereas my interest has always been having my Christian book library in one digital place.

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Aaron Hamilton

But am I missing something truly significant in the capabilities I'll gain?

Don't forget the 5% cash back at the end of the year. Also, you'll have access to some Mobile Ed courses with the sub. In your shoes, having only limited interest, I would wait until the end of September to purchase the full feature set (I'm pretty sure at this point the sale will be extended through the end of the month). Then, after the official launch of the subscription, I would check out all the official perks (we don't know them all yet) and subscribe. If all goes well, you'd still have a couple weeks left on your 30-day return window to return the full feature set and cancel the subscription if you aren't impressed with the features and subscription perks.

Have you tried smart search/summarization/synopsis yet? In my view, these are some pretty significant enhancements.

Paul Caneparo

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1313304#Comment_1313304

But am I missing something truly significant in the capabilities I'll gain?

Don't forget the 5% cash back at the end of the year. Also, you'll have access to some Mobile Ed courses with the sub. In your shoes, having only limited interest, I would wait until the end of September to purchase the full feature set (I'm pretty sure at this point the sale will be extended through the end of the month). Then, after the official launch of the subscription, I would check out all the official perks (we don't know them all yet) and subscribe. If all goes well, you'd still have a couple weeks left on your 30-day return window to return the full feature set and cancel the subscription if you aren't impressed with the features and subscription perks.

Have you tried smart search/summarization/synopsis yet? In my view, these are some pretty significant enhancements.

Thanks Aaron. I think the additional 5% is only the top subscription tier. I suspect if I went for the subscription I'd only go for the basic level. I've had trial periods before of the features and never felt the urge to use them.

Aaron Hamilton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1313308#Comment_1313308

I think the additional 5% is only the top subscription tier. I suspect if I went for the subscription I'd only go for the basic level.

It's for Pro and Max, not Premium. As a pastor, Logos is definitely targeting you with the Pro tier. If you don't enjoy smart search, summarization, and synopsis (new and quite cool imho), you might not be impressed by much in the subscription. There is a new Bible Study Builder coming out soon that may be of interest, but it's hard to say to what extent that might interest you.

One final thought is that now is definitely the time to join the discounted subscription track. If your interest is peaked two years from now, it might be too late. In that case, you'd face a potentially much higher monthly/annual price.

Paul Caneparo

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1313313#Comment_1313313

I think the additional 5% is only the top subscription tier. I suspect if I went for the subscription I'd only go for the basic level.

It's for Pro and Max, not Premium. As a pastor, Logos is definitely targeting you with the Pro tier. If you don't enjoy smart search, summarization, and synopsis (new and quite cool imho), you might not be impressed by much in the subscription. There is a new Bible Study Builder coming out soon that may be of interest, but it's hard to say to what extent that might interest you.

One final thought is that now is definitely the time to join the discounted subscription track. If your interest is peaked two years from now, it might be too late. In that case, you'd face a potentially much higher monthly/annual price.

Thanks Aaron. I guess I've never understood what I'm missing out on by not having all the feature sets. The books in my library have enabled me to access commentaries and books on particular issues.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1313322#Comment_1313322

Paul, I think your question is good. As this subscription thing moves forward, I watch how I use Logos. I use mainly L5 and L6 features from years ago.

Aaron's advice seems appropo (with refund, as backup). The part you can't measure (given your use) is improvements to the UI. $10 a month? With $300 deposit? I don't know.

DAL

If you’re getting the job done with what you have, then you should be ok.

DAL

Paul Caneparo

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1313329#Comment_1313329

If you’re getting the job done with what you have, then you should be ok.

DAL

Thanks. That's what I suspect, but there's obviously a reason people pay for features. I suspect their need is more academic than mine.

Dru Lattin

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1313340#Comment_1313340

Hey Paul - old thread, but thought I'd chime in, in case you were still thinking about it.

I'm a pastor with only limited understanding of Greek. But I find the sermon features to be super helpful, even at their nascent stage. I expect them to get better (a more robust editor, better management tools), and have already imported fifteen years of sermons on Word docs into Logos Sermons.

I didn't love the interface at first, but I invested time into learning it, and now couldn't do without it. I second the earlier suggestion to take the plunge with the FFS at the end of the month, and see where things land with the full release in October. Then request a refund if it seems like a waste.

HJ. van der Wal

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1313340#Comment_1313340

If you’re getting the job done with what you have, then you should be ok.

DAL

Thanks. That's what I suspect, but there's obviously a reason people pay for features. I suspect their need is more academic than mine.

I also sometimes ask myself the question "what am I missing out on?" when I hear that people pay for (a subscription to) MS Word/Office. On the other hand I have never had any trouble getting the job done with open source alternatives like LibreOffice (and Collabora on Android).

Logos is the only proprietary software that I use on a daily basis. Studying the original languages is important to me so for me it is definitely worth the money. I also like things like the Read Aloud feature in the mobile apps and the way my commentaries are grouped by denomination & type in the passage guide.

The free version of Logos is also powerful and I am certain that I would have no problems writing a sermon with nothing more than a free basic account (I actually manage such an account with monthly freebies for a family member and I have checked that I can do basic original language study with it). In the end it is up to you what you really value as important.