Value Proposition of a Subscription with no new Libraries

Per the conversation in the thread below, there will be no 2026 Verbum Libraries sold. One of the value propositions of moving to a subscription model that was sold to us the consumers was reducing prices on the libraries because feature sets are separated from libraries. I definitely noticed this on the 2025 Libraries; the prices were lower than years before. However, since there will be no 2026 Verbum Libraries, what is the value of a subscription? I am paying an annual fee and getting nothing of relative value for it. I understand the value to Faithlife. What is the value to the customer?

If the answer to that is the improved feature sets, then there is really not that much value. My use of Verbum has not changed much over the past couple years. Apart from slapping AI onto the main dashboard (which is totally useless and a waste of resources), I have not noticed any real changes or improvements. So, what is the value of a subscription me the customer?

https://community.logos.com/discussion/255662/logos-2026-libraries-have-arrived-verbum

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Yasmin Stephen

One of the value propositions of moving to a subscription model that was sold to us the consumers was reducing prices on the libraries because feature sets are separated from libraries.

Was there such a value proposition put forth? I have no memory of it. Feature sets and libraries have been separated for years, long before the current subscription-only model.

Aaron Ferris

That is incorrect. When previous versions of Verbum (Logos) were sold, they were a mix of feature sets and libraries. For example 9 Bronze had fewer features and fewer books then 9 Silver. Because there was often confusion around program edition, feature sets, and libraries, they have separated them.

Don Awalt

To me the most obvious value propositions are:

Features you don't get without a subscription
AI features (I add this separately, as Study Assistant, Smart Search, Synopsis, Translate are ones I use a LOT now)
Free temp books (with a Max subscription I currently have 45 temp licenses - they change over time too)
Logos Mobile Ed courses free for a quarter (I have I think 4; you get up to 8 I believe with Max if you haven't already purchased them, some I had purchased)
5% discount on every purchase
5% rebate for future purchase for all purchases made in the prior year, issued once/year
Features become yours after two years of subscribing if you ever cancel.

Economically, even without the features if you buy resources, there's a very good chance the combined 10% discount/rebate pays for your annual subscription - and if paying for a subscription is a concern you can check your buying history and relate it to the cost of a subscription at the proper tier for you. Add the free temp books/mobile ed courses that you might probably buy at least a couple, the only way I see it probably doesn't make sense to subscribe is if someone has no interest in new features, and never buys anything - in which case there is always the free version, which gets some new features.

Aaron Ferris

@Don Awalt Thank you. I did a two year subscription which is up later this year, so I will at least keep those features. I do make purchases, but not that many. So, it probably isn't worth it to me, but we will see when I get to that point.

Theophan Dort

@Aaron Ferris My understanding is that from the earliest days of Logos, the company had multiple different categories of things they had to pay for, one of which always has been paying on an ever-ongoing basis a crew of people who do things "behind the scenes" that make Logos work, and keep working, and who keep improving it. This cost really has nothing at all to do with a completely different cost category, which is paying publishers for books that Logos sells to customers.

Again, my understanding is that Bob Pritchett made a decision way back at the beginning that Logos would try to make all of the money it needs for all of its expenses just from selling books, and the software would be "free," but that a time came when he regretted that decision! Because the ongoing cost of paying people who tag new resources so they can be searched quickly, and with which they can use the various Logos tools that require very many tags invisibly inserted into books, and all of the coders who design and build the software, and many others behind the scenes, is a day by day, week by week, month by month cost, and it needs to be paid. So what happens when customers like you and like me build a large library and we really don't need to buy very many resources, anymore? All of those people who do the daily, ever-ongoing work still need to make a living to support themselves and their families! It just doesn't work, anymore, in a practical way, to try to pay all of those people, and the coders who create the apps, and keep improving it, just on sales of books!

So, really, that's a big part of what the subscriptions are for! Part of it is to pay for AI tools, and translating, some things that require an online connection, and if you've been reading the forums here, very many Logos users are really excited about what Logos AI tools are already doing for them! But part of it is just paying what it costs to pay the people who work at Logos doing work that needs to be done, and that won't get paid for if people like you (and me!) aren't buying as many books as we once did, unless they go to a subscription model!

Many people on this forum seem to want to cast the Logos of its early days in amber and never allow it to change. But I read that the fabled Bob Pritchett himself regretted the decision to make money only on book sales, because it just didn't work. So now there are subscriptions.

Sure, I'm oversimplifying things, but your question about what the subscriptions are for, and what benefit do you get from them, implicitly leaves all of this out of the picture, oversimplifying even more. Scripture tells us that the laborer is worthy of his hire, and the people who do the work at Logos need to be able to put food on their tables, etc.. Before the Subscription era began, every two years I used to upgrade to the highest level of feature sets, and usually the newest version of the library I use, and I was quite happy to consider that "paying my way" for what I get out of Logos. Now, with my Pro Subscription, I actually think I'm paying less than I was before! And I'm happy to do it to support the people making a product that I love and use every single day. So that's my own answer, for myself, to your question:

So, what is the value of a subscription me the customer?

GaoLu

Instant gratification, but you don't keep nuthin.

Aaron Ferris

@Theophan Dort I was hoping by phrasing the issue the way I did, we could skip past the pedantry. Obviously not. Of course people deserve to get paid for their work. Of course businesses need to make money to survive. Of course business models change over time as the market changes. The implication of all that is: the people/business provide a product/service to the customer. The customer then weighs the value of the proposed product/service against the price. This how we buy things from houses and cars to burgers and basket balls to include digital assets like programs and digital media.

The question was what was the value to the customer. Simply by asking the question I am implying there may not be much value offered for the stated cost. @Don Awalt responded with his view of the value he receives. Whether his perceived value is the same as mine is immaterial. He provided a concrete response. @GaoLu in his own inimitable way has provided another response, which highlights a positive and a negative. His positive is instant gratification. That is a value, such as when I need fast food I go to McDonald's. Speed is a value in certain circumstances. The negative is that the subscription model forces you to keep paying, otherwise you lose what you have already paid for.

Because pedantry is where you have taken this, yes, if I pay for one year and eleven months, but not the last month, I lose what I have already paid for. (And don't bring up leasing a car or renting an apartment.) If the reply would be, well just subscribe for two years, the simpler answer is the company could sell me a program with two years of service and updates. Then I know what the value proposition is: this program with a minimum of two years of updates and bug fixes. However, as it stands now, if in the middle of my subscription the company changes the terms of the Pro Subscription, do I need to have two years from the date of those changes in order to keep those features, or will I keep them when my initial Pro Subscription runs out since the initial subscription was for two years? There is no clear value proposition to the customer because there is not a clearly defined product that you will own or service that is being provided.

Not only is there less clarity on the product, there is actually less product. There are no 2026 Verbum Libraries. While this affects only a subset of the customer base, it is still a loss to that customer base. Other subsets of customers have also lost out. So, by switching to the subscription model, I am being offered less by the company. So, when there is a loss in one area, there should be an increase in another area to offset the loss. Otherwise, there is an absolute loss in value to the customer (charging more for less).

What is ironic about this is that implied in all this is I want to buy a 2026 Verbum Library. I want to give them money for a product, but they won't supply the product. I am trying to be a loyal customer, but they don't seem to want me.

Yasmin Stephen

What is ironic about this is that implied in all this is I want to buy a 2026 Verbum Library. I want to give them money for a product, but they won't supply the product. I am trying to be a loyal customer, but they don't seem to want me.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1392348#Comment_1392348

^They have no supply.