Official: Why did(n't) you get a Logos subscription?

5. No

I'm just a casual user. No libraries, a few features and 134 books. I use Logos to search my Bible, maybe look at Factbook. I have one subscription for $3 per month (aside from internet access & Sky), and that's enough for me. I'm on a pension, so I don't want to spend money on yet another addiction (books), thanks 😊 (but I love reading these forums for free).

I hope it all works out for Logos.

Mike Childs said:

Now that we are farther along in the subscription process, I wonder what % of Logos users are subscribers?  Will Logos disclose that information?

I don't know, but according to X, they have over 25k folks signing up for the subscription so far. 

https://x.com/Logos/status/1856157991172747516

1. Yes, I am a subscriber

I was a Logos Now subscriber from day one, so transitioning to this subscription model was easy. Much like Logos Now, I would rather not wait two years for changes in the software, particularly in areas that are not that exciting and will be a headline in selling a new major version. The legacy fallback license was a further deal clincher for me. My hope is that this is a genuine driver of consistent regular growth because Logos Now did not last long. I also hope that some of the future developments include new datasets, filling out some of the gaps and improving some of the existing data sets.

What I do miss from what then became 'Faithlife Connect - No Library' is to pick several Faithlife ebooks a month. The problem with the new offering is that Logos picks all the books. For me, this is a real hit-and-miss. This current month's extra book was not that compelling.  So, I would like to see some ability for subscribers to select from a selection of books.

The 5% thing on purchases is cool, and can pay for the subscription from books I would have bought anyhow.

.

Mark Barnes (Logos) said:

We want to ensure that Logos meets the needs of everyone who wants to study the Bible. To help us make sure we're doing that as effectively as possible, would you take a minute to answer these two questions?

• Have you subscribed to the new version of Logos?

1. Yes, I'm a current subscriber (or on the free trial)
2. No, I tried it for a bit, but I didn't renew
3. No, but I plan to get it reasonably soon
4. No, and I'm undecided whether I'll get it
5. No, and I plan not to get it

What's the primary reason for your decision?

Please be honest. It's important to us that we understand how well (or not!) we're meeting your needs, so we want to understand what you really think.

Thanks!

I'm a 5: no got, no plans.

I use L 7 days a week.  I highlight, write notes, keep a database on topics of interest.  For this, I have the L8 free version, + it is sufficient.

I am retired.  Beyond cable + phone, I need no other subscription to entangle my wallet.  Food + lodging costs have gone up; this affair necessitates monetary caution.

I am a fiscal conservative.  Riding the lightening of a subscription is not prudent.

1.  I am a subscriber who started in the preview.  I was one of the more vocal ones :

My primary reason for subscribing is to get the 2 year fallback license.

Please listen to all your users and make some concessions on the toolbar.  A simplified one is fine for those who want it but don't wreck the experience of your more advanced and seasoned users.  Workflows are important.  And it's not hard to provide icons for those who want them.

I am a Max subscriber and want to see more advanced tools to study the original languages, not just more books.

I would like to see a growing list of features that will be included with the fallback license.

You have promised a lot and I would like to see you deliver.

I am giving you a chance to win me over.  If I decide it is not worth it after my two years, I won't renew.

Thanks.

Mark Barnes (Logos) said:

• Have you subscribed to the new version of Logos?

1. Yes, I'm a current subscriber (or on the free trial)
2. No, I tried it for a bit, but I didn't renew
3. No, but I plan to get it reasonably soon
4. No, and I'm undecided whether I'll get it
5. No, and I plan not to get it

• What's the primary reason for your decision?

5 (no) for the short term; 4 (undecided) for the longer term.

There's little of benefit for me in the sub. (I don't want, need, or trust AI to generate content for me in Logos.)

For the first time ever, I've not bought a base package with this release. Over time I bought 10 base packages in Logos 10 (15 if you count them incrementally), but now I'm excluded.

I am subscribed, but I wish I wasn't. I do not care about the AI junk and will never use it. I thought the rest might be worth the price and in my opinion I was wrong. 

I wish I could just get a refund or just get the new subscription turned off and go back to L10. It was much better.

I know you didn't ask about the 2025 packages so here's a bonus. There have never been packages so sad. They are truly sad. (This includes Logos and Verbum both.) This is my opinion, your mileage may very.

I've been using Libronix/Logos/Verbum for 25+ years and have never been this disappointed.

Tim

Mark Barnes (Logos) said:

Have you subscribed to the new version of Logos? No, and I'm undecided whether I'll get it

What's the primary reason for your decision?

Several reasons.

Logos wants me to pay a subscription fee which in part includes subscribing to use resources I already own.

This is illegal, immoral and unethical.

Logos is penalizing users who do not subscribe in several different ways.

In the last 2 years I have invested over $ 5 figures $ into Logos resources. Yet today Logos refuses to allow me to purchase any of the 2025 libraries which would allow me to add a few missing resources in my Library. And even if Logos did allow me to purchase them, I would pay a higher price than a subscriber would. This is a carrot and stick approach attempting to force me into paying a subscription fee that was never part of the original deal, rewarding subscribers while punishing traditional customers who simply do not want or need the new "features".

One of the "carrots" Logos added to entice existing users to subscribe is a LFL (Legacy fallback). This is asking investors who have already bought and paid for the software to further finance ongoing development. Yet without any indication as to what new features are being planned. To my knowledge the only new "feature" is not a feature at all, but a redesigning of a portion of the user interface. Judging from user discussion on the forum, a large number of users find the new Toolbar to be a step backwards. In any case, it is not a "new feature", it is a redesign of the user interface which does not add any new functionality. Logos decided to "punish" existing users by forcing them to keep using the "old" toolbar, while "rewarding" subscribers with the new one. I do not think they anticipated how many users would hate the new one. Once this decision caused problems with training and use in the classroom, Logos still stubbornly refuses to allow even the subscribers a choice between the old and the new.

What new "features" am I being asked to pay for?

If this new toolbar is an example of the highest priority of the promised LFL "features", it appears to me that there is not a well thought out roadmap of where the company intends to take the software. Change for the sake of change is not a "new feature". And changes to the interface that add no new functionality is not a "new feature". Maybe the company does have a list of ideas they want to implement ... but they did not bother to show me what it was. So there is no choice but to assume they are making it up as they go. Will the next idea be a good one? We have only past performance as an indicator ... and the toolbar is a bust. A simple option giving the user a choice would eliminate all of the trouble and allow for a smooth transition. Why would Logos be opposed to a smooth transition?

If I do subscribe, it will probably be just to get a discount (grab the carrot), and I will probably unsubscribe immediately. I do find it interesting how many forum members are paying for one or two year subscriptions in advance ... without having the slightest idea what they are buying. That is not justified by anything I have ever read in the Bible.

It is too late in the game for Logos to keep the Desktop program an offline research library, which is what virtually all of their long term loyal customers bought into. Even before sticking the AI junk into it, they were making "features" that were easily implemented offline and locally, and made them internet dependent. In time the desktop app will become totally dependent upon an internet connection just as the mobile apps are now.

If Logos wants my approval, it needs to get rid of the stick. Do not punish your customers, for any reason ... ever. If the carrot is not enough to convince them, leave them alone. Respect their right to make their own purchasing decisions. Do not try to make them second class customers. Great companies (even secular ones) become great by serving their customers better than the competition. Not by manipulating them into buying something they did not ask for.

Focus on making Logos the best software available. I see more effort being put into marketing and planning how to increase profits. A monthly, continual, never-ending re-fleecing of the sheep might be more profitable for the company. But a Bible software company should be concerned with more than raw profit. Did Logos ever do any customer surveys and find out how many of its customers really wanted AI in their Bible software? If not all of them want it, why are they all being asked to pay for it?

I'm a current subscriber but don't see why I need to be. Still not sure what the benefit is of the subscription. I'm losing money but not gaining value. I see that there are now more features, more expansions that must be purchased. I once owned Platinum, while in theory, I still have it, however, when purchasing, it does not reflect. In order to be Platinum today, I need to spend almost $600. So, I may have some Platinum resources, but don't have all the features. 

Why am I paying for the subscription again?

I've been a lifetime user of Logos (Libronix). Still, the former goal of getting to the top tier has been dulled by the goalpost being moved further and further, especially for a missionary in Africa. It's just too expensive at this stage.

John said:

Logos wants me to pay a subscription fee which in part includes subscribing to use resources I already own.

This is illegal, immoral and unethical.

'Illegal' sounds a bit extreme, though lawyer-ing, Faithlife's wiggle-wording hasn't been for naught.  The transition from license ownership to license renting, while claiming not to charge twice ... they essentially got lazy (not dynamic'ing the feature and book rentals). Morals and ethics had to give way to practicalities.  And so 'the discount' ... but L10s only, I think?  Logos 2 thru 9 and plain-jane book buyers ... supposed to just suck it up (tummy).

I'm in the *reluctant* #1 category...Logos Max.

It felt like it was at gunpoint at first, but after doing a cost analysis comparing what I'd spent when L10, 9, 8, and 7 rolled out, I decided I'd spend as much as a 2-year Max scrip would cost me. The only reason I could think of to not subscribe was to be stubborn, and that hurts me and would be irrational. 

I'm a #4 long term. The rollout has featured very little new stuff for all the hype. (Yes, I do like the dynamic TB.)  I'm patient...I'll give you two years for the programmers to cash the check the marketing folks wrote. 

I will say, if in 2026 the price increases substantially or the promised features don't appear, you'll lose me and probably a significant number of reluctant folks like me. Logos has created a lot of bad will amongst long-term customers with this change. You can't just clear the bar on this one; you are going to have to raise it a bit and then clear it to get back in the good graces of some of us old folks. Getting there is possible, and many of us will eat some crow if that happens. (I hope I do!) But falling short is also possible and it won't be a good look for the company or the good folks who work there if that bar ends up on the mat with the software.

Amen and Amen

1. I am a current annual subscriber, waiting for the opportunity to be a two-year subscriber.

If the subscription model had not been introduced, I would likely have upgraded to each new version of Logos anyway. The subscription model provides the opportunity to get new features on a regular 6-week cycle and even earlier if I decide something is worth using while in beta and not have to work through a year of changes with each major upgrade. The cadence should also help with quicker-to-see refinement of features that need tweaked after initial release.

I should add that while I opted for Max (monthly, not two years), I am extremely disappointed with the Verbum libraries this time. 

No, and I'm undecided whether I'll get it.

I hate the subscription model. Logos advertises it as making their software more affordable. That’s untrue. They went to a subscription model to generate more revenue. Paying a subscription month after month and year after year adds up. The most expensive Bible software company became more expensive.

The new features are not worth a subscription to me. I want to purchase new base packages. But Logos should not require a subscription. Until they drop the subscription requirement, I no longer recommend the company.