Why So Expensive?

I have WORDsearch and Accordance (I‘ve even used e-sword), but if I wanted the premium books in these “cheaper“ softwares, the price wouldn’t be so cheap (even for the free software); not to mention they wouldn’t have the features Logos offers.  So in the end it balances itself out. It’s also a matter of how much you are willing to invest.  You could just as easily invest $20k in WORDsearch like you could in Logos, but the performance wouldn’t be the same.

DAL

I have been a customer since early 2014, and I have invested a fair amount of money in the software. The value for me comes in the tagging and how Logos Bible Software can find references to what I'm searching in most any book, and it does so quite fast and efficiently. The work that goes into it all is excellent. While there are alternatives out there, such as eSword, Accordance, OliveTree, and others, Logos Bible Software is, in my opinion, the best out there. When I was in seminary, doing my work online, Logos saved me, on average, 15 to 20 hours per week. So, it's been well worth the investment. 

You get what you pay for.  It is a decision each person has to make.

I always looked at the expense in regards to buying a book. If I’m going to buy a decent paperback book I would expect to pay $10-15 at a Barnes and Noble. A bit more or less depending. 

The Starter Base Package has 249 resources/books. It I went to B&N lookong to purchase 249 books at $15 a pop I’d be out $3700+. And is have to flip through endless pages tediously to find the information I want, book by book. 

Same scenario in Logos means I get 249 resources/books for $221 (sale price).

I would ask, what are The other software companies providing? I can easily spend as much on Kindle as I do In Logos. the Kondle platform is free, it’s the content where I spend money. Same with other bible software. I can spend $15 on them/logos, or $10k on them/logos. How much content do I want, how much functionality do I want. 

I had someone tell me that they have all the Bible’s they need on the YouVersion Bible app. That’s fine for me, and I’m glad they have that. I just want to do more than read lots of English translations of the Bible. 

Not a defense of Logos, but a rationale for spending money on ANY bible software. 

Like others have stated Logos isn't cheap...but then again you get what you pay for. This is coming from a customer since 2004. I have found that once you get your base package level that has "most" of what you are looking for...then you can pick and choose additional resources. The free software engine, support, free books monthly, etc are all benefits.

I have heard recently many folks looking into Logos state the cost. I spent a long time looking at alternatives and found Logos works best for me. There is so much that they do to make resources work together and making your study/research time more useful and productive.

Logos has come a long way in putting packages together for the various denominational leanings with shows a very positive and balance view of their business. Logos is a for profit business and do not feel that they are being heavy handed on price to their customers. I have had positive experiences at all levels of the Logos team and remember they have families that they are support to while providing a benefit to the body of Christ.

Before anyone asks no, I don't work for Logos...but am a definite supporter.

If you are new to Logos, try the free version with the resources provided and test drive it. You may not have all of the bells and whistles of some bigger packages, I think given the change you can get a feel for the advantage.

I had a friend feel the same way on price, and I said that for me i spent lots on a hobby and came to the realization that in order to grow in my relationship with God, I needed to make studying God's Word my priority. Not for everybody but works for me.

Blessings.

Over the years I've received 836 (537 in ebook format, 299 in Logos format) free books. They've come in a variety of ways. Free book of the month, Logos Now, publisher sales, etc.

Granted not all of them have been equally useful. But with an electronic library its only a few mb on disk and  they may be useful in the future.

Gerald

Daniel Aguilar Caballero said:

Even compared with books it is expensive. All Logos books are more expensive than actual paper books. And more than double than the digital versions.

If you don't need the extra features that a Logos version brings with it, then don't buy it.

If you're happier with a paper version or an ebook, go for it.

Bob Bacle said:

Just wondering why your software is so expensive.

In my experience, Logos is something I've been thankful for.

Spend some time with it, see what it can do, and determine if it is worth it or not to you. If you're not satisfied, you can return it within 30 days for a full refund.

DAL said:

Ps. Game changer for me was not to have to carry boxes full of books when I moved 😬

[Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y][Y] or working on a sermon/paper at home when the book was in my study.

I guess it depends on what you want. If someone just wants an electronic Bible with search function, it might not be worth it.

Personally, I find the ability to cross reference to be invaluable in chasing down the depths of a topic. This might depend on the  needs pf the user and approach of the denomination one belongs to (So, for a personal example, as a Catholic, I find tracing down previous Church documents on a subject to be much easier here than other software I used). Also, the search functions allow a lot of insights into what theologians of different denominations think on a topic so I don't misinterpret them.

I imagine people with knowledge of the Biblical languages get even more use out of it than I do.

Mark Ward said:

I'm very open to your feedback.

You mentioned BDAG in your presentation and how it's a significant work to both purchase and own. I readily agree. 

I have labored to present a solution to what I perceive as a singular problem and that is the absence of BAGD and its dead links of which there are tens of thousands. I would pay a reasonable fee to see this situation solved in some mutually agreeable fashion. 

I have no problem being in full support of the business model that works best for my favorite Bible software program. I hope to leave it as a legacy to my son when I breathe my last.

Curious...what people think is the most time-saving feature compared to physical books. From my limited experience, I think it is Parallel Resources. The ability to jump from one Bible to another or from one Dictionary to another or from one Lexicon to another or from one Commentary to another to the exact point where you want to start reading, all with 2 clicks is an unbelievable saving in time.

This question has been asked many times going back to even before these forums and when we used a Newsgroup.

You have to keep in mind that Logos is not in any way shape or form a ministry. It is a business. Also, and perhaps you have heard this before, but just as you would expect a mechanic or a contractor to have a lot of money tied up in tools, so to you can expect someone in ministry to have a lot of money tied up in books. 

A Logos book is a lot more valuable to me than the same book in another platform. Tim Challies publishes an almost daily list of "Kindle Deals for Christians" and I always look up the books in Logos to see if they are also on sale. Generally, as long as it's a plain ebook, not a Logos Research or Reader edition, it's also on sale. I would far rather purchase the book in Logos than in Kindle, and most of the time, if it's not the same price in Logos, I just don't buy it. 

Why? Because Logos makes books so much better. I love that the book will come up in searches. I love that I can easily add (and then later, find) notes or highlights. I far prefer the Logos mobile app to the Kindle app. And don't get me started on how awful the Kindle desktop program is... Amazon could learn a lot from Logos. 

For research and study, I think Logos beats all other Bible software hands down. The Factbook is awesome. 

Sometimes, of course, the prices do bug me. I remember often seeing the NICOT/NICNT commentaries on sale in hardcovers for cheaper than the digital Logos versions. And it's not uncommon to see the physical book for sale (a new retail copy, not a used one) for the same price or even cheaper than Logos. One of the reasons for that, however, is because the Logos Research editions have a lot more tagging. This is why when those are on sale in Kindle the sale doesn't transfer over to Logos. Because it's not just as simple as taking the publisher's ebook file and converting it to Logos format, but it's a real person going through it and tagging all the topics and ideas and concepts. That does add a lot of value to a book!  A year or two ago most of the NICNT were on sale in Kindle for like $3 or $5 or something ridiculous. Oh to pay that price for them in Logos! But a commentary like that in Kindle is nearly useless, at least to me. 

Sometimes it does bug me seeing very high prices on older public domain resources. It always struck me odd that Barnes' Notes, for example, which had been freely available in many other digital Bible study software for years and years, is still like $100 at Logos. (That set has special sentimental value for me because it was my very first commentary set - I had saved up my paper route money as a teenager and bought it from CDB).

That said... there are plenty of ways to expand your library very inexpensively. There are two young men from church whom I have helped them start their own little libraries. The one I've been getting him all the free books of the months and any other freebie for the last two years. He's got like 700 books in his library. If you take out a lot of the junk and things he'll probably never use, he's still got like 5 good Bibles, a couple dictionaries and encyclopedia's, and some simple commentaries and at least 150+ GOOD books. When he graduates from high school I'll probably buy him one of the starter packages. As of yet he mostly just uses it on his phone. The other young man is considering going into ministry. He's only been using it for a few months so he doesn't have many. 

Anyone can get started in Logos for a very reasonable price. The Fundamentals is $50 and that's a good place for anyone to start. That plus your freebies, plus maybe one or two of the $35 Logos starter packages would provide a wealth of information for most people. 

Then of course watch for sales. Last month you could have gotten the entire Word Biblical Commentary set for like $400. That's like $6.75 a volume. You'd pay about $1700 if you bought them in hardcover from CBD. 

Shop the monthly sales. You can pretty much ignore all those 30% off "non" sales; but many of the other sales have been very good. The current "flash sales" have had some excellent deals (and some not so good, but I'd be broke if every sale was really good!).  And of course the free and discounted books of the month! I nearly always get the $5 and under books each month, and occasionally I get some of the others. 

Beloved Amodeo said:

I have labored to present a solution to what I perceive as a singular problem and that is the absence of BAGD and its dead links of which there are tens of thousands. I would pay a reasonable fee to see this situation solved in some mutually agreeable fashion. 

just out of curiosity, what happens if you add BAGD to your print library catalog ?

John said:

Beloved Amodeo said:

I have labored to present a solution to what I perceive as a singular problem and that is the absence of BAGD and its dead links of which there are tens of thousands. I would pay a reasonable fee to see this situation solved in some mutually agreeable fashion. 

just out of curiosity, what happens if you add BAGD to your print library catalog ?

Since BAGD is not currently offered for sale by Logos and therefore not in the current catalogue, having BAGD in print does not allow one to incorporate it into your library. Thus this is unhappily not a solution. 

You can however, refer to your print edition whenever you encounter a reference in your digital library. This is tedious.

I think my biggest problem about people complaining about the price of Logos or the other guys is they are willing to eat out 3-5 nights a week. Take expensive vacations, buy nice cars, houses, furniture but are not willing to spend money to better study and know the Lord. I personally have spent in the 10's of thousands and have spent over 5k since March of this year. So spot being cheap when it comes to the things of the Lord, when you willing to spend more money on the things of the world.

Donnie said:

ReformedDoc said:

I think my biggest problem about people complaining about the price of Logos or the other guys is they are willing to eat out 3-5 nights a week. Take expensive vacations, buy nice cars, houses, furniture but are not willing to spend money to better study and know the Lord. I personally have spent in the 10's of thousands and have spent over 5k since March of this year. So spot being cheap when it comes to the things of the Lord, when you willing to spend more money on the things of the world.

Because we always make time (or money) for what's really important to us. 

People think that because Logos sells Bibles and Bible study material that they should do so as a ministry. That's like telling Christianbook.com or your local Christian bookstore that they need to sell their books at cost. That's a sure way to go out of business. 

And as I mentioned before, they do offer some free packages that would provide a wealth of material for your average Christian. 

I'm biting my lip...I don't think any of the respondents to Mark Ward have complained about Logos prices, so you both are barking up the wrong tree. What I and Graham were pointing out is that in order to address the BAGD links issue properly, Logos needs to sell for good money the second edition, which they have in the past, and tag all the many thousands of dead links appropriately.

DMB said:

Beloved Amodeo said:

I'm biting my lip...I don't think any of the respondents to Mark Ward have complained about Logos prices, so you both are barking up the wrong tree. 

Biting my lip, maybe I did. I can easily absorb inflated Logos prices, and my favorite meal is a Quarter Pounder. Theater tickets, maybe 1973 if I remember. And our gorgeous 22 year old VW Camper runs like a champ.

But normal people have families, help others along the road, and contribute to their great pastor. I'd not recommend premium value, when there's great alternatives. Even Logos staff have presented the software as the Cadilac of Bible apps.

Shrugging my shoulders...nostalgia may be cheap but reality is expensive. If you buy Logos you're privileged.

MJ. Smith said:

DMB said:

I can easily absorb inflated Logos prices,

I do a bit of math and realize how much the books would cost if there weren't such a culture of SALES - consider the median price of a book over time. Unfortunately, I remember things didn't go well when J. C. Penny's tried to break out of the sales culture. But I am not happy that Logos bought into the sales culture ... to its detriment IMO

I LOVE THE SALES  [8-|] [8-|] [8-|] [8-|] [8-|] [8-|] [8-|] [8-|]

I don't think it's to it's detriment. I know I have purchased a good number of books on sale that I otherwise just wouldn't have purchased. 

Whenever I hear something is too expensive, I ask compared to what? Print books? Competition? Functionality provided? My budget? All valid reasons for describing something as too expensive. Once I know my comparison I can proceed with a purchase decision.

I haven't really participated in the forums, but I've been a Logos user since about 1996. I purchased a boxed set at a computer store for about $100. It was the cheapest way for me to get into Bible Study. It was several years before I bought additional resources. Since then have been at the gold level of each release. 

Outwardly Logos appears to be a well run fiscally. I can appreciate that. I've only owned one Bible Study app, Logos, as a layman life is to short to learn multiple Bible study apps. Many apps have come and gone, but I'm thankful that I didn't have to change.

Gerald

John said:

If you were to be stranded on a deserted island for the rest of your life, no internet or communication. But you could take one laptop computer (solar powered) … your choice windows or macOS …and you could only choose 3 software packages …

what software would you install?

Lol... Definitely NOT Logos. It requires you to connect to the internet every so often or else you can't use it. 

(if that wasn't a problem in this scenario, then of course Logos!)

Donnie said:

Lol... Definitely NOT Logos. It requires you to connect to the internet every so often or else you can't use it. 

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but my Logos7 has been offline, I think 5 years or so ... working great. Libby 11 years. Their both bullet-proof (good coding). Not to be used in bank robberies, though.