Official: You Can Now Get Early Access to the Next Version of Logos
Later this year, we’ll launch the next version of Logos as a subscription. The subscription will have several tiers and eventually replace Preaching Suite, Faithlife Connect, and other Logos feature sets.
We’re living in a period of significant technological change, and only a subscription model enables us to continuously release new features and improvements as soon as they are built. Many of you don’t want to wait up to two years for improvements that could significantly benefit your Bible study. Subscription also allows us to include AI features which we can’t offer with permanent licenses due to the significant ongoing costs and rapidly changing technology.
Subscriptions aren’t required to maintain access to your existing content. They’re for those who want access to new and improved features. With Logos, your content investment is always safe, and you’ll always be able to access it for free. The subscription benefits listed above for features don’t apply to books in the same way, so we don’t foresee a time when we’ll stop selling perpetual licenses to books.
Can I get these subscriptions today?
One of the tiers of the forthcoming subscription will be called Logos Pro, and it will be aimed specifically at pastors. The full launch of these subscriptions won’t happen until later in the year, but if you own the Logos 10 Full Feature Set or subscribe to Faithlife Connect (excluding Starter and Mobile), you can get early access to Logos Pro today at a very special price.
Logos Pro includes most of the Logos 10 Full Feature Set, a library of more than 400 books to help you experience the power of Logos, and all the new features and improvements we’re developing for Logos 11. If you subscribe today, you’ll get five new features (Smart Search, Search Results Summaries, Summarization Sidebar, Sermon Assistant, and Instant Dark/Light Mode), and approximately once a quarter, we’ll add new and improved features to the subscription—not just this year, but every year.
How much will early access to Logos Pro cost?
Customers who own the Logos 10 Full Feature Set or subscribe to Faithlife Connect (excluding Starter and Mobile) can purchase the subscription for just $9.99/month. When Logos Pro launches in the fall with the other tiers of subscription, you’ll have the option to maintain your subscription to Logos Pro or switch to one of the other subscription tiers at a continued large discount.
How do I get it?
If you qualify, you can get early access to Logos Pro today at www.logos.com/early-access.
What is in Logos Pro?
We, and our beta testers, are excited by the features we’re adding to Logos Pro and later to the other subscription tiers. At the time of writing, Logos Pro includes most of the Logos 10 Full Feature Set, a library of more than 400 books to help you experience the power of Logos, and five new features described below. More features will be added regularly throughout the year and beyond.
Smart Search is a brand-new search engine built right into Logos. Just like the search engines you’re familiar with online, Smart Search doesn’t just search for the words in your query—it uses AI to search for articles that discuss the meaning of those words and then shows the most relevant place in that article in the search snippets. It makes searching your Logos library as easy as you’ve always hoped it would be.
Search Results Summaries allows you, with one click, to turn any brief search snippet into an AI-generated summary of the entire article, allowing you to better understand what each article covers, saving you time and helping you find the best content to dig into.
Summarization Sidebar enables you to use AI to summarize any article or chapter in almost any of your Logos books. The new Summarize tool can help you digest a lengthy article more quickly, simplify a complex article, or determine whether the full article is worth your time reading in full.
Sermon Assistant is an AI-powered tool that helps preachers overcome creative block and makes it easier to create materials to help the congregation better engage with the message. Currently:
- The Illustrations Generator suggests several short sermon illustrations you can use to explain doctrinal or other concepts.
- The Discussion Questions Generator takes a completed sermon and creates a series of discussion questions based on the sermon that could be used in a church bulletin or for small group, family, or personal study.
More than 400 commentaries, dictionaries, systematic theologies, journals, and other books to help you experience the distinctive power of Logos, including:
- 17 volumes of the Lexham Research Commentary series
- 10 volumes of the Spurgeon Commentary series
- 30 volumes of the Bible Study Magazine
- More than 350 additional volumes
Instant Dark/Light Mode allows you to switch between light and dark mode on desktop without requiring you to restart Logos.
And much more still to come!
That’s a lot of AI! Are all the new features going to be AI-powered?
We’re excited by the possibilities that AI—responsibly leveraged—brings to Logos, and we want to make the most of this technology. But we also want to equip you with the best tools for Bible study, using the most suitable technology for the task. So while there are plenty of AI-powered improvements in Logos Pro, and several more coming, we’ll also bring non-AI feature improvements, too.
Does AI really have a place in Bible study?
Christians have always been at the forefront of technology when it comes to accessing and understanding the Bible, whether adopting the codex in the second century or the printing press in the fifteenth. However, AI has limitations, fallibilities, and biases because it mirrors and sometimes amplifies those same weaknesses found in all human authors. That’s why Logos always lets you know when the content you’re reading is generated by AI. In addition, Logos’s AI tools are backed by your Logos library and designed to ensure AI is used responsibly and in a way appropriate for Bible study.
I don’t own the Logos 10 Full Feature Set. When can I subscribe to Logos Pro?
If you don’t own the Logos 10 Full Feature Set, you’ll be able to subscribe later in the year at a higher price. Or, you could purchase the Full Feature Upgrade now and immediately become eligible to subscribe at the discounted price.
Is early access to Logos Pro a beta program?
No. Each feature is beta-tested before it becomes part of Logos Pro. The purpose of early access is not for testing—it’s so that you can enjoy these new and improved features without waiting for the major release in the fall.
Can I cancel at any time?
Yes. Just visit https://www.logos.com/account/subscriptions.
Where does this leave subscriptions like Faithlife Connect and Preaching Suite?
The subscription that will launch later in the year will replace Faithlife Connect and Preaching Suite. The tier we're launching today, Logos Pro, includes exclusive new features, but there are a few tools and datasets in Connect and Preaching Suite that aren’t in Logos Pro but will be in another tier of the subscription. Most of the books in Logos Pro are different from those included in the existing subscriptions.
If you subscribe to those products, we’ll contact you later in the year to explain how you can painlessly switch to the new subscription. Until then, we recommend keeping your existing subscription to ensure you don’t lose any perks, features, or books. In the meantime, you could add Logos Pro to your existing subscription if you’re eligible.
Will I be forced to subscribe to Logos in the future? What about all the books I’ve already bought?
No one will be forced to subscribe to Logos to retain access to their existing content. You will always be able to access all the books you’ve purchased without further payment. Your books are your books. Subscriptions are for those who want access to the latest improvements, which aim to help you uncover deeper insights in less time.
Does this mean Logos will be subscription-only? Will I be able to buy Logos in the future?
Logos subscriptions aren’t new. More than ten thousand people have been subscribing to Logos for nearly a decade. But we’re now embracing subscription for our software because doing so has five distinct advantages.
- New users can have much lower upfront costs and try Logos with much less commitment.
- It allows us to continuously release new features and improvements as soon as they are built, rather than holding them back for a major release every two years. That’s especially important at a time of rapid technological change.
- It allows us to include features like AI, which we can’t offer permanent licenses to because of the significant ongoing costs.
- It’s a sustainable way of ensuring we can keep delivering improvements for decades to come.
- Releasing early and often significantly shortens the feedback loop, enabling us to continually tweak our improvements to ensure they’re really solving the most important things for all our customers.
With books, it’s different. The content of books isn’t continually improved—once they’re published, they’re done. And while we bear small ongoing costs to allow you to download and interact with your books, those costs are orders of magnitude lower than that of AI and similar services. Therefore, you will still be able to buy permanent access to Logos libraries and any other books from our catalog. In the future, we may add rental options for those who want it, but we don’t foresee a time when we’ll stop selling perpetual licenses to books.
We’re still thinking through what that means for purchasable feature sets, and we’d value your feedback on whether the option to purchase would be important to you, knowing that you’d miss out on all the AI and cloud-backed features along with regular updates.
We’re excited about the benefits of a Logos subscription. We’re already building new features and improvements that will be released in the coming months, and we can’t wait to share them with early access customers soon and the rest of our users in the fall.
If you’re eligible and want to subscribe, visit www.logos.com/early-access.
Comments
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Will see more tweaks and improvements to the AI search? It's yet to surpass precise search in my experience so I'm not currently motivated to subscribe.
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:
More than 400 commentaries, dictionaries, systematic theologies, journals, and other books to help you experience the distinctive power of Logos, including:
- 17 volumes of the Lexham Research Commentary series
- 10 volumes of the Spurgeon Commentary series
- 30 volumes of the Bible Study Magazine
- More than 350 additional volumes
Can we get the book list in a fully separate page? The popup is cramped and uncomfortable to navigate.
Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Instant Dark/Light Mode allows you to switch between light and dark mode on desktop without requiring you to restart Logos.
I don't understand why this has to be in a subscription plan, but ok.
Will there be an annual payment option for the Logos Pro subscription?
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Yasmin Stephen said:
Will there be an annual payment option for the Logos Pro subscription?
[Y][Y] This is my question! Because your target audience (pastors) may have professional expense accounts that are easier to reimburse 1x a year.
also, wishing I could get "chapter summaries" before my Connect subscription renews in November. (since I had a similar feature BACK in Libronix Series X)
Making Disciples! Logos Ecosystem = LogosMax on Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Win11), Android app on tablet, FSB on iPhone & iPad mini, Proclaim (Proclaim Remote on Fire Tablet).
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When the product fully releases in the future, will we be able to subscribe annually or only monthly?
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Morgan said:
Will see more tweaks and improvements to the AI search? It's yet to surpass precise search in my experience so I'm not currently motivated to subscribe.
We'll be bringing improvements to many early access features over the next several months and beyond, as well as adding new features. I can't make specific promises, but we intend to invest in the areas that our users tell us will be the most valuable, and we're looking forward to hearing more about what those things are.
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Yasmin Stephen said:
Will there be an annual payment option for the Logos Pro subscription?
Very likely, yes, but probably not during the early access period.
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Hi, Mark. I read books. I highlight books. I write a few notes. I want no new features.
My question: Every year I buy NEW books. I want them to work without a monthly subscription......How do I do this in the new subscription milieu? Will I have to subscribe?
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Looks like Logos is following after Microsoft and eventually everyone will have to move to Logos subscription plan. Or will there still be a 2 yr or 3 yr or whatever plan to update Logos non-subscription as it is now?
And I would hope Logos considers annual payment for the subscription plan with a discount for the money being up front instead of monthly.
xn = Christan man=man -- Acts 11:26 "....and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch".
Barney Fife is my hero! He only uses an abacus with 14 rows!
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scooter said:
Hi, Mark. I read books. I highlight books. I write a few notes. I want no new features.
My question: Every year I buy NEW books. I want them to work without a monthly subscription......How do I do this in the new subscription milieu? Will I have to subscribe?
Does this help:
Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Subscriptions aren’t required to maintain access to your existing content. They’re for those who want access to new and improved features. With Logos, your content investment is always safe, and you’ll always be able to access it for free. The subscription benefits listed above for features don’t apply to books in the same way, so we don’t foresee a time when we’ll stop selling perpetual licenses to books.
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David Thomas said:Yasmin Stephen said:
Will there be an annual payment option for the Logos Pro subscription?
This is my question! Because your target audience (pastors) may have professional expense accounts that are easier to reimburse 1x a year.also, wishing I could get "chapter summaries" before my Connect subscription renews in November. (since I had a similar feature BACK in Libronix Series X)
Agreed. I am hoping an Annual plan (which is usually cheaper than monthly) is an option.
Now I just need to figure out how my FL Connect Essentials will migrate into this
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xnman said:
Looks like Logos is following after Microsoft and eventually everyone will have to move to Logos subscription plan. Or will there still be a 2 yr or 3 yr or whatever plan to update Logos non-subscription as it is now?
It's easy to miss it, but in my post I said:
Mark Barnes said:We’re still thinking through what that means for purchasable feature sets, and we’d value your feedback on whether the option to purchase would be important to you, knowing that you’d miss out on all the AI and cloud-backed features along with regular updates.
With regard to your other question:
xnman said:And I would hope Logos considers annual payment for the subscription plan with a discount for the money being up front instead of monthly.
Yes, we hope to offer annual subscriptions at a discount and maybe even biannual ones at a greater discount. But that's unlikely to be during the early access period. We've got lots to add to Logos Pro and we want users to be clear about what they're getting before asking them to commit to a long period.
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Also.... will Logos Pro work on mobile?
xn = Christan man=man -- Acts 11:26 "....and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch".
Barney Fife is my hero! He only uses an abacus with 14 rows!
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Mark
I'll most likely have to wait for someone to reach out but I just renewed my Faithlife Connect Essentials - No library (formerly Logos Now) in February. I assume the cost from that will be migrated into the new plan?
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:
Smart Search is a brand-new search engine built right into Logos. Just like the search engines you’re familiar with online, Smart Search doesn’t just search for the words in your query—it uses AI to search for articles that discuss the meaning of those words and then shows the most relevant place in that article in the search snippets. It makes searching your Logos library as easy as you’ve always hoped it would be.
Search Results Summaries allows you, with one click, to turn any brief search snippet into an AI-generated summary of the entire article, allowing you to better understand what each article covers, saving you time and helping you find the best content to dig into.
Summarization Sidebar enables you to use AI to summarize any article or chapter in almost any of your Logos books. The new Summarize tool can help you digest a lengthy article more quickly, simplify a complex article, or determine whether the full article is worth your time reading in full.
Sermon Assistant is an AI-powered tool that helps preachers overcome creative block and makes it easier to create materials to help the congregation better engage with the message
Are there tutorials on these?
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xnman said:
Also.... will Logos Pro work on mobile?
Yes. All these features are cross-platform (desktop, web, and mobile) with the following exceptions:
- Smart Search and Search Results summaries are coming to mobile in v33.
- Sermon Assistant is not available on phones or Android. It is available on the iPad app.
- Instant dark mode is already available on mobile, but won't be available on the web app.
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Mattillo said:
I'll most likely have to wait for someone to reach out but I just renewed my Faithlife Connect Essentials - No library (formerly Logos Now) in February. I assume the cost from that will be migrated into the new plan?
Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Where does this leave subscriptions like Faithlife Connect and Preaching Suite?
The subscription that will launch later in the year will replace Faithlife Connect and Preaching Suite. The tier we're launching today, Logos Pro, includes exclusive new features, but there are a few tools and datasets in Connect and Preaching Suite that aren’t in Logos Pro but will be in another tier of the subscription. Most of the books in Logos Pro are different from those included in the existing subscriptions.
If you subscribe to those products, we’ll contact you later in the year to explain how you can painlessly switch to the new subscription. Until then, we recommend keeping your existing subscription to ensure you don’t lose any perks, features, or books. In the meantime, you could add Logos Pro to your existing subscription if you’re eligible.
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Mark said:
Are there tutorials on these?
I should have forum posts on each of these features out by the end of the day. There are articles on the support site already. You can use this link to jump to them: https://support.logos.com/hc/en-us/articles/21081346488205-What-s-included-with-early-access-to-Logos-Pro
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Thanks Mark for your work and time. You've answered my questions. I'm a thinking that the subscription to Logos Pro will be cheaper than paying for the annual updates. So that looks like for the first time in my life, I'll have a subscription.... [8-|]
xn = Christan man=man -- Acts 11:26 "....and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch".
Barney Fife is my hero! He only uses an abacus with 14 rows!
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Mattillo said:
I'll most likely have to wait for someone to reach out but I just renewed my Faithlife Connect Essentials - No library (formerly Logos Now) in February. I assume the cost from that will be migrated into the new plan?
Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Where does this leave subscriptions like Faithlife Connect and Preaching Suite?
The subscription that will launch later in the year will replace Faithlife Connect and Preaching Suite. The tier we're launching today, Logos Pro, includes exclusive new features, but there are a few tools and datasets in Connect and Preaching Suite that aren’t in Logos Pro but will be in another tier of the subscription. Most of the books in Logos Pro are different from those included in the existing subscriptions.
If you subscribe to those products, we’ll contact you later in the year to explain how you can painlessly switch to the new subscription. Until then, we recommend keeping your existing subscription to ensure you don’t lose any perks, features, or books. In the meantime, you could add Logos Pro to your existing subscription if you’re eligible.
Thanks Mark. I did read that but was looking for more... I understand it is new and that I'll have to wait. I wish old users like me, who have been subscribing for years, wouldn't have to wait that long though.
If I may add one suggestion, could you make the courses included a Netflix style where we could check out a course at a time? Similar to Connect, we can rent a course for a period of time. Looking over the included book list, I own a large majority of what is provided, which I'm guessing many in the forums do as well so the books included doesn't offer much for me. Then again, I'm guessing most of the cost is going towards AI like you mentioned.
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Mark said:
Are there tutorials on these?
I should have forum posts on each of these features out by the end of the day. There are articles on the support site already. You can use this link to jump to them: https://support.logos.com/hc/en-us/articles/21081346488205-What-s-included-with-early-access-to-Logos-Pro
Perfect! Thanks.
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Mark said:
Are there tutorials on these?
I should have forum posts on each of these features out by the end of the day. There are articles on the support site already. You can use this link to jump to them: https://support.logos.com/hc/en-us/articles/21081346488205-What-s-included-with-early-access-to-Logos-Pro
Will those posts be in General or do you plan to make a new Logos Pro Forum?
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Thanks for the explanation Mark. I have 2 questions:
1) If someone does not subscribe to Early Access now for $9.99, when do they lose the early access features that they may have gotten during the beta test period (which still work as of today)? Or do they keep the features until fall, but the $9.99 price for Logos Pro is higher in the fall if someone did not take advantage of the early access offer?
2) Do you envision that "Logos Pro" will be the highest tier, and that other tiers introduced will be less expensive/less features than Logos Pro? That is, that there will not be a tier in the fall that offers features that Logos Pro does not?
As a comment - when you pondered that there may or may not be a way to purchase features instead of subscription, I would vote no - WAY too confusing. I can't see that working equitably and without confusion in the many scenarios and for the many customers Logos would be faced with.
There could be side effects too, for Logos - what if some feature gets purchased by more people than Logos envisioned, then the monthly income trail is gone for that - defeating the reason for going to subscription in the first place, for that future set. In that case, how do updates get done, or does Logos have to "borrow" funds meant for other features? I am sure there are MANY scenarios that would only be solved by more complexity and confusion.
Logos is moving to subscription, as many others have. Just bite the bullet and do it - it's clean and easy to understand, and tiers will make it affordable/people can easily weigh cost/benefit for their own situation. Also, my "vote" is really based on worries about Logos impact - difficulty in communication of the plan, shortfalls in expected revenue based on the purchase/subscription mix, etc. If Logos is going to do this, I want it to be successful for them. I am comfortable with subscription models, especially with tiers for people to choose from.
My .02!
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Don Awalt said:
1) If someone does not subscribe to Early Access now for $9.99, when do they lose the early access features that they may have gotten during the beta test period (which still work as of today)? Or do they keep the features until fall, but the $9.99 price for Logos Pro is higher in the fall if someone did not take advantage of the early access offer?
Oops just saw the other thread from Ali - March 11 early access/beta ends.
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Mattillo said:
Thanks Mark. I did read that but was looking for more... I understand it is new and that I'll have to wait. I wish old users like me, who have been subscribing for years, wouldn't have to wait that long though.
Understood, and I'm sorry about that. We have about a dozen different subscriptions, perhaps more. And there's quite a lot of complexity in putting a plan together to consolidate that down to a single multi-tiered subscription whilst taking account of individual needs. So we had to choose between disappointing some people who would have to wait, or making everyone wait.
Mattillo said:If I may add one suggestion, could you make the courses included a Netflix style where we could check out a course at a time? Similar to Connect, we can rent a course for a period of time. Looking over the included book list, I own a large majority of what is provided, which I'm guessing many in the forums do as well so the books included doesn't offer much for me. Then again, I'm guessing most of the cost is going towards AI like you mentioned.
We'll be adding to Logos Pro throughout the year, and that might include adding some perks. Mobile Ed courses are definitely something we can consider (other suggestions as to perks are also welcome).
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Mattillo said:
Will those posts be in General or do you plan to make a new Logos Pro Forum?
Good question. I'll probably put them in Desktop.
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Don Awalt said:
1) If someone does not subscribe to Early Access now for $9.99, when do they lose the early access features that they may have gotten during the beta test period (which still work as of today)? Or do they keep the features until fall, but the $9.99 price for Logos Pro is higher in the fall if someone did not take advantage of the early access offer?
As you saw elsewhere, the beta license will expire on Monday.
Don Awalt said:2) Do you envision that "Logos Pro" will be the highest tier, and that other tiers introduced will be less expensive/less features than Logos Pro? That is, that there will not be a tier in the fall that offers features that Logos Pro does not?
Our plans aren't finalized, but it's likely that Logos Pro will be the third of four tiers – so yes, there is likely to be a tier which includes things Logos Pro doesn't. But the subscriptions in the fall aren't just for existing customers, they're for everyone. So it's possible that you'll already own many of the things in the higher tier and the difference between Logos Pro and the top tier might be less for you than it would be for a new customer.
Thanks for your other comments!
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This is great! Just signed up!
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:
only a subscription model enables us to continuously release new features and improvements as soon as they are built….Subscription also allows us to include AI features which we can’t offer with permanent licenses due to the significant ongoing costs and rapidly changing technology.
Does this mean Logos will be subscription-only? Will I be able to buy Logos in the future?
Logos subscriptions aren’t new. More than ten thousand people have been subscribing to Logos for nearly a decade. But we’re now embracing subscription for our software because doing so has five distinct advantages.
It seems that in the future, feature sets are not going to be available for outright purchase, but only as a subscription model. That is totally fine. Businesses have a right to change.
But what about people who have always bought full feature sets? Will the subscription pricing reflect the price of only the incremental features? Doing this incremental pricing 10 years/20 years down the line is not going to be easy. What I see happening eventually is older features are tweaked, renamed, and become part of subscription model, so Logos will end up double-dipping (and Seinfeld fan?) into our pockets for features that we have already purchased.
Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Subscriptions aren’t required to maintain access to your existing content. They’re for those who want access to new and improved features.
Logos Pro includes most of the Logos 10 Full Feature Set, a library of more than 400 books to help you experience the power of Logos, and all the new features and improvements we’re developing for Logos 11.
Why are we still continuing to mix resources and features?
I have most of the resources in the list (except for journals). The $9.99 price, by definition, includes the cost of renting resources included in the plan. Why do I need to pay for the resources I have already bought. This is such an obvious flaw in the plan. The only explanation I have is that this plan is meant to double-dip into our pockets again, this time for resources we have already purchased (my previous point was about double-dipping for features we have already purchased).
Why can’t we have a pricing plan purely for the features?
Mark Barnes (Logos) said:No one will be forced to subscribe to Logos to retain access to their existing content. You will always be able to access all the books you’ve purchased without further payment. Your books are your books. Subscriptions are for those who want access to the latest improvements, which aim to help you uncover deeper insights in less time.
Not true. Just see my response above.
I believe in a Win-Win-Win God.
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1Cor10 31 said:
It seems that in the future, feature sets are not going to be available for outright purchase, but only as a subscription model. That is totally fine. Businesses have a right to change.
But what about people who have always bought full feature sets? Will the subscription pricing reflect the price of only the incremental features? Doing this incremental pricing 10 years/20 years down the line is not going to be easy. What I see happening eventually is older features are tweaked, renamed, and become part of subscription model, so Logos will end up double-dipping (and Seinfeld fan?) into our pockets for features that we have already purchased.
This is a difficult problem to solve, and it's something we're actively working on. We won't be offering dynamic pricing on subscriptions, but we will be offering a healthy discount to existing customers, especially those who have always bought full feature sets.
1Cor10 31 said:The $9.99 price, by definition, includes the cost of renting resources included in the plan.
Yes, but only to a point. We're not including our most expensive books. We recognize that many full-feature set owners will already own many of these books, and we've taken that into consideration when setting this discounted price for that group.
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:
Yes, but only to a point. We're not including our most expensive books. We recognize that many full-feature set owners will already own many of these books, and we've taken that into consideration when setting this discounted price for that group.
This is excellent news! Even though I subscribe, I usually purchased the sets in the event I wanted to leave.
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Just stay in business for a few more decades at least; whatever that means you need to do!
I could probably narrow down my tech "requirements" to a few: Overcast for podcast and Things for tasks, but I could get by if they folded though I'd miss Things the most.
More necessary, having used Macs since 2003 I can’t imagine using anything else. And since 2014, I have used Logos and can’t imagine using anything else (esp considering how much money [credit card payments] I have given y'all during that time). I don’t know what the future of my Christianity and my ministry looks like, but I hope that a Mac with Logos in the Dock will be a staple for the rest of my life. I doubt Apple and its 2.8 trillion will disappear, but I also hope that Logos will do whatever you have to do to thrive (for our sake and also for your employees).
preachertony.com — appletech.tips — facebook.com/tonywalker23 — twitter.com/tonywalker23 — youtube.com/tonywalker23
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:scooter said:
Hi, Mark. I read books. I highlight books. I write a few notes. I want no new features.
My question: Every year I buy NEW books. I want them to work without a monthly subscription......How do I do this in the new subscription milieu? Will I have to subscribe?
Does this help:
Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Subscriptions aren’t required to maintain access to your existing content. They’re for those who want access to new and improved features. With Logos, your content investment is always safe, and you’ll always be able to access it for free. The subscription benefits listed above for features don’t apply to books in the same way, so we don’t foresee a time when we’ll stop selling perpetual licenses to books.
Thanks for your reply, Mark.
I wonder if there will come a time wherein I cannot buy book Y because I don't have the subscriptional features to read it. Therefore, I have to get a subscription. I am retired. A monthly payment for a subscription is a downer.
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Mark,Mark Barnes (Logos) said:The subscription that will launch later in the year will replace Faithlife Connect and Preaching Suite. The tier we're launching today, Logos Pro, includes exclusive new features, but there are a few tools and datasets in Connect and Preaching Suite that aren’t in Logos Pro but will be in another tier of the subscription. Most of the books in Logos Pro are different from those included in the existing subscriptions.
I have purchased a full year of Faithlife Connect. My subscription sunsets in December. I insist that I receive full value on the dollar I have entrusted to Logos Bible Study.
I am a long time early adopter and expect to cross this bridge to the future as I customarily do. Don't poison good faith by switching bait and running away with the value I have paid for in advance. In other words I expect to see the features and perks I've bought to continue through December 2024.
Meanwhile, Jesus kept on growing wiser and more mature, and in favor with God and his fellow man.
International Standard Version. (2011). (Lk 2:52). Yorba Linda, CA: ISV Foundation.
MacBook Pro MacOS Sequoia 15.3 1TB SSD
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Tony Walker said:
Just stay in business for a few more decades at least; whatever that means you need to do!
Amen, brother! We've been in business for more than thirty years, and we have every intention of being here for the next thirty years and more.
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scooter said:
I wonder if there will come a time wherein I cannot buy book Y because I don't have the subscriptional features to read it.
Maybe in 2050, they'll invent 3D interactive blockchain books that require a subscription. But that shouldn't happen for any ordinary book. We deliver software updates every six weeks that will ensure compatibility with OS updates and any tweaks to our book format. We want our free software to be compatible with every book we sell.
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Beloved Amodeo said:
I am a long time early adopter and expect to cross this bridge to the future as I customarily do. Don't poison good faith by switching bait and running away with the value I have paid for in advance. In other words I expect to see the features and perks I've bought to continue through December 2024.
Understood. We're very conscious of customers like you, and we want to do the right thing for you.
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:scooter said:
I wonder if there will come a time wherein I cannot buy book Y because I don't have the subscriptional features to read it.
Maybe in 2050, they'll invent 3D interactive blockchain books that require a subscription. But that shouldn't happen for any ordinary book. We deliver software updates every six weeks that will ensure compatibility with OS updates and any tweaks to our book format. We want our free software to be compatible with every book we sell.
Appreciate your reply, Mark.
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Not being negative, just tea leaf reading, we'd be smart to purchase any needed features before L11, presuming a subscription policy that becomes the feature-vehicle, and don't need a subscription..
Which kind of seals the future (sale) deal on a good-size L10 package. I assume.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:We're very conscious of customers like you, and we want to do the right thing for you.
Hi Mark,
I appreciate that assurance. Like several other users on this thread, I am a long-time Logos user (from the days of Libronix) and an early adopter of subscriptions. My first subscription was to the "Logos Now" when it came out. Then, because I already had a large library, I moved to "Faithlife Connect Essentials - No library (formerly Logos Now) - Annual" as soon as it was available. I now have an even larger library, so after subscribing to "Logos Pro (early access)" today, only 106 books were downloaded to my library out of the ~400 books included in the Logos Pro (early access) subscription.
I am much more interested in the features of Logos Pro than I am the books it includes (I purchase what I need when I need it, or what's useful when it goes on sale), so I am interested in a features subscription (at a lower price) that does not include books, or at least has dynamic pricing considerations. I am also interested in a discounted annual subscription.
I think you said earlier in this thread that Faithlife Connect subscribers will be contacted with Logos Pro subscription options. I look forward to learning more about those options. In the mean time I will continue to use (and beta test) the early access features of Logos Pro.
Thank you for continuing to advance the usefulness of Logos Bible Software, and partnering with users in its development.
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I think going SaaS was inevitable and the new AI features are very cool. I was an early adopter of Logos Now, and so I don't think things will change much for me. But when Logos Now first came out, subscribers could get a pretty steep discount on the full feature set. I didn't ever do it, and that discount did not continue with Logos 10, so buying a perpetual license to the full Logos 10 feature set would cost me about $600. When you send out the email to existing subscribers, I hope that you can consider including a coupon code to buy the full feature set at a discount so that we can keep the Logos 10 features as a baseline in the future. It would make me feel better to know that I was not worse off for jumping on the subscription when it first came out, especially since it was pitched at the time as a way of helping keep Logos strong for years to come.
Using Logos as a pastor, seminary professor, and Tyndale author
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Mark, I subscribed! I notice the About Box still says "Verbum Early Access". Should it say Logos Pro? Does it need a restart?
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As long as the ability to purchase features is still available, I guess we’ll be fine. I understand the AI subscription, but other features don’t need AI or cloud to work.
I have “connect no library” so how is that going to work? I don’t need to pay for a subscription that includes books I already own.
DAL
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Justin Gatlin said:
I hope that you can consider including a coupon code to buy the full feature set at a discount so that we can keep the Logos 10 features as a baseline in the future
We've recently been discussing something similar to this. It's good to hear that – for some people at least – both a subscription and a discounted purchase would be valuable.
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Don Awalt said:
Mark, I subscribed! I notice the About Box still says "Verbum Early Access". Should it say Logos Pro? Does it need a restart?
In beta, we had "Logos Early Access", because we hadn't settled on the final name of "Logos Pro". We later changed the About screen to "Logos Pro (early access)", but that change didn't quite make it into v32. You'll see the updated language in v33.
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Just wanted to get some direct clarity on this announcement.....
So, is the subscription model the only way to access new features going forward? New features will no longer be released as part of new packages and or upgrades?Also, not sure that the only way to release new features without waiting two years is only possible via subsciption.... That sounds like a business model decision, not a definitive fact that new features could not be released whether as app updates or purchasable add-ons....
Logos 10 - OpenSuse Tumbleweed, Windows 11, Android 16 & Android 14
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DAL said:
As long as the ability to purchase features is still available, I guess we’ll be fine. I understand the AI subscription, but other features don’t need AI or cloud to work.
Frank Sauer said:So, is the subscription model the only way to access new features going forward? New features will no longer be released as part of new packages and or upgrades?
The last part of my post says:
Mark Barnes (Logos) said:Does this mean Logos will be subscription-only? Will I be able to buy Logos in the future?
Logos subscriptions aren’t new. More than ten thousand people have been subscribing to Logos for nearly a decade. But we’re now embracing subscription for our software because doing so has five distinct advantages.
- New users can have much lower upfront costs and try Logos with much less commitment.
- It allows us to continuously release new features and improvements as soon as they are built, rather than holding them back for a major release every two years. That’s especially important at a time of rapid technological change.
- It allows us to include features like AI, which we can’t offer permanent licenses to because of the significant ongoing costs.
- It’s a sustainable way of ensuring we can keep delivering improvements for decades to come.
- Releasing early and often significantly shortens the feedback loop, enabling us to continually tweak our improvements to ensure they’re really solving the most important things for all our customers.
With books, it’s different. The content of books isn’t continually improved—once they’re published, they’re done. And while we bear small ongoing costs to allow you to download and interact with your books, those costs are orders of magnitude lower than that of AI and similar services. Therefore, you will still be able to buy permanent access to Logos libraries and any other books from our catalog. In the future, we may add rental options for those who want it, but we don’t foresee a time when we’ll stop selling perpetual licenses to books.
We’re still thinking through what that means for purchasable feature sets, and we’d value your feedback on whether the option to purchase would be important to you, knowing that you’d miss out on all the AI and cloud-backed features along with regular updates.
Does that answer your questions?
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DAL said:
I have “connect no library” so how is that going to work? I don’t need to pay for a subscription that includes books I already own.
We won't have dynamic pricing on the subscription, but we will be offering generous discounts to people with existing books and features. We know that many of the included books are widely owned by people with existing base packages, and we've priced this accordingly.
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Mark Barnes (Logos) said:DAL said:
I have “connect no library” so how is that going to work? I don’t need to pay for a subscription that includes books I already own.
We won't have dynamic pricing on the subscription, but we will be offering generous discounts to people with existing books and features. We know that many of the included books are widely owned by people with existing base packages, and we've priced this accordingly.
I'm sorry, Mark, I don't get the logic. Could you please elaborate? What is it that you cannot accomplish without including books in the package? Well, we know that the more books you add, the more the pricing. You can bring the price down by eliminating all the books in the package.
I don't need to be paying a monthly rental for resources I already own. This is pure double-dipping into my pocket.
I believe in a Win-Win-Win God.
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I am really disappointed to hear that Logos is moving its features to subscription-only. Now that I have an updated app across all of my devices, I don't see myself subscribing to Logos Pro.
I'll still buy some Logos books that I need (as long as journals, etc, can be direct-purchased. If I ever have to subscribe, I'll just go direct to Galaxie instead).
I subscribed to Logos Now early on, first monthly, then annually. I was there when Logos Now silently made the price increase, then I went through the catastrophe of the migration to Faithlife Connect. For a while, I stayed on Faithlife Connect (No Resources).
After my dad passed away and I needed to scale back my subscriptions at the time, I saved up enough money to direct-purchase a Logos Full Feature Set so I could own the features and drop Faithlife Connect. I'd then put aside money to save for a Logos Full Feature Set if I wanted the new features, otherwise if I didn't, at least I knew I wouldn't be out any extra money.
I'm not against Logos offering a subscription option like a "Logos Now" that gives users rolling releases to new features quicker, and subscriptions are a useful option for covering development costs.
However, completely eliminating a direct-purchase route to own the features in Logos is not a great move. I've "virtually chatted" with a lot of Bible software users in general over the past year, and the biggest thing I've heard is they don't want to go subscription-only for features. They like the option to direct purchase and own their software (so do I).
There are a few reasons why I hope Logos seriously reconsiders going subscription-only and make it an option, but not a replacement:
- Logos customers (including myself) have been "burned" here more than once. We were "burned" with silent Logos Now price increases and really "burned" with Connect (until Logos made it right). I'm really leery about subscriptions when it comes to Logos, given the track record.
- While my financial situation has changed to where I can afford pretty much any subscription I'd want at the moment, I've been through a time when I needed to make major scalebacks of subscriptions due to changes in my finances. If I were to pay out monthly for something, I'd rather put a Feature Set on a payment plan and know that once it's paid off, I own it, or I'd rather set aside money in savings to direct-purchase and own it. I'd like to be in the driver's seat when I buy new upgrades to software apps. If I want to be on the "cutting edge" and subscribe for "early access", I'd have that option, but if I wanted to wait and direct-purchase the software later on and own it and wait and own it after other users have "battle tested" it, I could.
- I've noticed my life is a LOT simpler with fewer subscriptions in it. I haven't eliminated all of my subscriptions, but I've cut out most of my software subscriptions and moved my subscriptions solely to a handful of value-added areas in my life. In doing so, I've been able to boost my contributions to charity, boost my savings, and "live simpler" without the stress of starting at a bunch of extra monthly bills and subscriptions.
That's my two cents, ten cents, or dollar's worth of advice. Thanks again for listening.
Dr. Nathan Parker
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Frank Sauer said:
Also, not sure that the only way to release new features without waiting two years is only possible via subsciption.... That sounds like a business model decision, not a definitive fact that new features could not be released whether as app updates or purchasable add-ons....
That's true. We could release some new features without a subscription at any pace we want (not including AI features, of course). But it's very hard to add a new feature and then deliver multiple improvements to it over several months without a subscription model. Without a subscription model, we'd need to:
- Wait until all the improvements are added before we sell the feature. (But if users aren't using it, we won't know which features are most beneficial. And waiting is what we're trying to avoid.)
- Or we could price in all the possible future improvements when we launch the feature and deliver the improvements to everyone who bought the feature. (But then what are users actually buying—a feature or a promise of a better feature? And what if there isn't any need for improvements? Or what if there need to be more improvements than we priced in?)
- Or we sell the feature for $10, and then the next release adds improvements and raises the price to $15. (But that punishes early adopters and makes our code incredibly complex. We've also got to make sure that any related features work with the $10, $15, and $20 versions, which makes testing much more expensive.)
It's that ability to add new features and then iterate and improve on them that subscription gains us. And we've had LOTS of feedback from users along the lines of, "I don't want any more features; I just want you to improve the ones I already have." Subscription will help us to do that.
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