Legacy Apps Face Dramatic Price Increases, Challenging Longtime User Loyalty

Image: Ars Technica · Source

Popular apps like Evernote and Inkdrop have sharply increased subscription prices, testing loyal users' willingness to pay and reflecting developers' strategies to grow revenue amid stagnant new user growth.

The pricing models of several established software apps have undergone significant changes in recent years, with longstanding loyal users experiencing substantial subscription fee increases. These hikes reflect developers’ efforts to monetize mature user bases in the face of plateauing new registrations and rising costs.

One notable example is Evernote, the widely used note-taking application. After being acquired by Bending Spoons in 2023, Evernote’s subscription prices more than doubled. The highest tier shifted from $130 per year to $250, over 3.3 times the price of its most premium tier in 2023 and about 10 times what it cost annually from 2008 to 2016. Despite concerns that such hikes might alienate users, Bending Spoons conducted extensive testing—launching over 200 experiments across pricing, user experience, and feature allocation—to gauge tolerance levels.

Bending Spoons emphasized Evernote’s committed user base, citing an average customer tenure of 7.2 years at acquisition and a wealth of personalized notes and workflows stored by users. The company leveraged subscription pricing adjustments paired with new or unlocked features, leading to a reported 2.5x increase in average revenue per active user by 2025 and record profitability by late 2024. However, these changes included the imposition of usage limits to encourage conversions—half of all new subscriptions in 2025 were reportedly triggered by users hitting feature caps.

Inkdrop, a Markdown note-taking app, serves as another example. In 2024, its subscription price doubled from $5 to $10 monthly, and from $50 to $100 annually, marking its first price change in seven years. The developer publicly stated an intentional strategy to focus on a smaller, highly dedicated user base rather than expanding broad adoption, prioritizing product quality and simplicity over growth.

These pricing shifts highlight a common challenge for mature apps: balancing the need for sustainable revenue to support ongoing development and rising operational costs against the expectations and loyalty of longtime customers, many of whom were initially attracted by low entry prices and stable features.

While developers have introduced new features to justify higher prices, many users accustomed to original functionality may find doubling or more in fees difficult to accept. Potential mitigations include grandfathered pricing tiers, exclusive perks for long-term subscribers, more varied subscription options to accommodate different usage patterns, or advanced features offered as optional add-ons.

Ultimately, when price hikes become inevitable, clear communication and thoughtful structuring can help maintain user trust. At the same time, such changes prompt customers to reassess whether their favored apps remain the best value given evolving alternatives. The experiences of Evernote and Inkdrop illustrate the complex dynamics legacy software providers face amid shifting market and user base realities.