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Project what a premium plugin stack really costs once you count the renewals, the per-site multipliers, and years of quiet price increases, not just the year-one sticker.
Project what a premium plugin stack really costs once you count the renewals, the per-site multipliers, and years of quiet price increases, not just the year-one sticker.
Most people price year one and stop there. This projects the full running cost across your horizon. Treat the result as a planning estimate, not a quote.
year one = plugins × average price × sites (sites count only under per-site licensing)each renewal = year one × renewal rate, compounding by the annual increase from year three ontotal cost of ownership = year one + every renewal across your horizonper site, per year = total ÷ (sites × years)Enter the standard list price, not a first-year promo. Promos end and renewals bill at full price, so a projection built on the intro price understates the real bill.
The annual increase is a steady average. Real vendors raise prices in uneven jumps, so read the total as a reasonable middle, not a precise forecast.
A lifetime price is modelled as one payment today. It assumes the vendor stays in business, which is the risk the break-even year cannot capture on its own.
The sticker is one year. Licenses renew, and the renewals never stop while you keep the plugin. A stack that looks like a few hundred dollars in year one often crosses several thousand across five years, because you pay most of that price again every year, with a small increase on top.
A vendor offers sixty percent off the first year, you anchor on that number, and then every year after you pay full price. The discount was real, but it only touched year one. That is why this tool asks for the standard price, not the promo. Enter what you will pay at renewal, because that is what you will pay for almost the entire life of the plugin.
If you run one or two sites, per-site pricing is usually fine. Once you run many sites, per-site pricing multiplies fast, and a flat unlimited license often costs less across the whole stack even though its sticker looks higher. Run both scopes through this tool and compare the per site, per year row. That number tells you which one is actually cheaper for your situation.
Sometimes. If the break-even year lands well inside how long you expect to run the plugin, the math favours lifetime. The catch it cannot see is vendor longevity. A lifetime license is only as long as the company lasts, and plenty of plugin businesses change hands or wind down. Weigh the break-even year against how stable the vendor looks before you pay years of cost up front.