I’m quite new in the community. I’ve been working in an IOT project for almost one year (hardware is in the second version now, pilot machine is working quite well in two clients). In the meantime, I’ve been studying and researching for a potential partner that would manage the app side. I guess Blynk is a strong candidate for my pilot project since the purpose of the new platform is exactly that, enable us to focus on the development and robustness of our products. Around 1 year ago, I developed the pilot app in the Legacy version (It is still working like a charm). However, I’m planning now to start moving to a more professional environment (which is the key objective of the new Blynk) and I fully understand that Legacy is not for commercial purposes… so people in the forum sometimes do not understand that and I see a lot of claims about that (Legacy vs Blynk 2.0). Therefore, I think @Pavel and other co-founders must re-think about flexibility in the plans. You have a very nice solution for IOT projects. You are moving from legacy (DIY approach) to New Blynk (Commecial approach). In my eyes, you are missing those makers that want to become startups from old Legacy. My situation is not different. I have a project and I want to make it commercial. However, I do not want to apply for a PRO plan rigth in the beginning. For me, (and I’m sure that for lots of new bussiness and startup’s, etc.) the best would be if you could offer a BETTER scalability approach that would cover these new business opportunities. I want to pay, and you deserv to receive for this great solution that you are offering, also for all the efforts that you are making to make it real. But please, think about the new businesses. If my project is well accepted in the market, I would not think twice to go for expansion and definetly pay more for that. It could be something in-between the Plus and PRO plans or even charge by number of activated devices? Anyway, just a feedback from a new potential Blynk Customer!
This topic/request has been made by many of us. And has been discussed plenty of time. But we have not got any particular answer!! They may or may not change the strategy they have planned.
I agree @Hugo-BR and there was a good reply from @PeteKnight in another thread along similar lines.
I think is great that people are discussing and debating the pricing plans. The great thing about a platform as flexible as Blynk is everyone wants it for something different.
The reality is that users need to pay a subscription for a cloud service. The trick is getting the balance right to foster as much growth and future spend as possible. If Blynk is financially successful we all win.
There are 3 use cases / user types to be catered for:
Free users – current plan is generous with 2 devices. A cloud service needs subscription revenue, while there is value in free users spreading the word about Blynk people need a reason to pay.
Plus plan – this is where most makers / devs are going to be comfortable, with the cost around the $5-6 Mark. 10 users / 10 devices is fantastic. If it was me, I would make this feature parity with the pro plan. This is the drug dealer approach … get devs hooked on the platform so they convert their hobby project into something they can sell. $40 a month is a big ask… $5 isn’t. Take away any barriers to entry, without giving away too many devices / users. 10 is a great place.
Pro plans – these are perfect for a commercial offering that will grow. They scale very well.
By taking the feature limits off the plus plan, sure you may lose a few people from the pro plan but I expect the number of people signing up for that plus plan will more than make up for it.
Potentially add in a new “pro” plan at 20 devices to really encourage low cost growth.
PLAN
DEVICES
COST
Free
2
$0
Pro (current plus)
10 (0.70 per device)
$6.99
Pro (proposed)
20 (1.25 per device)
$25
Pro
40 (1.22 per device)
$49
Pro
100 (0.99 per device)
$99
Pro
500 (0.30 per device)
$149
Again, if it was me, I would drop e-mail support unless you are on the 100 device plan or greater as human support has a high cost.
I really look forward to seeing where this will go and im sure that @Pavel and the team will get it right.
I think Blynk must think about leverage businesses by giving opportunity to new ideas/innovations that can very soon become white label. It’s a win to win. Here is how I “get in love” with the old legacy: I was able to take benefit of FULL Blynk functionality to develop my project. This led me to quickly realize how powerfull and strategic would Blynk be as a partner in my project. Definitely, this would not be the case today (considering the current “sales strategy” )… a missed customer for sure! My project is intended to focus on some specific automatic machines, not smart devices! Which means more time needed to populate the full device capacity inside the actual plans = waste of money. On top of that, the actual entry level plan (Plus) does not show the “carrot” to the new comers, as commented earlier. So how can I get myself convinced of the full potential of Blynk platform with all the Plus restrictions? It just does not make sense for me… In my eyes (and speaking from a customer chair) I would expect someting like the table below:
I would be fine to pay the actual PRO plan cost ratio per device ($1,23), as long as I have the fexibility in scalability which is MISSING today! The 1:1 relation (1 device = 1 user) is just fine as today…
The proposal pricing above would enable new business to come in, at accessible initial costs… Blynk would benifit from more adhesions to the plans… chances to startups to become PRO->White Label would increase… Everyone happy!
Thinking about this a bit more, I think it’s the wrong way to go.
A better approach would be to go straight from Free to Pro, scrapping the Plus plan altogether.
Then make the Pro plan scalable by adding more devices/users as necessary.
I’m sure that this would be more efficient for Blynk too, as it’s clear that managing the distinctions in functionality between Plus/Pro isn’t working that smoothly at the moment, with thinks like user per permissions.
A cleaner and slicker code set for Blynk means that they can focus on adding functionality rather than writing/maintaining and debugging subscription functionality issues.
Maybe extra features like Alexa functionality, or template publishing (when they are released) could be an additional subscription cost?
@PeteKnight I agree. This would work too and easier to implement from Blynk side. As long as we have the ability to pay “on-demand” this would be a great incentive for all!
@PeteKnight Makes great sense. Free and Pro scrapping Plus would be perfect!
I do see what the team were trying for with Plus to have something suited to the home maker without the compexity of Pro, but most makers always want the features!
Why have a nice simple gate opener when I can make it WAY more complex with one device for the gates, one to detect the position of the gates and then I want to have different permissions for each device ! thats the maker way heheh.
… get devs hooked on the platform so they convert their hobby project into something they can sell. $40 a month is a big ask… $5 isn’t. Take away any barriers to entry, without giving away too many devices / users. 10 is a great place.
