Pricing model for self hosted version

[micudaj]

Hi,

I noticed that in my self hosted instance there is a limit for users in a workspace. That lead me to the question what the pricing model for self hosted instance is going to be?
Can you please elaborate on that?

Many thanks in advance!

[EYHN]

Currently, the free plan is applied by default in selfhost. This is a bug and we will fix it later.

[micudaj]

hey @EYHN, Thank you for your reply! What does ist mean that it is a bug? Will it be possible to have more users in a workspace on a self hosted environment without a license? Or will there be special licenses for self hosted environments if one wants to have more that 3 users in a workspace?

[EYHN]

@micudaj Sorry for the late reply,

The current selfhost version uses the free plan, which has two limitations.
One is that the maximum number of collaborators in the workspace is 3, and the file storage capacity is limited.

According to our expectations, the selfhost version should have unlimited file storage, and a reasonable maximum number of collaborators. We haven't decided on the number limit yet, but it may be 3 or higher. (enough for personal use)

In addition, we are also preparing a paid selfhost plan for enterprises or studios, which can support more collaborators and we can make some profits.

[micudaj]

thank you @EYHN for clarification.

[gymnae]

That seems like a reasonable path. Do you have an idea if this would be a recurring fee or a one time, perpetual license? Would it also require the self-hosted installation be able to contact servers for license check?

Is there an ETA for this change? I'd like to onboard some friends to a space for a common hobby, and I'd like to know if it's going to be affordable for a hobbyist / non-profit with more than a dozen users.

[IanJSaul]

This is brilliant. I've been following this for a little while, but am now switching over - and these are exactly my questions too.

Sounds like great software and a great team!

[nauti23]

@EYHN so i love the app and just wanted to know:
selfhosted < 10 members per workspace is free. if a have 12 i have to pay for the two extra or for all the 12 seats?

[levx-me]

I'm facing this issue too
what's the point self-hosting if I need to pay? 😢

[agluck91]

The whole point of self hosting is to get away from the crazy subscription models. This is unfortunate too because this is so far the best note app that I found. Though I understand the need to make a profit. If the product is good enough, maybe consider opening it to pay what you want model, since it cost you nothing in hosting whatever the community can give you in that time is more than 0.

[wouekk]

I think the self hosted limitations are reasonable for user count, I mean there is a distinguishable border between self hosted and enterprise. If the tool improves the productivity of your business you should contribute. I started just a few days ago and the limitations dont bother me at all. If you need 20 users you are probably running a company already or you have a very large family.

You are doing a great job guys I hope you'll keep going!

[akaSorin]

Hi folks :)

I really love affine, and I get excited at every feature that comes to us, thanks for the great work!

I'd like to bring a reflection related to the user limits in self-hosted versions (which I fully understand given the project must be financially sustainable)

Some use cases are not enterprise, and yet might need more than the 10 users.

My current use case is a self governing meetup group, without any revenue, that has roughly 20 people.

Bitwarden also opted to a similar approach affine did in putting some of the features behind a subscription, that sort of makes it feel that even though there is zero recurring costs (assuming we don't update an instance) it requires recurring payments. So Vaultwarden came to be that one alternative to that.

Would id be a reasonable compromise to consider a lifetime workspace payment, for example? Settle Up (an expense tracking app) offers both options, and I think AFFiNE could benefit for such model (which could be exclusive for self-hosting)

You "purchase" a group license at X dollars/euros/yuans and that unlocks a larger member count for one workspace. This way the users contribute to the project development, while not being stuck into a subscription while using its own infrastructure.
I'd definitely prefer that recurring payments were reserved to where recurring costs occur (like the cloud subscriptions), but for NGOs, non-profits, collectives and so on, these costs are mostly not viable.

Don't get me wrong, I want the project to flourish, and that might be a way to balance adoption and revenue to an extent that benefits grassroots initiatives ;)