Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Strava Price up 50%

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Strava Price up 50%

Old 01-27-23, 01:56 PM
  #51  
njkayaker
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Far beyond the pale horizon.
Posts: 14,241
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4222 Post(s)
Liked 1,322 Times in 916 Posts
While there might be all sorts of reasons people might prefer monthly, I'd guess there aren't that many common ones.
  • Some people like to budget/pay for stuff monthly.
  • Some people might subscribe for 4 months (for a riding season) to save money over a yearly subscription.
  • People might not want to commit to a full year (mostly new subscribers, I suppose).
Seems fairly obvious that Strava values annual subscriptions much more than monthly ones.
  • If a substantial number subscribe seasonally, it's a weird cash flow.
  • People paying monthly might be more prone to drop their subscriptions permanently.
  • A fair number of people likely sign-up and don't renew. With the yearly subscription being cheaper, Strava might squeeze a few extra dollars from this group.
Strava (almost!) certainly expected that a price increase would cause some people to drop out.

But it seems they didn't quite expect the backlash they got (or didn't care too much).

https://www.velonews.com/gear/tech-w...oved-too-fast/

Last edited by njkayaker; 01-27-23 at 02:21 PM.
njkayaker is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 03:02 PM
  #52  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,538

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10902 Post(s)
Liked 7,391 Times in 4,148 Posts
Originally Posted by msu2001la
When I was in college, I worked at a liquor store in a sketchy area.

We sold lots of single cigarettes and airplane size shooter liquor bottles to people, many of whom would come in multiple times a day to make those same purchases over and over. It would've been far cheaper to save up and buy a full pack of cigarettes and a pint of liquor, but they never wanted to commit to that level of saving/spending.

I wonder how many of those people went on to become Strava Monthly subscribers?
Haha, post of the thread right here.
mstateglfr is offline  
Likes For mstateglfr:
Old 01-27-23, 03:11 PM
  #53  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,538

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10902 Post(s)
Liked 7,391 Times in 4,148 Posts
Originally Posted by Black wallnut
Nice attempt to tangent off this thread. Fell free to spin off a new thread with that question.

I am not surprised at the reaction I have received here. Yes prices go up, sometimes they go down. Sometimes Strava makes changes to features so that there is less value after a change, for example any segments remotely close to down hill were gutted a couple years ago. Some "features" don't work correctly and in spite of users turning off the "feature" it continues... again a couple years ago with Local Legend notification.

I seem to also recall a price increase a couple years ago.

Not like it really matters I used to be an annual subscriber, for years. I adopted the platform rather early in my area. A couple of years ago I cancelled. Last summer they offered a free (re)trial. I decided at the end that it was adding enough to pay for it. For me it is a matter of principal. If their reasoning is to increase annual subscriptions I can understand their perspective. I don't support such ploys. If the savings are enough then I will go for the less costly option, but only if I mostly agree with their ethics.

To the folks that say "why would anyone buy monthly?" Do you buy a dozen eggs at a time? one pound of burger or other small quantity of protein or do you buy the whole critter? Do you buy a 12 ounce package of bacon or the whole slab? I am going to guess that most buy small quantities of most every thing rather than bulk in spite of the fact that buying in bulk will save you money.
I dont recall a price increase a couple years ago. Strava claimed they havent increased subscription costs in years.

As for your egg example...thats a terrible example. You just listed purchasing 1 dozen eggs instead of 1 single egg. The better analogy would be if you asked how many buy 1 single egg at a time. Heck or who buys the cut off half dozen eggs. Buying 1 dozen, which standard, is also more than you need to buy so it is buying in bulk. Its the standard though, so you could also ask about buying eggs in the 36 or 48 trays that sell at Costco. Ill let you in on a secret- they are popular. Many buy them because they see value in that bulk. Others buy the largest the grocery store will carry, be it 18 or 24 instead of the standard 12.
People buy 3# of chicken breast all the time instead of the 1# packages. People buy the 3# tube of ground beef instead of the 1# packages all the time. People buy a case of beer instead of a single beer. People buy 48 rolls of toilet paper instead of a single roll. etc etc etc.

These purchasing decisions are simply based on what each of us values and needs, depending on our situations.

If you want to not spend money on a product because you disagree with their business policies, OK then.
Saying you wont pay based on principle in this example is a curious claim to me since I dont see this as a matter of principles, but OK then. I dont see how ethics plays a part in any of this, even after you claim it does and I step back to try and see where the ethical decision exists.
mstateglfr is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 03:33 PM
  #54  
msu2001la
Senior Member
 
msu2001la's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Posts: 2,870
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1455 Post(s)
Liked 1,477 Times in 867 Posts
Originally Posted by mstateglfr
People buy a case of beer instead of a single beer.
Au contraire my friend. You're just not shopping in the right places.
I sold many a single beer in my day as well. We'd keep a cooler of cold ones right next to the register. Busch was a big hit, but lots of Icehouse and Steel Reserve.

Now that I think about it, customers would often refer to these as "roadies". I never knew what that meant at that time, but now that I'm into biking it all makes sense - they were probably road cyclists who didn't want to carry a lot. Future Strava users.
msu2001la is offline  
Likes For msu2001la:
Old 01-27-23, 04:02 PM
  #55  
Germany_chris
I’m a little Surly
 
Germany_chris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Near the district
Posts: 2,427

Bikes: Two Cross Checks, a Karate Monkey, a Disc Trucker, and a VO Randonneur

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 698 Post(s)
Liked 1,292 Times in 646 Posts
I thought strava was still VC funded, maybe they lost their funding

Last edited by Germany_chris; 01-27-23 at 04:20 PM.
Germany_chris is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 04:17 PM
  #56  
genejockey 
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
 
genejockey's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 17,658

Bikes: Litespeed Ultimate, Ultegra; Canyon Endurace, 105; Battaglin MAX, Chorus; Bianchi 928 Veloce; Ritchey Road Logic, Dura Ace; Cannondale R500 RX100; Schwinn Circuit, Sante; Lotus Supreme, Dura Ace

Mentioned: 41 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10245 Post(s)
Liked 11,599 Times in 5,945 Posts
Originally Posted by Germany_chris
I thought strove was still VC funded, maybe they lost their funding
Or maybe the VCs want to see a return on their investment.
__________________
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."

"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
genejockey is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 04:24 PM
  #57  
Sy Reene
Advocatus Diaboli
 
Sy Reene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,612

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,526 Times in 997 Posts
Originally Posted by Black wallnut
To the folks that say "why would anyone buy monthly?" Do you buy a dozen eggs at a time? .
Yes. Don't have any sellers around here doing individual egg sales.
Sy Reene is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 05:20 PM
  #58  
pdlamb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,847

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2577 Post(s)
Liked 1,900 Times in 1,192 Posts
Originally Posted by njkayaker
While there might be all sorts of reasons people might prefer monthly, I'd guess there aren't that many common ones.
  • Some people like to budget/pay for stuff monthly.
  • Some people might subscribe for 4 months (for a riding season) to save money over a yearly subscription.
  • People might not want to commit to a full year (mostly new subscribers, I suppose).
Seems fairly obvious that Strava values annual subscriptions much more than monthly ones.
  • If a substantial number subscribe seasonally, it's a weird cash flow.
  • People paying monthly might be more prone to drop their subscriptions permanently.
  • A fair number of people likely sign-up and don't renew. With the yearly subscription being cheaper, Strava might squeeze a few extra dollars from this group.
Good points on why users might want monthly billing. It might logically follow that Strava, though it doesn't explicitly say it, is trying to convert monthly users into annual subscribers, for the reasons you give in your second paragraph.
pdlamb is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 05:52 PM
  #59  
terrymorse 
climber has-been
 
terrymorse's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Posts: 7,007

Bikes: Scott Addict R1, Felt Z1

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3340 Post(s)
Liked 3,438 Times in 1,738 Posts
Originally Posted by genejockey
Or maybe the VCs want to see a return on their investment.
That's a "Sun rises in the east" statement, if there ever was one.

VCs always want to see a return on investment. Strava's 14 years old, ancient in VC time.
__________________
Ride, Rest, Repeat. ROUVY: terrymorse


terrymorse is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 05:57 PM
  #60  
genejockey 
Klaatu..Verata..Necktie?
 
genejockey's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 17,658

Bikes: Litespeed Ultimate, Ultegra; Canyon Endurace, 105; Battaglin MAX, Chorus; Bianchi 928 Veloce; Ritchey Road Logic, Dura Ace; Cannondale R500 RX100; Schwinn Circuit, Sante; Lotus Supreme, Dura Ace

Mentioned: 41 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10245 Post(s)
Liked 11,599 Times in 5,945 Posts
Originally Posted by terrymorse
That's a "Sun rises in the east" statement, if there ever was one.

VCs always want to see a return on investment. Strava's 14 years old, ancient in VC time.
In my business (Biotech), by this time the VCs would have pumped and dumped already, leaving the institutional investors to hound management for The Next Big Thing.
__________________
"Don't take life so serious-it ain't nohow permanent."

"Everybody's gotta be somewhere." - Eccles
genejockey is offline  
Likes For genejockey:
Old 01-27-23, 06:30 PM
  #61  
mschwett 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2021
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 2,028

Bikes: addict, aethos, creo, vanmoof, sirrus, public ...

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1272 Post(s)
Liked 1,382 Times in 707 Posts
thinking more on this, i believe there are four paid features that i use.

training log (this is my preferred way to see overall ride history)

live segment “race” mode. this may be available to free subscribers depending on your device, not sure. but seeing the cross section of the segment along with your best and last times as a little virtual dot plus the time ahead or behind is cool. racing yourself, really.

fitness and freshness (pretty useless)

heat map. i enjoy making/looking at these.



__________________

Last edited by mschwett; 01-27-23 at 11:24 PM.
mschwett is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 06:37 PM
  #62  
Tomm Willians
Senior Member
 
Tomm Willians's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Nevada County, California
Posts: 781

Bikes: Subject to change at any given moment but currently is...... Colnago Mapei, Colnago C40, Wilier Triestina Carbon, Wilier Triestina Ramato, Follis 472, Peugeot PX60, Razesa, Orbea Terra, Soma Pescadero and 1/2 owner of a Santana tandem.

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 322 Post(s)
Liked 775 Times in 261 Posts
I paid close to 7k for my bike, I’m not about to worry about this.
Tomm Willians is offline  
Likes For Tomm Willians:
Old 01-27-23, 08:35 PM
  #63  
jaxgtr
Senior Member
 
jaxgtr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 6,830

Bikes: Trek Domane SLR 7 AXS, Trek CheckPoint SL7, Trek Emonda ALR, Trek FX 5 Sport

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 751 Post(s)
Liked 1,666 Times in 980 Posts
While I don't use Strava, I know a couple of people I ride with that do. I asked them about this, and one was like meh, whatever, the other was not upset with the cost increase so much as his issue was how they tried to just sneak it by people. He said he is going to keep his account, but thought the way the went about it was pretty slimy.
__________________
Brian | 2023 Trek Domane SLR 7 AXS | 2023 Trek CheckPoint SL 7 AXS | 2016 Trek Emonda ALR | 2022 Trek FX Sport 5
Originally Posted by AEO
you should learn to embrace change, and mock it's failings every step of the way.



jaxgtr is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 09:28 PM
  #64  
retswerb
Along for the ride
 
Join Date: Dec 2022
Location: PNW US
Posts: 234
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 109 Post(s)
Liked 209 Times in 106 Posts
Originally Posted by pdlamb
I went premium because my wife wanted to have some way to know about where I was on the bike, so the live tracker feature kept me in.
Was that previously a paid-only feature? I've been using the beacon for about the past year or so as a free user, my wife likes it too and so do I since I often leave home without much of a plan in mind.
retswerb is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 11:20 PM
  #65  
base2 
I am potato.
 
base2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 3,073

Bikes: Only precision built, custom high performance elitist machines of the highest caliber. 🍆

Mentioned: 28 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1764 Post(s)
Liked 1,578 Times in 910 Posts
Originally Posted by Eric F
If Strava isn't something you enjoy, or don't get any value from, fine. Don't use it. Your value judgements don't equal my value judgements.
Never thought they were.

Good for you, BTW.
__________________
I shouldn't have to "make myself more visible;" Drivers should just stop running people over.

Car dependency is a tax.
base2 is offline  
Old 01-27-23, 11:54 PM
  #66  
OldTryGuy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: SW Fl.
Posts: 5,604

Bikes: Day6 Semi Recumbent "FIREBALL", 1981 Custom Touring Paramount, 1983 Road Paramount, 2013 Giant Propel Advanced SL3, 2018 Specialized Red Roubaix Expert mech., 2002 Magna 7sp hybrid, 1976 Bassett Racing 45sp Cruiser

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1063 Post(s)
Liked 771 Times in 499 Posts
DANG, guess the increase means no $10,000.00 n+1 addition next year.

Originally Posted by mschwett
...................................................

heat map. i enjoy making/looking at these.




Last edited by OldTryGuy; 01-28-23 at 12:31 AM.
OldTryGuy is offline  
Old 01-28-23, 12:58 AM
  #67  
rsbob 
Grupetto Bob
 
rsbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Seattle-ish
Posts: 6,067

Bikes: Bikey McBike Face

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2512 Post(s)
Liked 5,427 Times in 2,826 Posts
Looks like the OP didn’t quit the internet from what he was originally charged when he first got AOL or used Netscape. A how many percent increase for internet service over the years?

The Strava increase is a cup of coffee a month and I ain’t giving up my coffee or Strava.
__________________
Road 🚴🏾‍♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾‍♂️







rsbob is offline  
Likes For rsbob:
Old 01-28-23, 07:55 AM
  #68  
Sy Reene
Advocatus Diaboli
 
Sy Reene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,612

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,526 Times in 997 Posts
Originally Posted by jaxgtr
While I don't use Strava, I know a couple of people I ride with that do. I asked them about this, and one was like meh, whatever, the other was not upset with the cost increase so much as his issue was how they tried to just sneak it by people. He said he is going to keep his account, but thought the way the went about it was pretty slimy.
Indeed, the price hikes have been handled fairly horribly by Strava. A fun set of reads:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2023/01/...g-country.html
Sy Reene is offline  
Old 01-29-23, 10:40 PM
  #69  
Cramic
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2021
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 84

Bikes: Giant TCR Pro Disk 1

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 80 Post(s)
Liked 37 Times in 22 Posts
Might be a little off topic, as not related to the price increase per se, but there’s very little I get from premium Strava that I wouldn’t get from free Strava and I still pay because I think the overall product has value.

To be honest I was not aware of the price hike before seeing this thread and am actually more surprised there haven’t been more. I presumed it would have gone up since I first started using it so, if anything, when looked at over a number of years, I don’t think it’s too outrageous.

I suppose they should have been more upfront about it. An email or something? Or perhaps I just missed it…they usually only write to let me know someone has taken my KOM so I chuck ‘em straight in the bin.
Cramic is offline  
Old 01-30-23, 04:09 AM
  #70  
PeteHski
Senior Member
 
PeteHski's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,175
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4274 Post(s)
Liked 4,712 Times in 2,911 Posts
I find Strava very useful and I don't see a viable alternative. The cost is trivial in the overall cost of cycling. An annual sub is a no-brainer if you want the premium features. Then there's always the free tier, which actually gives you quite a lot of the functionality. Strava can price their product however they see fit and then we can all decide whether or not to pay for it. Just like any other consumer product.
PeteHski is offline  
Old 01-30-23, 06:53 AM
  #71  
GhostRider62
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 4,083
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2332 Post(s)
Liked 2,094 Times in 1,311 Posts
I had Strava. Dumped it years ago. Zero value product to me. YMMV.

RidewithGPS? I pay

Zwift? Once in a while but monthly

I also buy (good) beer 1 or 2 bottles at a time although admittedly, eggs three dozen at a time.
GhostRider62 is offline  
Old 01-30-23, 07:19 AM
  #72  
seypat
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 8,756
Mentioned: 69 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3191 Post(s)
Liked 2,460 Times in 1,489 Posts
I'm not a Strava user, but it seems like cheap entertainment for what some people get out of it.
seypat is offline  
Old 01-30-23, 07:43 AM
  #73  
pdlamb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,847

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2577 Post(s)
Liked 1,900 Times in 1,192 Posts
Originally Posted by retswerb
Was that previously a paid-only feature? I've been using the beacon for about the past year or so as a free user, my wife likes it too and so do I since I often leave home without much of a plan in mind.
The beacon/live track feature was paid-only when I joined. Is it free now? I may keep the app on my phone and stick with free.
pdlamb is offline  
Old 01-30-23, 09:16 AM
  #74  
msu2001la
Senior Member
 
msu2001la's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Posts: 2,870
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1455 Post(s)
Liked 1,477 Times in 867 Posts
Originally Posted by PeteHski
I find Strava very useful and I don't see a viable alternative. The cost is trivial in the overall cost of cycling. An annual sub is a no-brainer if you want the premium features. Then there's always the free tier, which actually gives you quite a lot of the functionality. Strava can price their product however they see fit and then we can all decide whether or not to pay for it. Just like any other consumer product.
Agree.
I'm surprised at the number of people in this thread that seem to not realize that the features they don't think are worth paying extra for are still available in the free version.

Strava should've been more transparent about all of this, but beyond that I don't really see what the issue is here.
msu2001la is offline  
Likes For msu2001la:
Old 01-30-23, 09:54 AM
  #75  
msu2001la
Senior Member
 
msu2001la's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Posts: 2,870
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1455 Post(s)
Liked 1,477 Times in 867 Posts
Here's a list of paid vs free features, for those that aren't sure:
Strava Subscription Features – Strava Support

Free version:
Route recording, tracking and sharing for multiple sports
Basic post-workout analysis tools
Social feed/kudos/comments
Limited segment info (you can track your own segment efforts, but not compare to others)
Beacon (this was previously a paid feature that was made free a few years ago)

Paid version:
Route builder
Segment leaderboards and tracking efforts on segments over time
Live segments - so you can get info on your head unit while out riding
Custom training goals
Training plans
More advanced training analytics and tools (relative effort, freshness/fitness over time, more detailed post-ride analysis, power curves/zones, etc)
Heatmaps
msu2001la is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.