Hacker News with Generative AI: Subscription Services

The Economist's global rip off (halcrawford.substack.com)
Two years ago I looked into The Economist’s global subscription pricing structure and found a labyrinthine mess that seemed irrational and unfair. For exactly the same digital content, delivered over the internet, prices varied by over 300% depending on the subscriber’s nationality. Subscribers in poor nations like Pakistan and Burundi were paying double the rate of rich nations like Canada and South Korea.
Economics, Subscription Services, International Business, Pricing, Inequality
55 points by austinallegro 5 days ago | 36 comments
JetBrains AI Pro now included in regular subscription (jetbrains.com)
AI, Software, Subscription Services, JetBrains
5 points by amit9gupta 15 days ago | 2 comments
Zed's new $20/mo subscription (imgur.com)
Subscription Services, Photography, Online Communities
5 points by blopker 29 days ago | 1 comments
Tried to Cancel Adobe. Got Ghosted. Now I Owe $500 (ycombinator.com)
Adobe raised my subscription mid contract by almost $30/month, then told me it’d cost $500 to cancel.
Consumer Issues, Adobe, Subscription Services, Customer Service
25 points by lovegrenoble 43 days ago | 7 comments
Nintendo confirms you will have to pay to use the Switch 2's C button (polygon.com)
Nintendo has made its own Discord-like chat app for the Switch 2, and it’s going to charge you for it.
Nintendo Switch, Gaming, Video Games, Business, Subscription Services
16 points by josephcsible 45 days ago | 25 comments
Why Kagi launched "no use, no pay" (getlago.substack.com)
Paying for a SaaS subscription you don’t use sucks. Sure, I don’t use that shameful cupboard with the ice cream maker, sous-vide device and electric ham-cutter either, but at least those things don’t charge me again!
SaaS, Business Models, Subscription Services, Software
84 points by AnhTho_FR 52 days ago | 31 comments
Plex remote stream no longer free; Plex Pass 2x price hike (plex.tv)
You’re going to be hearing a lot from us this year—we’ve got a ton of exciting things to roll out, with even more in the planning stages. But first, we have to share some important upcoming changes to our personal media offering and our Privacy Policy that are necessary to make all this great stuff happen.
Streaming, Pricing, Subscription Services, Privacy Policy
8 points by Naracion 63 days ago | 7 comments
The F-35 as a Subscription Service (xxtomcooperxx.substack.com)
When countries purchase the American-made F-35 fighter jet, they aren't just buying an aircraft—they're subscribing to an ecosystem.
Military, Aviation, Technology, Subscription Services
114 points by sorokod 64 days ago | 181 comments
Plex no Longer Offers Free Remote Playback for Personal Media (macrumors.com)
Media platform Plex today announced that it is raising prices for the Plex Pass subscription service, marking the first price increase that Plex has introduced in a decade.
Streaming Services, Media, Pricing, Subscription Services
64 points by A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 64 days ago | 73 comments
Kagi is a better search engine than Google – but it costs $10 a month (theverge.com)
Google has felt like a product in decline for a long time. Kagi offers a new, better vision for search, but the only way it works is if you’re willing to pay.
Search Engines, Google, Subscription Services
19 points by isaacfrond 65 days ago | 6 comments
Everything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28 (arstechnica.com)
Amazon is killing a privacy feature to bolster Alexa+, the new subscription assistant.
Privacy, Amazon, Alexa, Subscription Services
250 points by MBCook 70 days ago | 114 comments
Bye, Prime (tbray.org)
Today I canceled my Amazon Prime subscription.
Amazon, Subscription Services, Personal Finance
188 points by HieronymusBosch 77 days ago | 181 comments
Windows Notepad and Paint Now Have Paid Subscription Only AI Features [video] (youtube.com)
Windows, AI, Software, Subscription Services
6 points by jarsin 87 days ago | 0 comments
Apple Introduces News+ Food (apple.com)
Apple, News, Food, Subscription Services
14 points by dagmx 91 days ago | 9 comments
Reddit plans to lock some content behind a paywall this year, CEO says (arstechnica.com)
Reddit is planning to introduce a paywall this year, CEO Steve Huffman said during a videotaped Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Thursday.
Reddit, Business, Subscription Services, Social Media
67 points by amichail 98 days ago | 46 comments
Buh Bye Spotify (darko.audio)
The first order of business for 2025 was to cancel my Spotify Premium subscription.
Music Streaming, Subscription Services, Personal Finance
10 points by hnburnsy 133 days ago | 5 comments
Lifetime access plans are (mostly) a hoax (ycombinator.com)
I have never trusted the "lifetime access" plans offered by SaaS websites with subscriptions, as I know hosting services costs money and human resources to manage.
Business Models, Subscription Services
10 points by limbojunkie 133 days ago | 2 comments
You don't have to pay the Microsoft 365 price increase (consumer.org.nz)
If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you might’ve been told your fees are going up by $5 a month or $50 a year. But the fees aren’t actually changing – you’re just being upsold. Here’s how to keep the price of your subscription the same as it’s always been.
Microsoft 365, Consumer Advice, Price Increases, Subscription Services
396 points by lancewiggs 135 days ago | 250 comments
Samsung is rolling out a smartphone subscription next month (theverge.com)
Smartphones, Subscription Services, Samsung, Technology, Business
3 points by speckx 135 days ago | 0 comments
It's Time to End Our Subscription Addiction (futureproofnews.substack.com)
There was a time, not that long ago, when the funniest writing in the world was happening on Twitter. And the undisputed philosopher-king among Twitter shit-posters was an account called dril.
Social Media, Culture, Humor, Subscription Services
6 points by anarbadalov 141 days ago | 2 comments
Ask HN: GPT o1 pro users, was it worth the $200/month subscription? (ycombinator.com)
Would love to hear some real world experiences of o1 pro subscribers.
GPT-3, AI, Subscription Services, User Experience
14 points by hubraumhugo 150 days ago | 10 comments
Carta is making it too difficult to cancel subscriptions, some founders say (techcrunch.com)
San Francisco-based Carta is the market leader in this industry. But some startup founders say Carta is making it too hard to cancel their subscriptions.
Subscription Services, Startups, Business, Technology, Software
214 points by impish9208 162 days ago | 76 comments
I am so sick of subscriptions for AI products (ycombinator.com)
I know that these AI products don't cost much since GPT 40mini is so damn cheap. I need to do 4000 one hour long video summaries in a month to pay off 10 Dollar subscription that Glasp and Eightify charge me.
Artificial Intelligence, Subscription Services, Generative AI
13 points by hitsy00 169 days ago | 9 comments
OpenAI confirms new $200 monthly subscription, ChatGPT Pro (techcrunch.com)
OpenAI has launched a new subscription plan for ChatGPT, its AI-powered chatbot platform — and it’s very, very expensive.
Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, Business, Subscription Services, Pricing
84 points by gniting 169 days ago | 4 comments
Facebook and Instagram to Offer Subscription for No Ads in Europe (about.fb.com)
To comply with evolving European regulations, we are introducing a new subscription option in the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Social Media, Advertising, Europe, Subscription Services
24 points by veggieroll 192 days ago | 7 comments
Industry groups are suing FTC to stop 'click to cancel' (theverge.com)
Three industry groups, the NCTA, the Electronic Security Association (ESA), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), are suing to prevent the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from enforcing its new “Click to Cancel” rule that requires companies to make it easy to cancel subscriptions.
Consumer Protection, Lawsuits, Subscription Services
7 points by clockworksoul 210 days ago | 2 comments
Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash (carscoops.com)
Mazda now charges $10 or more per month for connected services such as remote start.
Automotive, Technology, Subscription Services, Consumer Backlash
57 points by thunderbong 235 days ago | 91 comments
CNN will start locking some articles behind a paywall (theverge.com)
CNN will put some of its digital content behind a subscription paywall starting next month, The New York Times reports.
News, Media, Subscription Services, Business
10 points by rntn 238 days ago | 2 comments
One-time purchase alternatives to popular subscription tools (payoncealternatives.com)
Find the best one-time purchase alternatives to popular subscription tools and never pay another subscription ever again.
Software, Business, Technology, Subscription Services
131 points by ksec 244 days ago | 116 comments
Docker ups subscription prices by up to 80%, bundles more services to compensate (devclass.com)
Docker will hike subscription prices by up to 80 percent from November 15 2024, as well as introducing storage charges for its Docker Hub repository, and to justify this it will bundle more services in order to offer what the company calls “seamless access to Docker’s full capabilities under one subscription.”
Docker, Subscription Services, Pricing, Cloud Computing, Software
6 points by HiroProtagonist 253 days ago | 1 comments