What You Need to Know About Moving to Subscription

We now live in a subscription-based world where multiple corporations have switched to this business model.  Autodesk is evolving with the flow and making a huge move to subscription plans. Companies like Microsoft and Adobe are great examples of this. Here's what you need to know about switching to a subscription plan:

First of all, what is the difference between an Autodesk maintenance plan and a subscription plan?
Think of leasing vs. owning. Subscription plans are term licenses that are renewable annually.  If you don't renew, you no longer have access to the license. With a maintenance plan, you purchase rights to your Autodesk license and pay to maintain your perpetual license. If you stop making payments, you still keep your license, but it will stay on the version that you paid for.

Why switch at all?

Many of our customers prefer to keep their maintenance plans because they prefer to own their license, but here are a few benefits to switching to subscription:

• Avoid price increase: Since Autodesk is making a big move towards subscription plans, prices for maintenance plans will increase NEXT MONTH! (Price increases are listed below.)
• Greater access: You get broader access to the latest updates in tools, technologies, and services now and in the future.
• Flexible control: This is better for the ebbs and flows of business. We understand companies are constantly hiring and changing their teams. With subscription, it's easier to manage users by providing your team with the access they need.
• Valuable insights: You get easy-to-use reporting tools to evaluate and analyze your product usage, spending, productivity, and future needs.
• Named-user licensing: The license is assigned to the email address of the direct user, but can be transferred to another user.

Pricing to switch:

• If you switch before May 7, 2019, your cost is about 5% less than the current cost of your maintenance plan renewal.  BONUS: Secured pricing is available for a 3 year contract.
• If you switch after May 7, 2019, there is a 5% increase in the cost to switch.
• If you switch to a 3-year subscription at the time of initial move or renewal, you can save an additional 10%!

Pricing to stay on your maintenance plan:

• 2019: 20% price increase
• 2020: No price increase
• 2020 and beyond: Will be announced as soon as it's available

Which products are affected by the subscription switch and price increases? 

All Autodesk products currently on maintenance plans are affected. You are still able to renew your maintenance plan annually, but there will be a price increase. Products on a subscription plan aren't affected at all.

Will switching from a maintenance to subscription require a new contract?

Nope! You can choose to have your switched licenses added to a new subscription contract or an existing subscription contract.

Will all products be eligible for switching to a subscription plan?

Yes!  The only exception is that Design & Creation Suites must be switched to an industry collection.

Why was the decision made to end multi-year renewals for maintenance plans?  

"We decided to end multi-year renewals for maintenance plans to better position our customers to take to take advantage of the special offer to switch to subscription, which is available only at the time of renewal. If a customer is locked into a multi-year contract, they will need to wait until their contract is up for renewal before they can switch to subscription. Customers who prefer to purchase on multi-year terms can continue to do so via subscription." (From Autodesk)

Will education customers be affected?

No.

Will government customers be affected?

Yes, but only if they own licenses through a maintenance plan.


This is a big change!  But we're excited that Autodesk is evolving with modern business models.  Hopefully this answered your questions about switching to a subscription plan.  If you have any other questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact us directly!  Happy switching!