Beware the free software — it very soon won’t be

As businesses scramble to integrate the Covid-19 crisis into their sales and marketing strategies, a new era of free software and services has dawned.

Every technology company, from Adobe to Zoom, seems to be offering free versions, free trials or extended try-out periods. But often, there is a catch. It is the age-old story of the so-called freemium product: try a basic version for free, and pay up if you want full functionality. Fair enough. Except that, in the era of lockdown, the full functionality of many products is often essential for remote working, learning and communication.

The industry is helping out: for an increasing number of these offerings, free trials are being extended from a typical 14 days to as much as three months, to get users past the expected worst of the crisis.

But there’s a catch: users are rarely told when the trial period is coming to an end. When it was only 14 days, it was relatively easy to keep track, and cancel before the credit card details provided upfront were whipped into action.

With a three-month trial, and especially when we all have so much on our minds, that pay-up date is going to sneak up on most users, and bite them in the wallet.

The hope most of these companies harbour is that we will become so dependent on their services we will be happy to pay up.

However, for many users, especially as the economy tanks, use of free and trial products is essential merely to get by.

The best example is Zoom, which has become a default tool for meetings and webinars.

The free version is adequate for basic use, and for sessions lasting up to 40 minutes. But then it starts piling up.

The “Pro” version comes in at $15 (R280) a month, with limited flexibility, while a Webinar version, with registration and live streaming functions, shoots up to $40 a month — per host.

That adds up fast for a small company struggling to get by, and helps explain why Zoom’s share price has skyrocketed.

But, at least, we can stick to Free if we have only basic needs.

Now take Adobe Sign, which replaces physical signatures in documents. That functionality is about to become an essential tool for any business, as well as for consumers.

Adobe is offering a free 90-day trial. By the time the company starts reaching for your credit card, you will have forgotten you even gave those details.

For a small business or individual, that’s going to set one back $30 a month for up to nine users.

Not much in its own right, but it’s billed on an annual basis, and will in fact cost

$360 upfront.

There are numerous examples. Of course, such companies are doing users a favour. No-one can argue that they are evil for providing free trials or entry-level versions of their products at no cost.

However, in times when we are likely to see the greatest crisis of unemployment in more than half a century, it is incumbent on these companies to help protect their customers from financial commitments they cannot afford.

With a threemonth trial, that pay-up date is going to sneak up on most users

Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za