• SanicHegehog@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I’m not against a subscription for something like this. Kagi has ongoing server costs, I think it’s only fair that users pay on an ongoing basis.

      As opposed to, say, Office where the software can be more or less “finished” and I don’t need or want updates.

    • SuspciousCarrot78@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I hear you - a one off purchase (or a $50-100 for 5yrs) would be a selling point. Hell, I’d even buy credits like I do for USENET.

      https://stephango.com/quality-software

      Just let me pay in one lump sum. Not a fan of rolling subscriptions; never end up using the whole quota, so unless there’s a rollover it gets wasted.

      Self hosted SearXNG is an option but it’s going to be pulling from Bing, Google etc, so the result quality ceiling is capped by those engines. Kagi is trying to be a better search engine overall and not just a private wrapper around existing ones, IIUC.

      Personally, I find myself not really searching much any more. I sort of know which sites I need and go there directly. Anything low value goes thru ddg-lite or (gasp) my LLM.

      EDIT: Huh…my LLM just told me to sit down

      “Kagi supports PayPal and OpenNode (Bitcoin) as alternative payment methods. Crucially, these do not create a subscription. They top off your account with credits, which then fund your Kagi membership. That’s essentially the lump-sum/credits model you described”

      Well then…I sit corrected.

      • Mwa@thelemmy.club
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        3 days ago

        i also want to mention Donation based/ads(if not too intrusive) are also fine ig.
        and sometimes(depends on country) your only option is monthly subscription (whatever its rent or internet price) you can find for sale buts its like in the millions and i think internet price is monthly only.
        but yeah i dislike monthly subscription as much as you(and i agree with you)
        i could use a Freemium service that has a monthly subscription too,but i wont buy the subscription. (i may abuse free trials kek)
        but obviously i prefer perpetual license the most.