Logos is switching to subscription-based features

[dsanch1120]

Logos Subscription Plans and Pricing | Logos Bible Study Platform

Explore Logos’s versatile pricing plans for group leaders, pastors, and academics. Choose a curated library that's yours forever for the ultimate Logos Bible study experience.

www.logos.com

Looks like Logos bible software is switching to a subscription-based service for its features (not the libraries... yet). Looks like the language studying features will be in the most expensive tier, with sermon/small-group prep being in cheaper options. Personally, I'm not a fan of this change - being really tired of seemingly everything either being or becoming a subscription service, though I can understand why some people might want it.
Regardless, it looks like the 10 packages and feature sets are on sale until September, which will probably be the last opportunity to buy the full feature set instead of renting it.

 

[J.L. Allen]

Logos Subscription Plans and Pricing | Logos Bible Study Platform

Explore Logos’s versatile pricing plans for group leaders, pastors, and academics. Choose a curated library that's yours forever for the ultimate Logos Bible study experience.

www.logos.com

Looks like Logos bible software is switching to a subscription-based service for its features (not the libraries... yet). Looks like the language studying features will be in the most expensive tier, with sermon/small-group prep being in cheaper options. Personally, I'm not a fan of this change - being really tired of seemingly everything either being or becoming a subscription service, though I can understand why some people might want it.
Regardless, it looks like the 10 packages and feature sets are on sale until September, which will probably be the last opportunity to buy the full feature set instead of renting it.

I was wondering about this. I thought it was something in addition to offering the full packages. Some folks want to buy it outright and others want to pay for it as long as they'll use it. It reminds me of the differences between leasing a vehicle and purchasing one. However, I'll be disappointed if Logos is going to phase out purchasing packages altogether.

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

I hope not too many things are taken up by subscriptions. I know now you can still buy full feature sets, but if that changes or, more likely, just becomes astronomically expensive, I’ll be seriously bummed. If that becomes the case my Luddite tendencies may win out over my blossoming love for Logos.

 

[davejonescue]

I hope not too many things are taken up by subscriptions. I know now you can still buy full feature sets, but if that changes or, more likely, just becomes astronomically expensive, I’ll be seriously bummed. If that becomes the case my Luddite tendencies may win out over my blossoming love for Logos.

The thing is though, I think Logos is hinging their decision on how Pastors and Scholars value their time. Sure, one can revert back to the old-school way of huge physical libraries, weighing through tons of pages of texts each week in Sermon prep and research. But how many hours will that add to ones prep time? If the subscriptions are from $20-$30 a month, is that worth an extra 30-40 hours of research a month? Could that time be better spent with family, or other Pastoral duties?

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

The thing is though, I think Logos is hinging their decision on how Pastors and Scholars value their time. Sure, one can revert back to the old-school way of huge physical libraries, weighing through tons of pages of texts each week in Sermon prep and research. But how many hours will that add to ones prep time? If the subscriptions are from $20-$30 a month, is that worth an extra 30-40 hours of research a month? Could that time be better spent with family, or other Pastoral duties?

I see your point, though to be honest I’m not sure that in my experience Logos has been all that time saving. If you have a few good language tools and commentaries and you are knowledgeable, the time saved seems minimal to me. But that just may be because of how I do or don’t use it.

 

[Polanus1561]

I see your point, though to be honest I’m not sure that in my experience Logos has been all that time saving. If you have a few good language tools and commentaries and you are knowledgeable, the time saved seems minimal to me. But that just may be because of how I do or don’t use it.

Nothing physical can replicate opening 7 commentaries on X verse in 10 seconds.
And it is not just your sermon verse, but say you want to study another referenced verse for your sermon, you can do so within a minute. If I have 5 key verses (other than my sermon verse) - I can easily look at 2-3 commentaries for each of that verse. To do that with a physical library and not have a messy table is nigh impossible.

Not to mention systematics. Within a minute I can pull out Bavinck etc. and enter my verse and get entries also. Dictionaries, Lexicons etc as well.

^and all the above does not take much Logos software skills.

I think this is a good time for subscription models. To be honest, Logos features have peaked for me with 10. I don't need the A.I stuff, nor do I need the powerpoint presentation Sermon stuff. I have no problems with Logos 10 as it is forever without any need to get any more features. I cannot think of any feature that I need. But the option to subscribe to test stuff is there.

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

Nothing physical can replicate opening 7 commentaries on X verse in 10 seconds.
And it is not just your sermon verse, but say you want to study another referenced verse for your sermon, you can do so within a minute. If I have 5 key verses (other than my sermon verse) - I can easily look at 2-3 commentaries for each of that verse. To do that with a physical library and not have a messy table is nigh impossible.

Not to mention systematics. Within a minute I can pull out Bavinck etc. and enter my verse and get entries also. Dictionaries, Lexicons etc as well.

^and all the above does not take much Logos software skills.

That is true, though I’ve found with something like Logos there can be the danger of information overload, and for my own preparation at least having a smaller selection of resources I trust is generally more helpful. In those conditions Logos saves a little time but not an incredible amount.

There are certainly times where that is not the case— and of course portability and integration are very nice to have.

 

[dsanch1120]

That is true, though I’ve found with something like Logos there can be the danger of information overload,

I think an important skill with logos is definitely knowing when to stop and move on.

 

[fredtgreco]

So I am trying to figure this out. I think I get that there will not be a Logos 11 full-feature purchase like in the past. Virtually every other software program (Adobe, Microsoft, etc.,) has moved to a subscription and updates model. It also seems that for someone like me who has a significant investment in Logos (I have been using it since Libronix in the 1990s and have, I think, 7,800 books), I have all the "new" features except the AI. I think my current library is "Reformed Gold."

So my question is: where can I find more details on the AI features? The Logos website is pretty limited in how it describes them (obviously since they are not even fully "released" yet).

 

[Polanus1561]

So I am trying to figure this out. I think I get that there will not be a Logos 11 full-feature purchase like in the past. Virtually every other software program (Adobe, Microsoft, etc.,) has moved to a subscription and updates model. It also seems that for someone like me who has a significant investment in Logos (I have been using it since Libronix in the 1990s and have, I think, 7,800 books), I have all the "new" features except the AI. I think my current library is "Reformed Gold."

So my question is: where can I find more details on the AI features? The Logos website is pretty limited in how it describes them (obviously since they are not even fully "released" yet).

There is a closed beta trial. More details to come in September onwards.

 

[fredtgreco]

There is a closed beta trial. More details to come in September onwards.

Is this different from the "early access" I can get now? If so, is there a place to try and sign up for the beta? I have beta tested for Logos several times before.

 

[Polanus1561]

Is this different from the "early access" I can get now? If so, is there a place to try and sign up for the beta? I have beta tested for Logos several times before.

I signed up but didn't get a response. You could try. But since things are rolling out soon I personally won't bother.

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

I will say, the link in the original post turned me on to the sale they are having and I discovered I am finally able to afford the full-feature upgrade for Logos 10– so maybe it’s not all bad

 

[dsanch1120]

I will say, the link in the original post turned me on to the sale they are having and I discovered I am finally able to afford the full-feature upgrade for Logos 10– so maybe it’s not all bad

Same boat for me actually!

 

[davejonescue]

Was able to get a hold of the potential pricing model. Looks like they are basically taking the cost of a normal Feature Upgrade, that most people get every 2 years, and charging it per year to keep cash coming in for development. These prices are not bad at all, and look to equal roughly $12 a month at its highest if you have L10 - FF. If you do not own Logos 10 - FF, looks to be at roughly $30 a month for Max, $20 a month for Pro, and about $12 a month for Premium.

 

[Polanus1561]

Speaking for myself. If you know your resources well, it doesn't seem all these is necessary.

 

[davejonescue]

Speaking for myself. If you know your resources well, it doesn't seem all these is necessary.

I agree. I am a layman, so I mostly use Logos as a digital library. I havent gotten into all the stuff it can do. I really cant think of much more they could possibly add, since it already takes 100 hours of lessons to be considered a pro at it. I know a lot of people were begging for AI integration though, so going forward I think that may be one of of their main focuses.

 

[Ed Walsh]

Looks like Logos bible software is switching to a subscription-based service for its features

I have never known a subscription-based scheme that did not cost more in the long run.

 

[Ploutos]

I have never known a subscription-based scheme that did not cost more in the long run.

Neither have the people who came up with the idea for the as-a-service model.

 

[Andrew35]

I have never known a subscription-based scheme that did not cost more in the long run.

I hate subscriptions. I always feel like they're set up in hopes that they can keep charging my card for a while after I die.

 

[dsanch1120]

I have never known a subscription-based scheme that did not cost more in the long run.

My feelings exactly!

 

[Edward]

I hate subscriptions.

Yes, my Office 2013 runs great on my Windows 7 computer, meanwhile my Windows 10 computer will be obsolete next year. Already looking at upgrading it to Linux.

 

[dsanch1120]

Yes, my Office 2013 runs great on my Windows 7 computer, meanwhile my Windows 10 computer will be obsolete next year. Already looking at upgrading it to Linux.

I ran pop os in college (based on Ubuntu), I use a Mac now, but definitely had a good experience with Linux

 

[SolaScriptura]

I miss Bibleworks now more than ever.

 

[Kinghezy]

I have used AndBible (access to sword resources) on my android devices. I've not had the need to install bible apps on a computer but there are definitely SWORD apps (https://www.crosswire.org/applications/) for both Linux and windows that would give you access to some older commentaries (Calvin, Matthew Henry, Gill, etc). I'm a layman so not sure how/if this would be useful for pastors, but it has been a great resource to me for myself and family.

 

[Edward]

@Kinghezy While I would think that pastors would need more robust tools, I've used e-Sword on my laptops for years and AndBible on my phone and Kindle.

Given the current state of AI, I'd tend to side eye any pastor that used it for sermon prep at this point.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

FAQ: https://www.logos.com/early-access/faq

These subscriptions will replace Preaching Suite, Faithlife Connect, and other Logos feature sets. Libraries will still be available for purchase separately (e.g., Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc.).

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I have never known a subscription-based scheme that did not cost more in the long run.

I pay $69.99/yr for 6 members of my family to be able to have all the Office products and 1 TB each of OneDrive storage with Microsoft. 6 tB of space in the cloud per year at < $5/month, along with all the Office products is a pretty good deal.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I've paid for the current subscription model for many years now. They've renamed it a couple of times.

I find Logos to be an invaluable resource. I only preach about 10-12 times per year (more than one year when I preached for 3 months straight), and Logos is a great resource for me.

I've already bought most of the major commentary sets I need and I'll add a commentary on a specific book if I need it. I don't really care much for updating my Gold (or whatever) libraries since I bought them. Most resources in those libraries are interesting but not useful to me. That said, if I have a choice between buying a systematic tome on Logos vs Kindle or ePub, I'll buy it in Logos. I can then search theological topics across resources to I'll remember a specific topic in some Puritan work and can find it quickly and even export rapidly what I want to read.

For my sermon prep, I'll export the relevant portions from the commentaries into Word documents in my sermon prep folder. I'll then upload those Word documents into VoiceDream and listen to commentaries (since I can see well enough to read them). I've literally listened to lengthy commentaries (or even whole systematic theological works) while mowing, running, or waiting in line to get my emissions check.

The other thing I love about Logos is the ability to do a Greek or Hebrew lexicon check. I can easily find the Greek text and (with some struggle and magnification) figure out how the word is parsed or look it up in BDAG or HALOT.

So, why to the subscription? I did it years ago and will continue to do it because I just want to be able to get version updates without a hassle. More power to those who like to buy and keep old versions of software, but I am happy to get the latest updates and patches.

 

[fredtgreco]

I miss Bibleworks now more than ever.

I still use Bibleworks 10. The problem with Bibleworks is different - they doubled down on esoteric features practically nobody uses (like high quality images of pages of Sinaiticus). Surprise - pastors did not want to spend hundreds of dollars on such boondoggles!