Quicken's New Subscription Model - Your Quicken Data Will Be Read-Only If You Don't Pay Up

I find it extremely concerning.

It's one of the reasons I used the phrase "extortion-happy" in an earlier message.

Yes.

Agreed. They may be wise to offer diffeent tiers depending on what features you want. We have twp checking accounts and 2 credit cards. That's it. Don't need portfolio management functions, not even scheduled payments. Just updates and bank bill pay.

On the other hand they are free to charge what the like for whatever they offer, and the market will decide.

It appears users of lapsed subscriptions will have the ability to use the p roduct without online services and support (essentially one-year instead of the current three-year model):

Take a look at Moneyspire. It's a really good Quicken alternative and the software is not a subscription. They have a free trial at

It can't roll-up sub-categories into the Categoty total, and it's reporting format is double spaced, wasting a large amount of paper.

AND, you'd need to Export from Q into QIF format 1 account at a time ...

So, NO THANKS. It's still an immature, inadequate product.

plateau.eyes wrote

Quicken Inc recently announced a new subscription model. The subscription is for 1 year and the price point appears to be approximately 2.5 times what the current year versions sell for.

More concerning than the price increase is your Quicken data will become read-only if you fail to renew the subscription.

This new model is currently being test driven with the Canadian version of Quicken 2017 and, if nothing changes between now and the roll out of Quicken

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Quicken has stated (in early August 2017): The new subscription model will NOT make Quicken data read-only after the subscription expires.

No, that's how a subscription works. The data is yours but the manipulation, aggregation and use of the data by the Qucken program is only as good as the subscription lasts. No one would argue that once their Microsoft Word subscription expires, they should just continue using Word as if nothing had happened, do they? Why is Quicken any different? Quicken is a lot more than just Internet downloads... if you don't want to use Quicken, export your data and use a different program.

Although a steep price increase is concerning, my primary reason for posting was the fact that your data file will become read only should your subscription lapse. The confirmation of subscription will be done using the Intuit ID. So you're continued ability to enter data will rely on successfully phoning home to Quicken Inc periodically.

No one else finds this aspect of the new subscription model concerning?

Microsoft supports both subscription and non-subscription models for their Office products. Quicken was proposing to only provide a subscription model for Quicken.

IHowever, in early August, Quicken announced they decided to change the behavior of the product for subscription customers after membership expires. Quicken's new subscription model now appears to be the same as their "non-subscription" model except the term of membership for Online Services and Support has been reduced from three years to one year. In other words, we should continue to be able to use Quicken after membership expires. The Quicken subscription is only for Online Services and Support.

Except my Word installed on my PC doesn't expire. I can chooose not to have the subscription version.

That would be easy if there was a different program, there isn't, not one that works. If you know of one, please let us know.

I've tried most I could find and found no other to be satisfactory.

I suppose it depends on the functionality you require.

I've been playing with GnuCash and KMyMoney as potential replacements for Quicken for sometime and I've found both to be adequate. KMyMoney is certainly easier (more Quicken-like) but less flexible than GnuCash.

The intriguing benefits for these Quicken alternatives are: * platform portability (Windows, Linux, and OS X) * open source (I can build and patch if necessary) * price

My primary motivation for evaluating Quicken alternatives is that Quicken Inc. may not survive.

I think Quicken is (or was) a great product.  Unfortunately, instead of driving the product's maintenance and support costs down, Intuit managed to increase their costs (for example, with EWC and Mobile) which Quicken Inc. must now attempt to pass on to consumers.  

And for me, the showstopping blocker is loss of downloads from my financial institutions. I'm not going to enter 100s of transactions per week by hand.

Regretably, I see my primary bank and broker looking at Quicken licensing fees and the rapidly dwindling number of desktop PC users and deciding to pull the plug. That will be a sad day.

Both GnuCash and KMyMoney are able to download and import transactions and balances from Direct Connect financial institutions (as well as stock prices). They can also import QFX files (and other file formats). My thinking is that the GnuCash and KMyMoney (and other personal financial software product) communities may be large enough to encourage many financial institutions to continue to provide their customers with access to their financial data in a compatible format. I would consider moving from a financial institution that chose not do provide such support.

to have the subscripti>>> No one else finds this aspect of the new subscription model concerning? >

Except my Word installed on my PC doesn't expire. I can chooose not to have the subscription version.

one that works. If you know of one, please let us know.

I d> if you don't want to use Quicken, export your data and use a

That would be easy if there was a different program, there isn't, not one that works. If you know of one, please let us know.

I've tried most I could find and found no other to be satisfactory.

This will have a wonderful unintended consequence. Not so wonderful for the vendors, but for the users.

If and when this happens, MILLIONS of users will become fixed at their most recent software versions which are NOT subscription based.

No more annual updates, so-called feature improvements, etc. Just solid, working software that will last.

Who needs all the bells and whistles added each year to convince (scam) users into spending more money for a newer version?

WORD, Excel, even Quicken - just leave them alone! They work.

Can't speak to the downloading of information from financial institutions, though. But I doubt most people use or really need that. I do not.

"Can't speak to the downloading of information from financial institutions, though. But I doubt most people use or really need that. I do not."

Are you BSing me??? That's one of the most valuable features of Quicken. It even allowed me to detect a fraudulent use of my wife's credit card in SUCH a timely manner, that the cops knew were the crooks would be and were able to arrest them.

Just curious, why do you upgrade *every* year? Since there are usually very few and very minor changes each year, I usually upgrade only every second or third year.

Of course that my change in the future with the new owners. We'll see.