How to Save Money on Software Licenses

Software licenses can get expensive, especially if you are paying premium prices for a variety of different software tools. Thankfully, there are a few tried and tested ways to save on the cost of software licenses.

Pretty much no matter what you are doing with your computer, you are using some sort of software tools to do it. You might use your computer to work, run a business, create content, or even for writing or some creative pursuit. Almost certainly, you are using a variety of different software tools, and many of the best ones require expensive licenses, especially to use them for any sort of commercial use. While using different software tools might be crucial and can really add up, it doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive.

There are a variety of smart ways to save money on the cost of software licenses, without losing out on whatever features those tools offer that you might want or need. From using the right sort of software, taking advantage of open-source options, using your free time to take surveys and earn gift cards to help pay for your software licenses, or simply making use of discounts and deals. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular ways to save money on software costs.

Open-Source Software Can Usually Do the Job

By far the most common and popular way to save money on software licenses is to find a good open-source alternative. These tools are created by programmers working together as a community to replicate and provide similar functionality to premium software tools. They are typically distributed for free and can be modified and distributed at the user’s whim. They might not work in exactly the same way as premium software, but most of the time, they can get you pretty close.

A great example is the Microsoft Office 365 Suite, which is a great set of tools for creating documents, spreadsheets, databases, and all sorts of other documents. We would find it hard to believe if you told us you’ve never used one of their products. There are popular open source versions of the entire suite in LibreOffice and OnlyOffice, as well as a variety of stand-alone tools like Writer that function as a perfectly passable word-processor program.

Often, using open-source software means accepting that the UI and functionality or interconnectability will be worse than the premium version of the product, and when searching for open-source software, users should be wary and do thorough research before downloading unknown software.

Pay Piecemeal For What You Use

Many businesses and individuals might fall into the trap of buying an entire suite of tools when in reality, they only need one or two of them. Most software companies will offer the opportunity to buy or subscribe to licenses at a lower rate, with only some tools or programs available, rather than the entire suite.

If a lower-tier subscription has everything you need in it, why bother taking the more expensive version? Keep your eyes and mind focused on what you actually need and plan to use; don’t fall into the trap of paying for things you don’t need.

Survey Platforms Can Help You Earn A Little Extra

One way of reducing the cost of your software tools is actually not to reduce the cost, but instead to earn a little bit of extra money. There are a few different survey platforms, like BrandBee, that let users take marketing surveys and offer gift cards as rewards. These gift cards can be used for services like Google Play and PayPal, which means that they can be used to help pay for different software tools and licenses.

While the amount you get for spending a little bit of your free time to take a survey or two isn’t going to be enough to purchase an entire year’s subscription to a premium tool, it can still help to defray the cost of grabbing a license for an expensive software product.

Discounts Can Help Make the Dream Work

There are a few ways that you can purchase software licenses that can provide you with a significant discount. If you have the money to do so, many software providers offer annual or longer-term subscriptions that come with a significant 15% or 30% discount. This is a great deal if you are going to be actively using the software over a long period of time, especially if you are using it for a commercial purpose.

Another great way to net a bit of discount on products is to wait for seasonal sales. Around Christmas and Black Friday or Cyber Monday, plenty of different software vendors post reasonable sales discounts to help generate new customers. You should still only get a license if you do actually intend to use the product, but if there is a product you think you need or want, keeping an eye on their socials around key seasonal times might be a great way to get the product at a discount.

Educational and Student Deals Exist

If you are a student, educato,r or involved with an academic institution in some way, it is highly likely that there are a range of software tools and licenses that you can get access to at special pricing.

These deals typically can even outlast by a year or so the time of actual enrolment, and are a great resource for students and educators to make use of.

Final Thoughts

Software licenses can cost more than just a pretty penny, but some software tools are absolutely crucial for certain educational or business pursuits. If you shop around for deals, only pay for what you use, or even use open-source versions, or simply use your free time to earn some gift cards to help pay for the cost, you can easily make some significant savings on the cost of your crucial software tools.