OP here.
Had an interesting online chat with Quicken Support Canada today about the
new subscription based products. Only 2 products available - Quicken Cash Manager for Personal Finances and Quicken Home & Business for Investments and Business Finances. Cost $40/yr and $90/yr respectively.
I'm a Quicken Deluxe user so I asked which would be the comparable new product. Answer: Quicken Home & Business. Cash Manager can't even track loans.
Let's compare costs:
Quicken Deluxe cost me $70 for 3 years of full functionality (or $23.33/yr). Even at full retail cost of $75 that's only $25/yr for full functionality. The new subscription based equivalent, Home & Business is $90/yr.
I asked, $90/yr vs $25/yr, what great new benefits do I get for the increased cost of the subscription based product? Answer: "you are entitled to free support from us"
Seriously, that was the answer.
If my math is right, under this new pricing model, Quicken could lose 72% of their customers and still break even! By the way, last year, Intuit sold Quicken to H.I.G. Capital, a Miami private equity firm. I understand they need to monetize their investment, but this is ridiculous. They have limited the product offerings and greatly increased the price without adding consumer benefits. Regarding customer support, reviews on this site are not encouraging.
http://tinyurl.com/zrykfdp
The FAQ's on the Quicken Canada website confirm that you will not be able to add any new transactions when your subscriptions ends.
Just a reminder, Quicken has not introduced the subscription based model to the US,
YET. Could be coming next year. If you don't want this to happen, please voice your opinions to Quicken any way you choose. In the end, we will all choose with our wallets.