Hi Strava Team,
Why not offer users a choice between a free version (with ads) vs. a paid subscription (no ads) like Spotify/YouTube?
I want to share this in order to start a conversation and see what the community and Strava think. This is coming from a place of trying to find common interests among the users and Strava. I read the clarification this weekend and understand that the price increase is necessary due to the cost of running the service with more activities, data uploads, and the increase in users.
This is important because:
- Users want to save money during an economic downturn, but do not want to lose Strava and previously free services (like Year-in-Review & Leadership Board) that used to be available to them.
- Strava needs to generate money as a business to process all of the data being uploaded in order to stay free. Strava cannot be "free" forever without more money.
- Free service (with ads) is basically like the free version of Spotify/YouTube. I personally don't think ads are bad if I am given a choice to opt-out of ads through the paid service. Additionally, I think receiving ads for brands that are relevant to my sport can be a net positive (I'm a runner, so Nike, Asics, Adidas, Boston Marathon, local races, etc.). Strava collects based on CPC/CPM. [Need input from users who primarily use free version]
- Paid Service (no ads) is basically what my subscription is now. There can be more perks like race discounts, first-to-test new feature updates, and a fitness brands page where I can go see if there are relevant products/sales being advertised based on my activities.
- Collect a fee based on the products free and paid users purchase through Strava.
I think it would be interesting to set up a poll to allow the community to vote along with comments so we can discuss pros and cons.
thank you!
Next Race: Malibu Half (11/5/23)
