Nice program, shame about the pricing

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I have tried a few 3D design apps since taking up 3d printing as a hobby, I have found this one to be one of the easiest to use, I have gone through several of the tutorials and went to export a model to see how it printed only to discover that the “Basic” option exports a “low resolution” version of the STL file?! and its $239 a YEAR to use it lol.

90%+ of people that will use this type of program will be 3D hobbyists, these are people who probably will spent about $239 ONCE for their printer, that kind of price tag just alienates a very large customer base, even Autodesk have got this.

You need to rethink your pricing if aiming at hobbyists, or don’t bother with an app limited in this way at all, there is a lot of competition in this area, and this app, with this price point, is not one of them.

ATM I don’t see this aimed at hobbyists so will be deleting what looks like a very promising app, shame, but yet another greedy company…

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Hi,

You say 90%+ of users are hobbyists, where did you get that figure? And if this is true, how come people buy this “expensive” app even though they are “hobbyists”? The “About” section of Shapr3D states: Shapr3D is an innovative
3D modeling tool for industrial designers, engineers, product managers, manufacturers, and other design professionals.

Whilst I do agree that this app is extremely user-friendly, the app isn’t mainly targeting “hobbyists” as clearly stated above. Also, if Shapr3D lowered it’s price, the evolution of the program would be slower. During the years I as a hobbyist have used Shapr3D Alot has happned. New functions are added frequently, bugs and fixes are fixed at a weekly basis. Do you think they can work for free?

Many people compare Shapr3D and SketchUp. Shapr3D provides full support for 239 dollar/year whilst SketchUp costs 699, i.e. almost thrice the cost. Inventor is a popular 3D CAD software, the price-tag is 250 dollar/month, i.e. 12 times the cost of Shapr3D. Fusion 360 costs 60 dollar/month, Solidworks 1295 dollar/year, AutoCad costs $5,315/3 years. I mean I could go on for a very long time… Solid edge, altium designer and microstation is also quite alot more expensive than Shapr3D.

So please, tell me. Which apps are you actually comparing to? Because it seems to me that Most other alternatives are expensive, often by a Large margin.

Further, you found this app to be “easiest to use”, shouldn’t that be worth anything? Since most other alternatives Actually are more expensive, and since this app is easier to use, shouldn’t the actual question be: How come Shapr3D is so cheap even though it’s so user friendly?

Whilst I can understand the frustration of going through Tutorials and not being able to export a high quality STL file, I urge you to reconsider your other statements as most of them seem to be related to your frustration rather than facts. Perhaps a better question could be something like: Hi! I’m a new user of Shapr3D and I feel like the price is to high for a hobbyist. For me, I’d like to export high quality STL files. Could you consider making a “hobbyist” membership that includes exporting STL files of high quality for a lower price?

In my experience, the staff and CEO of Shapr3D is extremely in touch with their community. A post with a realistic suggestion is more likely to be fulfilled compared to a shitpost

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Hi @MeanieUK, welcome to the community. I understand that our price does not work for your use case. We thrive for making Shapr3D as accessible as possible, but so far we haven’t found an option to go even lower. For hobbyists I’d recommend occasionally buying a monthly subscription. It’s just $29.99, and gives you Parasolid based solid modeling on iPad, Mac, and Windows, real time Visualization, technical drawings, augmented reality, compatibility with other CAD systems and more.

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I’m using Shapr3D to build designs that get approved by production designers one week, built the next, filmed two weeks after that and are on Netflix, CBS and in feature films within a couple months. And every single person I have turned onto this software needs to be a fully functioning creative every single day or else they don’t have a job. There’s nothing hobbyist about it. Plus this has expanded the value I get from Morphio, Rhino, Blender, Nomad, Procreate, Sketchbook and Poser, that alone pays the price many times over.

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I would have to say that the OP, is observing this program from the ground up with a fairly restrictive view… and thats fine. I believe the best point of response is from the second poster whereby they illustrated nicely the fact that it costs money to have a sustained developmental timeline… and Shapr has a rapid one, which from this poster is most appreciated.

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I started using Shapr3D a couple of years ago. I gave it a go, not expecting much in the sense that I didn’t expect it to be “easy”, in terms of 3D design. I wasn’t an expert (still I’m not) and in the past I always felt disappointed not to be able to translate what I had in my mind in 3D designs: some programs that I tried to get into (ex. SketchUp, Fusion 360) for some reasons never get me going… too cumbersome, too far from immediacy. Hard to explain what was “wrong” with them, I always thought it was really me not adapting to them not the other way around… this is the way 3D is, so just comply, if you can. For the most part, I coudn’t.

I always start a new software without touching the manual, not for haugtiness but simply to see if it would get along with me intuitively, if the time spent together would be a nice journey. The very first time I started Shapr3D I was able to draw from zero a mains power distributor complete with all (fairly complex) output sockets… an experience leaving me frankly surprised, it was the first time that a 3D package was adapting to ME… then I looked at the price. Wow… very far away from any IPad app I purchased in the past. But in a couple of days I made my decision and bought it.

I don’t use 3D designs daily, it is not something I make a living directly out of it (but it helps me in my activity, nonetheless) but I really could not help not to purchase it: it went past my expectations in no time.

This was before Shapr went from 249,00 to 499,00 (if I’m not mistaken with the prices) and I was an early enough adopter to be able to keep it at the old price, something I appreciated a lot. And then the program went from an iPad only application to a Windows native one too, something I appreciated as much if not more. I don’t own a Mac, but this would be a one bit more reason to do so.

What I’m trying to convey is that Shapr3D in my case became sort of indispensable, being very very close to my “hands on” way to approach building/designing, which is invaluable when creating. I’m not exactly an hobbyst, not really a 3D professional, not a graphic designer nor a painter. I don’t really “need” this software, but at the same time and in very many ways I could not do without. For me 249,00 yearly is still very fair for what I get out of it, and for what it gives to me. It is not perfect, It still has a lot of “quirks” and I would prefer (Shapr, listen to this!) to have the sketching experience made more consistent first, before of all other added features, but this is me, I’m confident It will be addressed.

Would I still buy a license for 499? Honestly I would have to think hard, it does not represent a straightforward income for me, I would probabily stick to a lower grade license… but still I would stick to the program itself, no others are as much as intuitive alternatives for me.

Everyone (except the company!) would like a lower price, that’s without doubt, but I don’t really feel it is overpriced… and I’m saying it from a non-professional point of view. If this would be a software I would be more professionally involved with, 499 would be a no brainer for me, it would be a real bargain.

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“ Everyone (except the company!) would like a lower price,…” Short-sighted thinking. If the price were lowered such that the company went bankrupt, then where would we all be?

Best,

Tommy

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You utilise a similar vetting protocol as I.
The longer I can go without RTFM(reading the effin manual) the more inclined I am to immerse myself in the software.

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Well, I don’t read the manual in the “getting acquainted state”, let’s say on the “first date” to have a feel how much the software is auto-explanatory, at least to my personal approach. But afterwards I go for it fairly often, there are many caveats that can’t be explained by themselves, or ways to do things in easier ways than my current knowledge permits.

But absolutely yes, if I have to figure out how to do simple things, or the behaviour is counterintuitive, I’m mostly willing to let it go :hugs:

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Agreed. “You will own nothing and be happy.” Creepy guy on the WEF and part of the NWO.
No thanks! Guys, please (please!), can you do what Lumafusion have done and offer a one off LIFETIME purchase option, with no limitations on functionality. It really is not acceptable that people down on their luck lose access to their tool and content. You’ll sell more licenses too that way.

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Hi @PiCosm, welcome to the community. I understand that our price does not work for you. We work really hard to make Shapr3D as accessible as possible, and our product is already the most affordable and most innovative 3D CAD system on the market. While we would love to make Shapr3D even more accessible, but so far we haven’t found an option to go even lower with our price.

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Hi @Istvan . I like your program and also to use it on the couch on the ipad. I find your price for professionals very competitive. As I am only a private user there is no adeqate pricing for shapr3d as the basic version is only usable to look and feel. No possibilty to save usable stl and save files for later. Fusion360 for example gives the opportunity to have 10 active design and more inactive design to save. There is also the possibilty to export high res stl.
As I like the easy designing of Shapr3d I would also pay 5$ per month
I hope you find a solution to have a version also for home users as I see a lot of potential to get a lot of new customers in this segment.
Have nice day
Mic77

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Hi @Mic77 , I understand that our price does not work for your use case. We really want to make Shapr3D as accessible as possible, and we continuously investigate our options to make it even more accessible. However so far we have not found a way to go even lower with the price.

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I think there are very many of us out there… I’m inclined to think that aside the truly professional ones that have to adapt to whatever software they need to make a living with, the rest is pretty much aligned with that. 3D design is useful in so very many ways, and comes along so nicely with 3D printing, that if you have ideas hardly you can escape to being involved in both. But then 3D design software it’s hard to understand on your own… and here comes Shapr3D.

After all, Shapr was initially born out of the dissatisfaction of current 3D software… wasn’t it?? :wink:

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Hi @rotalumis , we understand that our price does not work for you. We hear you. And while we would love to make Shapr3D even more accessible, we haven’t found a way so far.

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On the contrary Istvan, it does work. Shapr does for me what no other program did, so the price fits, even if tightly.

I was answering to StsSchmi, maybe my answer got mixed with some other…?

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I’m really glad to hear that :slight_smile: We’ll add so much more into Shapr3D that you’ll feel that it’s a bargain.

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If I may add to what is most likely a dead thread: I’m in a similar boat to OP. For context I’m a professional 3D artist (3Ds Max) but don’t have access to a personal license cause that’s also super expensive but for designing stuff to print CAD is the better solution. I really like the usability of Shapr3d but the low resolution export option is a bit of a let down.

Here’s my proposal - instead of a “hobbyists” tier or anything like that, you keep the basic plan exactly as it but add a PER DESIGN or PER EXPORT fee for higher resolution. That way we can test designs using the free low resolution file, print, make adjustments then pay for a high res export.

Example pricing (GBP)
Low - free
Mid - £6
High - £ 12

If I wanted to export more than 2 models at High Res it would make sense to get monthly.

Hope this gets some balls rolling.
-Sam-

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Not so easy I think.

Per design make it to easy to cheat and have an unlimited export, just copy/paste between designs.
Per export is dangerous, if a simple mistake make you pay another time, I see a lot of problems coming. For 3d printing for exemple, you have to do some change after the slicing or if it fail to print.

For me the price is ok, if you just need one design time to time, you have free options to do it.

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Engineering in that type of payment processing I’m sure is not a very efficient means of monetizing a program. It’s bulky. There’s a processing charge for cards every time it’s done. And furthermore it makes me feel like I’m being nickeled and dimed. I prefer the way it’s been done - give a very nice free setup, and then give a perfectly-priced pro option, one that is insanely reasonable.

As a hobbyist who has turned that hobby into a career, less than $1 a day gives me every feature available, and unlimited exports. Even if I were still a hobbyist, $1 a day is very reasonable. I think we have to look at all of what we spend on other things in life (some very silly and trivial) to see how reasonable this is. You also have to take into consideration all of what it takes to make this program work, and to continue to add new features and get better and better.

If you spend $29 a month on this (or less, if you pay yearly) it’s not Shapr3D’s fault you’re not making that $29 back exponentially - it’s your own usage of it. And if that’s because it’s a hobby for you, then please realize - all hobbies consume more money than they produce, otherwise it’s a business! :grin: Given how intuitive and easy it is to use, finding ways to create things and make that money back exponentially is easier I’d say with Shapr3D than ANY other program out there. That makes the bang for the buck out of this world.

I don’t work for them. I’m just thrilled to have a company with a vision like this that made CAD possible for someone like me, who just doesn’t have the time or patience to learn such convoluted and complex programs as what we have elsewhere. It’s not too much to say that I would not be where I am professionally as a designer if it had not been for this program.

Everybody has been talking about lowering the price or keeping it where it is. No one wants it to go up, but I for one would be happy paying $39 or even $49 a month for this. I pay $70 a month for every program Adobe has in Creative Cloud, and use several, but very rarely. I use Shapr3D for hours on hours daily, and even have fun with it on the weekend when I’m not working, because it’s just so intuitive. :slightly_smiling_face:

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