By Nicole Nguyen

Fed up with spending too much on subscriptions, I found myself tempted by a pricing plan cropping up in more apps: a lifetime membership. The catch? You need to pony up hundreds, or even thousands, up front -- and the one-time payment doesn't necessarily mean you have access to the service forever.

Companies might be using the pricing scheme to combat subscription fatigue. The cost of streaming and other online services keeps ticking up. In January, Netflix raised prices across all tiers and Amazon Music upped the fees for unlimited plans, while Apple increased the monthly cost of its AppleCare+ coverage last week.

Plus, more things that previously didn't need a subscription now require one. Smart baby monitors, fitness trackers and even cars need a plan: I considered a new Toyota model with some entertainment features that cost $180 a year to access.

These payments can add up to enormous sums in the long run.

A lifetime subscription could save you money, but it depends on your usage and the business's longevity. There are also instances where these plans don't make sense. A one-time payment is too good to be true for services with high recurring costs. These companies might compromise your security and privacy to make money in other ways.

Crunch the numbers

Lifetime subscriptions go by several names. They can be called "forever plans," "perpetual licenses" or "permanent access passes." While the marketing differs, the message is the same: Forget the monthly subscription and pay once to get access to the app.

Not all offers break the bank. I made a one-time $23 payment for Blank Spaces, which turns my iPhone's homescreen into a distraction-free oasis. The app otherwise costs $18 a year.

Some pricier options can be recouped in a few years. You can break even with lifetime options for the gym workout planner Hevy ($75) and media streamer Plex ($120) in about three years. The productivity-focus tool Freedom has a $100 Forever plan, or about 2.5 years on the $40 annual tier. You can make your money back on dating app Bumble's $300 premium lifetime subscription after just five months.

Most apps, however, call for a larger commitment to make the investment worth it. You recover the $149 cost for anti-jet-lag app Timeshifter after nearly six years, while calorie-counter Lose It's $190 plan takes about five years, as does meditation app Calm's $400 Calm for Life plan. Another meditation app, Waking Up, charges $1,500 for a lifetime membership. You'd need to use the app for more than 11 years to balance the books.

Lifetime subscriptions aren't available for every service, but if you spot the option in your favorite app, should you go for it? I reached out to Kirthi Kalyanam, a marketing professor at Santa Clara University who researches pricing strategy, for advice. He offered this:

   -- Calculate the expected lifetime: Divide the lifetime fee by the annual 
      fee. This calculation equals the number of years it will take to amortize 
      the high upfront cost. If you are sure you will use that service longer 
      than that, you will come out ahead. Companies are making a bet that you 
      won't, he says. 
 
   -- Be realistic about your usage: "Consumers are very, very bad at 
      predicting their future tastes," Kalyanam says, which is why he generally 
      cautions against lifetime packages, especially for beauty- and 
      fashion-related products. Do you think you will actually use the app? 
      Look at your history. The more experience you have with the service, the 
      more informed your decision. 
 
   -- If you're a new user, try a cheaper short-term plan before making a 
      lifetime commitment. Mercedes-Benz offers a $60-a-month subscription to 
      boost the acceleration on some of its electric vehicles. It's worth 
      seeing if you notice the difference before committing to the $1,950 
      lifetime-of-vehicle activation. 
 
   -- Assess the company's longevity: Lifetime doesn't mean your lifetime. It 
      means the lifetime of the company. Service can end suddenly because of 
      financial failure or an acquisition, leaving customers out of luck. (I 
      miss you, Rdio.) These plans should really be called long-term -- not 
      lifetime -- subscriptions. "The better known the brand, the more 
      attractive the package," he says. 

Value isn't the only consideration. You might lose out on new features and, without the financial incentive, you might not be as motivated to use the service. A big tech company might also copy the app and launch its own similar product...at a steep discount or no cost. You can't predict this practice, called " sherlocking," but you should be aware of the possibility.

Subscribe to stay secure

App makers often need to charge subscriptions to cover their own costs for servers, new features and other development.

Be skeptical of subscription plans that seem too good to be true, says Trevor Hilligoss, senior vice president of SpyCloud Labs, a cybercrime research group. That is especially so for virtual private networks or cloud-storage providers, which may share your data to make money, he says.

There could be other shortfalls, such as slow speeds, frequent downtime or unreliable servers to cut costs, says security researcher Mario Heiderich.

For services with high recurring expenses, such as VPNs and apps that store your files and photos, you want to pay a monthly fee.

I might have subscription fatigue, but I am happy to pay my password manager every year. My business funds the company's ability to defend my most valuable digital assets against new, ongoing security threats.

There is a new plan I'm considering signing up for: $240 for 10 years of Pinboard, a site that archives bookmarked websites. Because on the internet, forever isn't guaranteed.

For more WSJ Technology analysis, sign up for our weekly newsletter .

Write to Nicole Nguyen at nicole.nguyen@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 15, 2025 09:00 ET (14:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.