A Deal with the Devil
You've probably heard of the term enshittification.
When the software or services you use seem to get worse over time. Less user-friendly, more frustrating. Facebook being a notorious example, but the problem is widespread.
This is often a problem with free-to-use apps, where revenues are built around mining data or keeping users' eyes glued to advertising.
Paid apps suffer from a different disease: subscriptionitis.
Even a phenomenal program like ZBrush, which was so profitable that it offered free updates for over twenty years, finally succumbed once Maxon acquired it.
In the pursuit of profits, businesses will squeeze users for as much as they can, even if this means a worse experience or the added cost of a subscription.
Subscriptions help the program survive in a competitive market, or so the justification goes.
Did the subscription model save Modo? No.
All the goodwill in the world will not help an overpriced app.
How many users did Maxon retain once ZBrush went subscription-only? A tiny percentage. Zbrush is already a very mature app that is feature-rich. It would be difficult to justify the cost of the sub for the meagre updates on offer, unless you have money to burn or a very specific need.
And this brings me to Blender.
We are insanely lucky that Blender exists. A free, open-source program that can go toe-to-toe with the industry giants. No licensing hassles, no DRM, and no subscription. It doesn't spy on you or collect your data.
And on top of all that, the updates are frequent and extensive. Compared to most subscription-only apps Blender updates are monumental. Major new features are introduced with every release, and with impressive frequency. The app is evolving at a breathtaking pace.
In this cut-throat world where everything seems to be slowly getting worse, Blender is a breath of fresh air. Pushing back against enshittification and subscriptionitis.
But Blender still costs money to develop. There is a team of paid programmers, as well as server costs and all of the other expenses associated with keeping a program the size of Blender running.
Just because Blender doesn't force you to pay doesn't mean you shouldn't. It's well worth supporting the program with a small donation if you can afford it. Keeping the lights on helps everyone involved with 3D, by offering an alternative to the forced subscription model.
If you want to do professional-grade 3D in 2025, you have two options: pay a subscription, or use Blender.
If Autodesk or Maxon could get their way, I'm sure they would be more than happy to see those options whittled down to just one: pay up.
It's easy to take things for granted, but a glance at the current state of tech should make it clear that having an app as powerful and user-friendly as Blender, for free, is not something to be sneered at.
We're lucky, and we should all do our bit to keep Blender alive. Otherwise, the alternative will be far worse.