I think these comparative arguments about other costs such as coffees etc are missing the point. The true issue is whether someone thinks they are getting value for money out of a given expense. In my view, at £12.99 Zwift is good value for money, but at £17.99 it is probably not. Especially when you compare it to other monthly expenses that all have to come out of the same budget.
If someone stops to buy food on a ride, that’s them making a conscious decision about the value for money of making that purchase. It may even be pre-planned. That is quite different to an enforced price hike.
As a paying customer, what this price hike feels like to me is that Zwift have suddenly realised that their profit margins are too low or negative, and that the best way to recoup these losses is to ask me and everyone else to make up the gap. The argument that they haven’t raised prices since 2017 is a terrible one as it’s essentially admitting that they ran their business poorly and now we have to fix it for them. And I can’t help thinking that all the stupid hardware projects which mostly came to nothing must have cost many millions that they otherwise could have spent on the game and/or avoiding these price hikes.
I don’t doubt that the market is a tough one right now for Zwift. But people shouldn’t criticise others for deciding that Zwift’s value proposition is suited to them or not.
I’m sure Zwift have done the maths and decided the cost hike will only lose them x% of customers, and that there will be a net increase. If they have, that’s as short sighted as keeping the price the same since 2017.
Riding 200 miles a month outside costs me nothing, riding 200 miles a month on Zwift costs me my monthly zwift subscription, I use the same bike etc for both, so what costs are their to calculate for outdoor riding (maybe coffee and cakes etc )
I think come fall, some folks will try the competition, realize they’ve got their own issues, or lacks what Zwift offers, and return; at which point they’ll realize the cost of 2-3 gel packets isn’t as big of a deal as they’re making it out to be.
Absolutely 100% correct. There is a lot of posturing here by people who have no idea just how bad those other indoor cycling experiences are. And no, most of the northern hemisphere can’t “just go outdoors” for a good many months.
Mywhoosh? Really?
None of this is to say there aren’t valid criticisms about the lack of Zwift development, but I weigh that against the value of my dollar and I still think it’s worth the money.
It’s not that I can’t afford to pay €20, but why should I if the competition is still at €15? That’s enough difference to give the alternatives a serious try. Until now I haven’t really bothered because Zwift is familiar and change is always difficult. If the competition follows suit and also raise their prices, I would probably stick with Zwift. Rouvy and Fulgaz have my attention, maybe MyWhoosh for a rainy day in the outdoor season.
People use Zwift for different reasons and in different ways. Not everyone is a hardcore racer who also climbs big Alps at least four times a week. Outdoor I ride 2-3 times a week around 1 to 1.5 hours. A few times a year I do a longer ride but nothing more then 3 hours. I’m a solo rider, I don’t do coffee stops, don’t need gels and I just drink water. I also don’t pay for the gym or Strava, so I’m not wasting money there either.
I would love to see some statistics on the average Zwift user, what kind of rider brings in the most money. I think this forum offers a very skewed perspective. I don’t think you will see many casual riders here.
Do you not enjoy riding indoors enough to warrant the extra 5 pounds? I just can’t imagine giving up on a handful of indoor rides each month because of the extra cost. If you can bundle up and ride outdoors, sure, but for many that is simply not an option.
I don’t race either, I just do it to burn calories. But it is something I use several times a week and have no real outdoor alternative and for me, it is exceptionally easy to justify the price. I think the core Zwift population are people with my usage habits more than yours but I could be wrong.
It’s a tough decision what to do to be honest. I certainly do not enjoy riding outdoors in all weathers and that’s why I have zwift. It also provides me with a fixed routine which works better for me as the first thing I do after getting up is go and ride. But there are other platforms that cost less than Zwift which will still allow me to do that. So the real question is ‘what does zwift give me that those other platforms do not?’. I can’t answer that without trying them, which is what I said I will do yesterday (I haven’t cancelled at this moment).
To be fair, anywhere you look will have a bias.
Reddit, and the big facebook group are much the same.
The reality is; we all have our priorities. And some people I think just found their personal limit.
I haven’t found mine, but I know it’s not that far away; but I do still wish that Zwift would offer ‘alternative’ options to retain some folks; as said, family plans, students, kids… is a good place to start; maybe even 6 month plans with a tiny discount for the folks who truly do only ride in the winter months…
If anything though; I think the ‘competition’ software companies will see a rise in folks at least trying their software.
FRR for example has been doing race tests on other platforms, and I believe some others are as well.
So for the folks who do play with the other games, now might be a decent time to hop in while the online scene grows… for at least a week
meanwhile, coworker just came in and updated me on how much of my paycheck is going to taxes…
This makes it an easy cancel for me - no longer financially viable for the casual nature of how I used the service. I can easily cope with something free / cheaper. Assuming they’re banking on <30% attrition leading to net revenue gains - that and hoping people have forgotten or forgiven them by the time NH winter rolls around. Not for me - I will check back in if there is ever a free, or cheaper, limited functionality or add supported tier.
personally, what I value is the predictable and precisely planned workout / training plan, which would be impossible for me to do otherwise given my daily routine. But, there are other apps that can give me that, using the same hardware
True, but if this is the place where Zwift “listens” to their customers that bias is not going to help them make the best decisions. Lots of “statistical” claims are thrown around here, “everyone wants X”, “nobody cares about Y”. The reality can be entirely opposite. Hopefully they have more reliable data to base their decisions on, but it doesn’t seem that way based on how they are handling the xp/level changes.
Luckily I just joined for the year, I ummed and arred with the price. Your phone, your sky, your broadband, netflix, amazon, disney. You cant say yes to everything. I’ve got another 4 cycling apps, all screaming the same, sign up to me. I’ll use it for the year. Then I’ll cancel it, price increase by 50 quid. Greed! Fact!
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