SaaS COMPASS — what changed https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/ Recorded changes to the prices, conditions and claims published on SaaS COMPASS, with the old value, the new value and the reason. Corrections to this site's own text are included and labeled. en Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Squarespace Premium / Enterprise — what can be said about the price of SSO on Squarespace (scope change)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-08-en-squarespace-premium-enterpriseTue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000The table stated that the price is not published and that the figure cannot be calculated. → The article now states why the method used for monday.com and Asana — anchor the quote to the published tier immediately below — does not work here: Premium is not on the published plan ladder at all, and it bundles page drafts and the Design Library with SSO.

Squarespace did not change anything. The three Squarespace facts already in the ledger were rechecked on 8 September 2026 and none of them moved; two new ledger entries were added for the plan ladder and for what Premium bundles.

]]> HubSpot Starter Customer Platform — how the plan is described (correction)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-07-en-hubspot-starter-customer-platformMon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000#08: “promotional rates of $20 monthly and $7 annually, and we could not separate out the standard price”. #10: listed as “HubSpot Marketing Starter, $7/seat”. → The list price, the annual promotional rate and the monthly promotional rate are named separately, each quoting the vendor’s “new customers only, limited time” note. #08 now states why a limited-time price is kept off its annual-against-monthly axis.

The three figures now come from one ledger entry, so a change to the price moves every mention of it at once.

]]> Article 20: the hours a month that bring the payback inside 6 and 24 months — the two thresholds, with the revenue uplift at zero (correction)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-07-en-article-20-the-hours-a-month-that-bring-the-payback-inside-6-and-24-monthsMon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +00009.2 hours and 3.1 hours → 9.3 hours and 3.2 hours

Rounded to the nearest tenth, the printed figure did not reach the target: 9.2 hours a month pays back in 6.03 months. Thresholds of this kind are now rounded up.

]]> Article 20, Japanese edition: the hours a month at or below which the cost is never recovered — the threshold (correction)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-07-en-article-20-japanese-edition-the-hours-a-month-at-or-below-which-the-cost-is-never-recoveredMon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +00002.45 hours → 2.44 hours

¥7,500 ÷ ¥3,067 is 2.4454 hours, so at 2.45 hours the cost is still recovered, slowly. A threshold stated as “or less” is now rounded down.

]]> Article 20: the payback calculation — how a reader runs it with their own figures (editorial basis)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-07-en-article-20-the-payback-calculationMon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000the formula and a worked example in the text → a form in the article that runs the same division, with a link that carries the figures

The form computes only what the article states: hours × loaded labor cost plus added revenue × gross margin, against the monthly spend. Entries stay in the reader's browser and are not sent anywhere.

]]> Article 8: the annual-against-monthly arithmetic — how a reader runs it with their own contract (editorial basis)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-07-en-article-8-the-annual-against-monthly-arithmeticMon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000the table and the formulas in the text → a form in the article that runs the same formulas from the 4 vendors in the table or the reader's own prices, with a link that carries the figures

The form computes only what the table states: extra paid at the month you stop, months to break even, and that extra as a multiple of the annual discount. Entries stay in the reader's browser and are not sent anywhere.

]]> Article 9: how many seats get billed — how a reader works it out for their own headcount (editorial basis)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-07-en-article-9-how-many-seats-get-billedMon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000the 10-person case and the seat rules quoted in the text → a form in the article that applies each vendor's minimum, increments and free allowances to your own headcount, with a link that carries the figures

The form computes only what the tables state: billable seats after rounding up, the annual total, and what the rounding and the read-only staff cost. Shopify is left out because it does not sell seats. The Semrush total is $3,027.96 rather than the $3,028 in the table, which is $117.33 x 12 rounded to the dollar; the table now says so. Entries stay in the reader's browser and are not sent anywhere.

]]> HubSpot Starter Customer Platform — entry price shown in the comparison table and on the card (price display fixed)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-hubspot-starter-customer-platformSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000$7–$20 / seat, annual (table); from $20 / seat (card) → $7 / seat billed annually and $10 billed monthly, both promotional rates for new customers, against a $20 regular price

The vendor’s page did not change. All three figures were already in this site’s own source ledger; the hub had collapsed them into a single range.

]]> This site — article count and last-verified date on the front page (correction)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-this-siteSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +000023 Articles · Last review 08 / 26 → 24 Articles · Last verified 09 / 01, both counted at build time

Both figures were typed by hand and had fallen behind the articles themselves.

]]> The list of six platforms — how the list is presented (editorial basis)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-the-list-of-six-platformsSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000“Top 3”, with Rank 01 to Rank 06 on the cards → Editor’s picks, with no rank numbers

This site publishes no score, and the order is one editor’s view. Numbering it read as a measurement it is not.

]]> The six cards on the front page — “Ad” and “PR” badges (claim removed)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-the-six-cards-on-the-front-pageSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000“Ad ·” / “PR ·” prefixes on six cards → removed; only the factual part, such as “free plan available”, is kept

This site carries no affiliate links at present, so an advertising label described a relationship that does not exist. The labels return if a partnership starts.

]]> The front page — how the figures on this site are described (correction)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-the-front-pageSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000every figure is the vendor’s own published number → prices and terms are the vendors’ published figures; totals, break-even points and thresholds are this site’s own arithmetic on top of them, and are labeled where they appear

]]> Payback period — the 6 / 12 / 24-month thresholds (editorial basis)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-payback-periodSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000Sign if payback is inside 6 months; if it runs past 24 months you cannot buy it on that arithmetic. → The thresholds are labeled as this site’s own default, with the assumptions shown and low, base and high cases side by side.

]]> When a spreadsheet stops being enough — the 3 people / 5,000 records / 80 deals thresholds (editorial basis)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-when-a-spreadsheet-stops-being-enoughSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000a spreadsheet only breaks when 3 or more people touch it → the lead is written from the symptoms; the numeric table stays, marked as an illustrative scenario reasoned backwards from how the failures happen

]]> Security questionnaires — coverage claim and the legal basis given (correction)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-security-questionnairesSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000these seven items fill in most of a questionnaire; a privacy policy is required by Japan’s personal information protection act → the seven items are a starting point, not most of a questionnaire; the statutory requirement is that the stated purpose be in a state the person can readily know, which a privacy policy is one way to meet

]]> Annual or monthly billing — how Shopify is described (correction)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-annual-or-monthly-billingSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000The one exception is Shopify. → Of the five vendors checked, Shopify reaches break-even earliest, at 8.92 months.

]]> Unused accounts, canceling and downgrading — claim about which companies pay the most (claim removed)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-unused-accounts-canceling-and-downgradingSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000The companies that stop at ② are the ones paying the most. → removed; the billing, deactivation and renewal dates are given per vendor instead

We could not point to a survey behind the claim.

]]> Semrush plans — plan recommendation (editorial basis)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-semrush-plansSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000Most businesses will fit inside SEO. → marked as the editor’s view, with the limits that decide it shown alongside

]]> The English edition — currency and tax assumptions (scope change)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-the-english-editionSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000yen prices, Japanese consumption tax and a card issuer’s foreign transaction fee → US published prices in US dollars; sales tax is described as determined by the billing address and no rate is assumed

Buying from Japan is covered in the Japanese edition, which keeps the yen figures.

]]> “How much do you actually pay, in yen” — languages this article is published in (scope change)https://costofsoftware.com/software-pricing/changes/#2026-09saascompass-2026-09-06-en-how-much-do-you-actually-pay-in-yenSun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000English and Japanese → Japanese only; the old English URL redirects to the Japanese article

The question only arises for a buyer paying in yen.

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