Hey guys, im sure some of you saw this..
Ambitious project for sure, but what do you think?
89 bucks for lifetime VPN..
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1084231489/4tfy-an-affordable-vpn-for-all/description
I would just get a virtual personal server and install OpenVPN on it, It will cost no more than $5 dollars a month. The problem with this Kickstarter project is as with a lot of Kickstarter projects they fail to generate the needed cash to bring the project to completion. This Kickstarter has to constantly raise cash to meet its expenses if it doesn't then they have to close the project and the customer is out of their $89 dollars.
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I would have issues with any service offering a "lifetime" or one off payment for something with on going costs. $90 represents around three years service for a vpn from other suppliers. What happens to your "lifetime" subscription when the company ceases trading after 12 months?
Think about it, someone offers you a lifetime supply of beer for a thousand bucks. Sounds great but you know it's going to stop before you have drunk a £1000 worth of beer.
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Fair point, that's why I asked... its an interesting proposition, but they would constantly need to take on new users to support the ongoing costs...
Not to mention as they grow in user base they will need to grow the infrastructure which in turn adds even more cost...
I don't see how this could last forever for those who buy in.
But I wanted a outside POV on this.
First off, it's a kickstarter, bleh, I'd never throw that kind of money at something I have no guarantee is going to work. It could just be a scam.
Second, a lifetime VPN service, in my opinion, is like a free VPN service. They can't possibly support their servers for that long, they're going to go out of business after all those interested get the initial investment into it. There's no way they could sustain a large VPN network if their user base decreases that rapidly.
Think about it, companies like PIA and ProtonVPN, they're userbase is pretty solid, because it's almost always the same. They don't need to get more customers, they can, but they don't have to. With their present size, they could sustain themselves. But in a service like this, their user base is essentially decreasing with every purchase because they will no longer get any more money from that user. The company would have to continuously bring in new customers in order to just sustain themselves.
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Lifetime VPN sounds nice but what is lifetime? It could be three years. There was one VPN I used right up till the day I saw an ad for that company offering lifetime. Just something about the idea doesn't add up.
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