Okay, let’s talk about figuring out the cost of this “Slingshot” license. Seriously, you’d think it’d be simple, right? You want the software, you should know what it costs. But nope! It was like peeling an onion.
First thing, I went straight to their official place. Yeah, the website. Looked shiny, talked a big game about features and how awesome it is. But when I clicked around for actual numbers? Crickets. Nothing. Just a big friendly “Contact Sales” button staring me in the face. Like, come on, man, just tell me!
So, figuring maybe they just forgot to put it online, I did what everyone does. I reached out. Filled out that contact form, said I wanted pricing. Waited a couple days, feeling hopeful. Then the email lands.
It starts nice enough, thanking me for my interest. Then they hit me with: “We’d love to schedule a quick call to discuss your needs!” Yeah, no. I hate those calls. All I want is a ballpark figure to see if this is even in the same universe as my budget. Felt like they were dodging the question right out of the gate.
Pushed back. Sent another email: “Really appreciate the offer, but honestly? I just need to know roughly how much this costs per year. Can you just tell me?” Simple question!
Finally, they reply. But guess what? It still wasn’t one price. It was a menu. My heart sank a little.
Here’s the gist they sorta-kinda gave me:
- Just the bare-bones, basic features? Starts at around $X per person per month. Okay, sounds decent, maybe?
- But I actually need feature Y to do my thing? Adds another chunk of money. Oh.
- Oh, you want support that actually answers your questions? That’s extra too.
- Need more than just the absolute minimum stuff saved? Storage space costs more. Of course it does.
- And hey, if you have a team bigger than, say, 5 people? The price doesn’t just add – sometimes it gets more expensive per person.
It wasn’t one cost. It was like ten little costs piling on. I sat there with my calculator app, mashing buttons. Base price, times 5 team members. Plus support package. Add storage tier 2. Oh, that crucial feature is mandatory? That fee too… the total kept climbing. Felt way more than that shiny $X per month they might casually mention somewhere.
Then came the yearly thing. Most stuff is pay per year, not month. So that nice monthly price? Multiply by 12 for the actual chunk of cash you need. It sneaks up on you.
The kicker? After finally wrestling this info out of them… I found some old forum threads. Guess what? Prices went up! Significantly! That basic license? Way cheaper a couple of years ago. They don’t exactly advertise the price history either.
So, my takeaway after all this digging and email-tag?
Total sticker price is a mirage. Assume the number you think you see is only the very tip of the iceberg. There will be features locked behind paywalls, support tiers, user minimums (and maximums that cost more!), storage limits… it adds up fast. And yeah, they really don’t want to tell you until you’re already talking to sales. Makes sense for them, sucks for us just trying to budget.
Always, always, ask what the absolute total cost would be for what you actually need. Don’t trust the big friendly button numbers. Learned that the hard way!
