Pushbullet starts charging for existing free features in the Pro version of its app

By Julian Chokkattu November 17, 2015

pushbullet announces paid version — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s tough finding a way to monetize an app after offering it for free from its inception, but the folks over at Pushbullet have decided to bite the bullet and give it a try.

This morning, Pushbullet, an app that lets you sync notifications between devices, share links, files, and send messages, announced a paid version for iOS and Android called Pushbullet Pro.

While Pushbullet Pro has some new features, you now have to pay to use previously free features, such as universal copy and paste, as well as mirrored action notification support. The Pro version lets you send files 1GB or smaller, as opposed to the free version that offers a 25MB size limit. Sending messages (SMS/Whatsapp/Kik), which used to be unlimited, is now restricted to 100 per month for the free version, and Pro users get 100GB of storage space as opposed to 2GB for the free version. Users also will receive priority support in the Pro version if they run into any issues.

pushbullet — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Pushbullet Pro offers two pricing models, a monthly-billed subscription for $5, or a yearly fee of $40, which saves you about $20. You can cancel the yearly subscription at any time and receive a prorated refund.

The company has been growing its user base into the “millions,” while searching for a way to monetize the app.

“We could have kept Pushbullet completely free, following the path of many free services by showing ads and selling data to make money,” said CEO Ryan Oldenburg in the blog post announcing Pushbullet Pro. “We don’t want to do that. We never want to hurt the Pushbullet experience with ads or betraying your trust by selling your data. Since Pushbullet must support itself, we want to do that by having you as our customer.”

Reactions to the announcement have mostly been negative, and users are disgruntled with having to pay for features that were once free. Comments on the blog post indicate that users think the price is too high for the Pro version.

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Julian Chokkattu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…

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