Perpetual license

Before subscriptions took over, most shop software was sold this way: pay once, run it on your own server, and pay a yearly maintenance fee, commonly around 18% of the license price, for updates and support. Stop paying maintenance and the software usually keeps running, but it stops getting updates. E2 Shop System is a familiar example in job shops.

Published and reported figures in this segment vary widely. ShopKeeper lists $7,500 one time for three concurrent users. MIE Trak Pro is reported around $3,000 per user perpetual. Global Shop Solutions is estimated at roughly $110,000–200,000 in the first year for 15–30 users with about 18% annual maintenance. The appeal is predictability. Subscription prices have been rising, with SaaS inflation reported at 12.3% year over year in 2025, and even "lifetime" deals change: Plex's lifetime pass went from $119.99 to $749.99 by July 2026.

Traveler's Shop Server follows the perpetual model with hardware included: $4,250 one time (or $6,500 for Shop Server Defense), unlimited users, 12 months of updates, and an optional continuity plan ($59 or $99 a month). The box keeps working if you never pay another dollar. It's planned to ship after Traveler Cloud.