8

On the Mathematica Store, there are plenty of different licences:

enter image description here Can somebody maybe tell me:

What is the difference for between the three Mathematica | Desktop licences? In the comparison by Wolfram themselves, I can find the following differences:

enter image description here

However, I am already able to use Mathematica | Online in a web browser and on my mobile devices without any subscription. So why does one subscription cost $\frac74$ as much as the other?

Also, what is the difference between annual and one-time plans? Are updates "free" when you pay yearly? Or do you only get the newest version only every year? More specifically: What is the difference between paying 80€ yearly or paying 160€ one-time? And what is the difference between paying 80€ yearly or paying 120€ or 140€ yearly?

Maximilian Janisch
  • 237
  • 2
  • 9
  • 1
    Yes, updates are for free if you pay yearly. IMHO, a very important factor to consider. – Henrik Schumacher Nov 29 '19 at 11:25
  • @HenrikSchumacher So what is the personal license service good for if I can just pay yearly? PS: I like your profile picture – Maximilian Janisch Nov 29 '19 at 11:26
  • Now that you say it, I am not that sure about the updates anymore. (I get my license from my employer, so it is quite a different thing.) Would be better to wait for someone who is better informed... – Henrik Schumacher Nov 29 '19 at 11:34
  • 1
    Anyways, the 120Euro/year license includes Email support (which I never took advantage of) and a "second personal-use license". I think this means that you may install Mathmatica on an additional machine. So the number of running kernels on both machines is limited at any time. (I think it's two kernels and up to 8 parallel kernels) Still, this license might make sense to you if you have a desktop and a laptop: You can use Matematica on your desktop when you are at your desk and on your laptop when you are on travels. – Henrik Schumacher Nov 29 '19 at 11:34
  • @HenrikSchumacher Thank you for that additional information! (Also, I think Wolfram has done quite a good job at making their licences as confusing as possible ) – Maximilian Janisch Nov 29 '19 at 11:36
  • "I think Wolfram has done quite a good job at making their licences as confusing as possible" Agreed. =) If I were you, I would probably go for the 80 Euro/year license. There is usually only one new release per year, and the additional services of the other licenses have ... a very limited usage spectrum. In particular, if you have only one machine. (I haven't understood the purpose of this online bogus, yet.) – Henrik Schumacher Nov 29 '19 at 11:44
  • "PS: I like your profile picture" Oh thank you! You know, I made it myself. =D – Henrik Schumacher Nov 29 '19 at 11:44

1 Answers1

8

You can have free access to Mathematica Online and the Wolfram Cloud through a Wolfram ID. Notebooks saved in the cloud under the free account expire after 60 days. The 80€ yearly removes this restriction.

You can buy a Student Desktop license of Mathematica for 160€. This gives you a permanent license until 1 year after you graduate as a student - if you go to graduate school you can continue to use the license until you graduate from graduate school. The yearly/semesterly subscription gives access for a year/semester. The 240€ bundles personal license service (for 1 year) with the Desktop license and follows the same yearly and semesterly structure. The 280€ bundles personal license service plus (for 1 year) with the Desktop license and follows the same yearly and semsterly structure.

The difference between Standard Desktop and Standard Desktop/Cloud is that the 280€ gives you the upgraded access to Mathematica Online and the Wolfram Cloud (removes the free account and gives you a paid account). The 240€ does not include the upgraded cloud account.

Upgrades are free with the annual and semerstly licenses. Upgrades are free when you have personal license service or personal license service plus bundled with the license (note when you first purchase the permanent license, you have 1 year of the service bundled - when it expires, you will need to renew the service).

Subscribe = annual/semesterly access.

Buy Now = full license purchase.

Avery Davis
  • 146
  • 3
  • Thank you for this comprehensive and insightful answer! Are you saying that Online Notebooks get deleted after 60 days with the basic plan? EDIT: Nevermind, after a quick research on your answer I found this: https://support.wolfram.com/kb/47496 – Maximilian Janisch Dec 02 '19 at 17:41