Seems like some features are Pulse Cloud only. Does this mean that with future releases the standard license will get progressively less features at the expense of cloud?
I really hope that Pulse won’t be going the cloud only route from version 5 like the route Adobe took with CC.
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Hi Richard,
in short, yes!
Pulse v4.7 will be the last version without a cloud subscription. It is a solid feature rich system and you can use it for a long time from now on.
I am neither a cloud fan for everything (canceled my Creative Cloud for Affinity by the way ;-)) but you have to see it like this:
16$/month = 192$/year
192$ / 39$ = 4.9… somewhat
That means you just need to create 5 client sites per year for the money and that with all the additional features like free Addons, Themes, Apps and Services.
For me as a web agency, this is a no brainer.
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Hi Oliver,
I suspected as much. I’m not interested in the addons, themes etc as I currently build sites in Rapidweaver Plus Foundation or Foundry stacks and more recently Blocs. Unlike you I would only want to build the occasional site using Pulse so the Pulse Cloud model is too expensive for me. It’s a shame though as I was beginning to like Pulse but in the light of it moving to the cloud I’ll be going back to Armadillo CMS and Blog (one off purchase) and Joe Workman’s TotalCMS (per license) and EasyCMS (one off purchase) stacks the former of which is far more feature rich than Pulse and is per license a site not cloud. Hopefully another none cloud CMS will come along for Blocs but for me I will not now being going the Pulse route apart from using the couple of spare licenses I have previously purchased.
Richard
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Pulse Cloud will be the only way to upgrade to Pulse 5.
What? So we are being forced to subscribe to the Pulse Cloud? Forget it. I do not use Pulse for all of my clients, actually for only one client so far, and for myself. Buying a license for five installations was all right for me, and I would be willing to pay a one time fee for an upgrade to version 5. But 16 bucks every month? No.
I totally agree to Richard (pixelart).
Good-bye, Pulse.
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I also believe that it would be a shame to offer the Pulse 5.0 upgrade only for Pulse Cloud users.
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Why? Compare with others, and tell me why that is not worth it.
Example:
https://store.statamic.com/statamic
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Then the hosting plans are the right model for you:
https://upgrade.pulsecms.com/personal.html
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I jumped on the “Pulse Cloud” right away! I have a ton of Rapidweaver websites I want to convert to a CMS, and new ones to build, without having to deal with mySQL databases, or expensive “per site licenses” . With Pulse CMS, I’m also hoping to “future proof” my websites a bit, as I don’t want my websites “locked into” Rapidweaver forever. Especially true, if they can get “Pulse Tags” working with Rapidweaver projects, and open the websites to a ton of new Pulse CMS addons and possibilities! And I love the “Just Forms” addon as well that comes with Pulse Cloud!
- Total CMS is nice, but at $100/site - way too expensive, and I don’t like how you have to build every editable area twice
- Easy CMS - not nearly powerful enough, and has no blogging capabilities. Also doesn’t ship with any sort of “admin lockdown…” You have to buy something else to do that.
- Armadillo - really like this one - have it on a bunch of websites. My customers really like the “on website editing” but I am little concerned about it’s future though. The developer recently sold off most of his Rapidweaver offerings to Will Woodgate, and hasn’t updated his last 2 Rapidweaver products (Armadillo & Waterfall) for quite some time… Then there is the mySQL issues with this one as well, and the “Rapidweaver Lock-in”, so slowly moving away to Pulse CMS instead!
For me the Pulse Cloud was a “no brainer” buy!
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Thanks for all the comments here and appreciate your concerns but as @Oliver @instacks and @Raimo say, the maths are there for it to justify itself.
And if you make sites regularly then it’s a no brainer. Also even for one time sites, the other options are 3x-5x more expensive than even our old pricing. So this is still great value.
And, if you only have one site then use the hosted version and close your hosting account. The money will be the same as you are currently paying.
The business plan is for people who want to download and install wherever they like. And the personal plan for people who just want the odd site and don’t want to deal with hosting. Both of them work for people making sites for other people and leave designers enough space to make a monthly margin on hosting or other services, as well as the upfront design cost.
I’m sorry to see some of you go at this point, I really am, but you have to understand the vision and direction we are going in and this makes sense for us and the core Pulse users as we strive to make Pulse the best CMS available. It’s a shame you won’t be along for the ride. Thank you for your contributions to the community so far and I wish you well on your journeys.
All the other CMS for Blocs app @pixelart are monthly cost as well currently.
This is also an optional upgrade. Nobody (@Torsten) is being forced to buy it.
Pulse 4.7 is still awesome and will always work. Only upgrade if you want Pulse 5, want to make unlimited sites and want the new features and new online tools that are really quite powerful. Even as it is now it’s better value than any of those options suggested above already. Incomparable.
It’s going to get better and better. Onwards and upwards! 
Edit:
But I guess the greater realisation from this is, the fact that you both don’t want to join it means Pulse is not right for you and don’t see value in it. That’s fine. It’s not for everyone. Those who see value in it will jump on this instantly, those who don’t can find other solutions. But if you can’t see that spending $X on Pulse will either:
a) give you so much joy in making your own website
b) make you $Y from client A+B+C…etc
c) save you time making a site you can enjoy outdoor pursuits on a weekend
…then it’s time to move on. Option b) will resonate with 80% of our users. Either they can bill for more profit on their design creations (one time site work and have Pulse in their arsenal) or they can bill for hosting at say $15/$20 and pocket $10 per month on top.
Most people will see the $$$ margins straight away and how Pulse can support their design/creative business. If you can’t see the $$$ or other benefits then it’s not a match and we just shake hands and say our farewells 
No love lost! 
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@pulsecms
Using the Adobe CC model what happens if someone subscribes to the cloud and then ends their subscription do all sites built using the Pulse CMS Cloud cease to function?
No. Why would we do that?
If hosted with us, yes of course. As would if you cancelled your GoDaddy account.
But for the business plan (self hosted) which you are talking about, we have this written on the FAQs:
Any sites you’ve made during that time will remain active, but you won’t be able to make anymore and won’t get any Pulse feature and bug updates. So we recommend you stick around!
Canceling Pulse Cloud is an easy and no-questions-asked process. It’s done online right from your cloud dashboard.
Any cancelled accounts will no longer receive cloud benefits such as free updates, new addons, the dashboard to manage your sites will be closed, you’ll no longer be able to install new Pulse sites with the current serial number and there’ll be no more priority support. Also, all Just Forms embeds will cease to work and apps access will be closed
And just to clear things up, this is not the Adobe CC model. They didn’t invent it. This is an old business model used for generations. Think Newspapers, Telephones, Golf Clubs, Cars, Builders making houses with hire tools …
Just think of it as you’re a craftsman and you want a tool (Pulse) to make things with to sell or create something. If you keep renting the tool you can keep making. If you stop, then you can’t make anymore with that tool. You’ll need to get another tool. But what you’ve made still exists and can still be used.
But as long as you keep making sites, we’ll do our best to give Pulse so much value, you won’t want to cancel unless you decide to stop making websites.
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@instacks
Whilst I realise these are only for Rapidweaver users:
Armadillo $39.97 - one off payment and unlimited sites
EasyCMS $49.95 - one off payment and unlimited sites
Pulse Cloud Personnel $120 per year - ongoing payment
@pulsecms
That’s fine as long as you want to use the Pulse cloud hosting you are providing. I already have a hosting account which gives me unlimited domain hosting so it doesn’t really make sense for me personally to pay out for another.
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You are comparing apples with oranges. Easy CMS does not have a blog, and you need an additional PageSafe for the Admin area.
@instacks
Armadillo has multiple blog support plus Solo Content editing and admin area login.
My main point is Pulse Cloud as far as I can see restricts me to its own hosting and I already have access to unlimited domain hosting.
I think its a shame that Pulse can’t continue to be developed as both a cloud option and a stand alone option.
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Hi Jannis,
Easy CMS comes with a protect stack today.
And it is not limited to Markdown any longer.
Cheers, Jochen
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Did not know that, thanks for the update.
Shame is a harsh word. But as you learned you:
- are able to use 4.7 w/o restrictions for your already purchased licenses
- would be able to join pulse cloud, get a version of Pulse 5 core, to install on any server.
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Closing this thread as it's going off topic.
@pixelart - you clearly can't read:
My main point is Pulse Cloud as far as I can see restricts me to its own hosting and I already have access to unlimited domain hosting.
I think its a shame that Pulse can't continue to be developed as both a cloud option and a stand alone option.
The above is completely not true. You can host it on ANY SERVER like before:
https://upgrade.pulsecms.com/business.html
Here it is in lights:
It is being developed as a cloud option and a stand alone option
You can choose 
And remember, Pulse is a stand alone product and RapidWeaver is only 1 of the integrations. There are many (probably 80-90%) of Pulse users who have never heard of RapidWeaver and there are % who develop on a PC.
Like I said before, I wish you well with your projects elsewhere 
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Thanks @jochenabitz - Pulse had those about 2 years ago.
Again… let’s keep these forums on topic.
Thanks @everyone
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