With nearly $3000 worth of software at just $14.99 per month, PreSonus Sphere seems like a no-brainer deal, but in this article, we look deeper and do the sums to see if it really adds up to good value for everyone. We’ve posted it for our wider community for those who may be thinking of dipping their toe in the PreSonus water.
Software Subscriptions - Good Or Bad?
Software subscription models are always a contentious issue, for some they offer great value and allow them to budget the cost of their creative pursuits over time, often with additional added value. For those on the other side of the argument, renting software is a bad idea and gets some very hot under the collar. The aim of this article is not to convince anyone with such deeply ingrained beliefs to change their mind - it’s unlikely that would happen, this article is for those who find themselves somewhere in the middle, wondering if the numbers add up.
What Is PreSonus Sphere?
PreSonus say this about PreSonus Sphere…
PreSonus Sphere membership benefits include:
Licenses for the complete collection of PreSonus’ award-winning software solutions for recording, mixing, scoring, and producing, including Studio One Professional and Notion,
Over 100 libraries of samples, effects, and loops, including the complete Spark Collection sample and loop libraries and Tom Brechtlein Drums.
Members also get every plug-in and Studio One Add-on that PreSonus makes, including Ampire, Channel Strip Collection, CTC-1 Pro Console Shaper, Fat Channel XT, Presence XT Editor, and much more.
PreSonus goes on to say “PreSonus Sphere is far more than a huge toolbox; it is first and foremost a creative community. Modern musicians work with talented people from all over the world, and PreSonus Sphere makes it easy to share projects with other members using your PreSonus Sphere workspace. A live chat lets members communicate in real time with their global production teams to make sure everyone’s on the same page and striving toward the same goal.”
It also includes additional benefits;
PreSonus Sphere Cloud Storage - Sphere membership includes 30 GB of cloud storage for backups, stems, collaboration, and more. If you need more space, PreSonus Sphere lets you upgrade to 100 GB of cloud storage space for $3.99 per month. PreSonus Exchange has always been a great way for Studio One users to share presets, loops, and more; PreSonus Sphere users now have access to a new exclusive portal loaded with custom-designed tools and curated content by featured PreSonus artists.
PreSonus Sphere Exclusive Events - PreSonus Sphere members will be invited to exclusive events and training sessions where they’ll meet like-minded Sphere users and expand their collaboration networks. Need a quick production tip or workflow trick? In addition to the growing Exchange community and active user groups, PreSonus has gathered Studio One power users from around the globe to answer questions in members-only chats.
Monthly Value Add Ons - Each month, PreSonus Sphere members can expect something new, whether it’s exclusive content or a special surprise gift to thank them for being members—and there are no additional upgrade costs or hidden fees. PreSonus has also teamed up with partners to give PreSonus Sphere members exclusive offers throughout the year.
What Is Sphere Worth?
According to PreSonus the total value at this time for everything included is $2846.32. When you consider the cost of Sphere membership is $14.95 U.S. per month or $164.95 per year that seems like outstanding value, but let’s look at the numbers in detail and see how it breaks down.
That big number $2846.32 when divided by $14.99 equates to 190 months or 15 years if you were to buy it at that cost. Or put it another way, if you were paying for it monthly for 5 years to own it with interest-free payment, it would be around $48 per month! That sounds like an offer that’s too good to be true!
Look Closer - It May Not Work For You
However, what you need to do when considering a plan like PreSonus Sphere (as with any ‘all you can eat’ plan) is what would the cost be for the parts you would actually buy?
If you were just a Studio One 5 buyer for the first time it sells for around $399.00 at stores like Sweetwater or AudioDeluxe. This means that in order to spend $399.00 making monthly payments of $14.99, it would take you just over 26 months to pay for it. Given that there’s a new release of Studio One every two years or so then Sphere represents good value if you were new to Studio One.
However Sphere offers so much more and given the multiple variants in ownership, then to make things simpler we’ve created the table below to show the savings or additional costs. You will see that these depend on what type of user you are.
All examples assume that you would not buy any of the additional content, use the cloud storage or any of the other benefits.
Purchase Total Cost |
Sphere Total Cost Over 2 Yrs |
Pay Monthly Saving Over 2 Yrs |
Pay Annually Saving Over 2 Yrs |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio One Pro First Time Owner | $399.00 | $359.76 | $39.24 | $69.10 |
Studio One Pro Upgrader | $149.00 | $359.76 | -$210.76 | -$180.90 |
Notion 6 Music Notation Software | $149.00 | $359.76 | -$210.76 | -$180.90 |
Notion 6 & Expansion Bundle | $448.00 | $359.76 | $88.24 | $118.10 |
Studio One & Notion First Time Owner | $548.00 | $359.76 | $188.24 | $218.10 |
Studio One & Notion Upgrader | $249.00 | $359.76 | -$110.76 | -$80.90 |
As you can see there are winners and losers, using this methodology is a great way of making an assessment.
Should You Invest In PreSonus Sphere?
As with all subscription models you need to weigh it up based on your particular needs, but even when taking the Sphere offering down to the basics of just the core software purchases, then for many, it offers great value for money and also there is no penalty for spreading out payments on, for example, a new copy of Studio One 5.
However, what makes PreSonus Sphere so attractive is the huge additional content and value-added extras, even if you use just a fraction of the included content you would soon be better off than had you purchased those items separately. What makes this new initiative such a winner is that PreSonus is still offering perpetual licences to those who don’t want to take the subscription route. So depending on your financial situation or even a philosophical point of view about software ‘ownership’ PreSonus has ticked a lot of boxes.
In summary, with both the option to own or subscription, there’s not really anything any reasonable person is going to be able to complain about, and for many, there’s a great deal to celebrate.
Get more information on PreSonus Sphere