[New Thread] More context on our changes to pricing - FAQs answered

[bdthomas]

It looks like external API calls are going to be one of the most expensive WU actions.

How can I optimize away API calls? (Yet keep my app interesting)

I could combine all data types into 1 call (not best practice)… but if the amount of data returned is also considered in the calculation then it is simply not feasible to continue.

I’ve spent the past year building my own custom API and Postgres backend for parsing and calculating many gigs of financial/stock data (something that would not be feasible for Bubble’s backend). On my backend, I’m aggregating real-time stock data from multiple sources and performing my own calculations and trading backtests. I was drawn to Bubble because of the easy integration. I’m doing all of the real hard work outside of Bubble on my own hardware.

My plan was to use Bubble to perform layout/presentation/user management and very basic lightweight logic. I’m only a month into UI development. Based on the WU usage I’m seeing even with just me developing it, it’s not going to be feasible with active users.

For me 1 page view of my core charting page = 318 WU’s. It’s simply 4 unique API calls and some conditional display of the data. I’m sure every event such an adding unique data points to charts is also counted.

Today I unfortunately have to start “plan B” which means looking for an alternative, or just writing it in ReactJS and calling it a day. This is so annoying. Bubble has wasted my time.

Today’s “FAQ answered” post is insufficient and insulting in its vagueness. Nothing substantive has been answered, other than “you must optimize”. Sure. That along with executive leadership radio-silence, delayed SOC 2 compliance (this can be accomplished in 3 months), 10 minute throttling of forum posts, later throttled to 15 minutes, banning/censorship of long-time customers that are simply voicing their shocked opinions, trust is hanging on a thread.

I hope we can all take the weekend to breathe. We’ve all invested a lot of time in Bubble (most much more than me). It’s not too late for Bubble to correct this, but if weeks go by… this week will be a major stain in Bubble’s history. The core/committed user base will eventually move on.

Startups with compounding mistakes erode trust over time. Each future iteration becomes exponentially negative. This will not be forgotten. I’ll be watching.

[casheets123]

First account down, got a couple more with rolling subscriptions that will be closed in the coming days. This account was used for creating templates to the market place, which I no longer desire to be part of. I want no part of any of this.

[jean.louis.ss]

Com toda certeza, o @rafaelalmeidahoficia sabe e entende muito bem sobre o que está falando. E vamos apoiá-lo.

[davidrasner5]

I’m using Bubble for small internal apps with like 10 users and blow 100k WUs just for testing.

[toutenunjs]

Hello Rodrigo, Robson here… They don’t handle it, do you know why? Don’t worry about that, you’re a plugin creator just like me, and you understand the flaws that the platform has. A company of this size that cannot block a DDOS, which has an extremely weak backend. And who worried about making the platform’s interface beautiful, and forgot about security and performance.

[drfalken]

Same here - I have an app that does a bunch of heavy duty data manipulation, storage etc for crypto prices, all outside of bubble. Bubble is literally just some API calls to chart data that has already been crunched, and the new WU’s are sky high haha.

[cliffwoodjames]

good point, scary thought tbh

[phdias2016]

de fato faz sentido !

[luis27483]

I tried to hear different points of view. Bubble side and forum side (developers like me) to try to understand the bubble strategy.
A year ago, the most important thing was storage. This year it’s performance.
A year ago Bubble changed their mind and went back on their strategy.
The bubble team, didn’t understand that the problem wasn’t the metric ( storage) but the lack of common sense in the defined limits.
This year, Bubble changes metrics and keeps the mistake…limits too low.

I think there is something wrong with bubble’s strategy, they lost their greatest value: TRUST
Question: Who recommends Bubble today?
Bubble Team: do you understand the importance of this?

[almi.77.dev]

hey Bubble Team, @Emmanuel @josh @tatiana.a

I would like to share my perspective on the recent increase in pricing for your SaaS service, which, in my opinion, seems inappropriate. First, allow me to remind you of your slogan: “The best way to build SaaS app without code.”

Your value proposition is based on the ability to implement complex processes without resorting to programming. This undoubtedly represents your strength, as your solution allows handling data processing, api calls, and many other great features. However, the more we leverage these features, the more prohibitive the costs become.

Moreover, the method of calculating prices is severely lacking in transparency. Just like the attempt to increase pricing a year ago, this raises questions about your market positioning. To stay within the limits of WU plans, including the team plan, we would have to settle for rather basic applications and limit the number of users. So, what is the point of offering advanced features?

Under these conditions, it might be more prudent to explore other solutions and devote time to setting up backends, even if it requires more technical skills. In any case, the optimization required with your current solution now imposes more time spent on optimizing than on building. If Bubble is meant for creating static websites, it would be appropriate to revise your slogan.

It seems to me that there is a strategic positioning error in the current state of affairs. You would benefit from promoting complex applications. New artificial intelligence offers promising prospects for imagining new applications, and Bubble was perfect for that, but that no longer seems to be the case.

Taking an optimistic view, it could be that calculation errors on WUs are at the root of this situation. However, a trust issue remains. Last year, the pricing proposal penalized the amount of stored data. Today, it is the data processing that is penalized. Under these conditions, how can one develop a business serenely as an entrepreneur, while being exposed to your changes?

It is therefore essential to reconsider your strategy and offer pricing more suited to market reality and your customers’ needs. Your studies on WUs seem to show inconsistencies, and it is crucial to regain your users’ trust.

[chris.williamson1996]

Yep, wouldn’t be possible on AWS because it’s so cheap. On bubbles new pricing you could do it in an afternoon

[dushdan123]

rn I am working on several of my apps but the workload count is not changing at all. is someone else experiencing this?

[suportesoftal]

Parabéns pelo posicionamento, era o mínimo que esperávamos do grande incentivador Bubble no Br… Mas hoje ele minimiza o fato e mostra a parcialidade a favor de negócio dele… Vender treinamentos… É isso.

[osman]

This is so disappointing Bubble. I spent all this time building my app through your software and now you turn around and change the pricing structure in such a way that it’s really difficult to launch my business. I gave up everything. I dropped out of medical school to build this idea and it’s just devastating to find out that I may not be able to launch.

It’d probably make more sense to build through code!

[JGalt]

No offense to you, @tatiana.a - you’re just doing your job with this and I empathize - but this update is straight up corporate garbage that doesn’t clarify anything.

Quite frankly, it’s unbelievable that even after seeing the community response to the proposed pricing strategy, leadership’s chosen next first step was to double down. The silence remains deafening, and the fact that they decided to send the VP of MARKETING to do damage control rather than address the concerns of the community themselves is a cherry-on-top slap in the face.

And if the internal plan going into this was to drop this, disappear over the weekend, and just hope things would blow over by next week… well, that’s pretty darn cowardly.

[agilejelly]

Nailed it.

[dee]

Very good points and I feel the same! announce now when we have no visibility on what the WU are / how to estimate and bubble not having fixed everything on their side first. Putting their users through this in this manner is a disgrace.

[callumgriffin09]

Couldn’t agree more.

[almi.77.dev]

That you increase your rates is not the problem, because the product honestly justifies it. But that’s not what it’s about. You are completely questioning the principle of service. It is no longer possible to set up a business on this.

[lucas023]

Mine are not increasing either.