Max Seelemann, writing on Medium about the thought process behind their new business model:

I am not exaggerating in saying that this was the hardest decision in our whole time as professional software developers. After all, we have a system which currently works — after 14 years we are still around, Ulysses is still “a thing”, it’s even going better than ever before, and there are no immediate signs which hint at a change coming soon.

So why bother at all then? Well, we need a good way forward before we run into trouble. We want to make sure the app will be around for years and years to come. We want to heavily invest in its development, and this requires the right setting for our team, our families and our users. Writers want to rely on a professional tool that is constantly evolving, and we want to keep delivering just that.

I’m not a huge fan of subscription pricing, but Ulysses is the best writing app I’ve ever used and I don’t plan on switching anytime soon. The pricing is about as fair as one could expect when compared to what other companies are charging. I would have preferred it be $20-25 a year, but they didn’t come to these price points flippantly. And I can certainly appreciate that they’re offering the yearly subscription at a reduced rate for a limited time.