Switchboard Lifetime Deal

Lifetime deal is a form of highly discounted deal, usually offered by new (and sometimes established) tech companies with which you get unique access to their tools/products for the lifetime with one-time-payment. Founders do so to get quick exposure to the big online market as well as to get users’ feedback, bug findings and market knowledge  etc.

These tools are otherwise accessible only by paying monthly or annual recurring subscriptions. Since these are massive (sometimes unbelievably awesome) discounts, most of these companies offer such deals only once in life and for a very limited period of time. You shouldn’t be surprised to know that some of today’s most popular and premium SaaS tools like Intercom, Zapier, Paperform, SERanking had once offered the lifetime deal for less than $50. Are you the lucky one? 😃

Kindly note that the term ‘lifetime’ refers to the ‘lifetime’ of the product, not of the buyers or subscribers.

No! This is not a scam. But yes! Some of these deals look unbelievable for sure. In fact, I still can’t believe how popular tools like Intercom and Zapier had once offered a lifetime deal for just $39 and now they cost this much just for a month. :)

Founders offer such insane deals mostly to get the easy online brand exposure, detailed feedback, bug reports and some good initial funding to grow their business further. I have explained this in detail under “I am a Founder, Why should I offer a lifetime deal?” section of this FAQ page.

It is very important to do a proper due diligence before buying any lifetime software deals. While we try to include only the authentic deals on our website, there have been a few instances when some solid products got shutdown just after a few years. No one can control the future and hence this can happen with any startups or even with big established businesses. So, there is always a risk.

However, to avoid the risk there are few key things to consider before making the purchase decision. Read about them next.

To avoid the risk of investing in a bad deal, here are a few key things to consider before making the purchase decision –

1. Look for the online reviews for this tool on Sites like G2, Capterra, FinanceOnline etc.
2. Search online or look for the ‘Abous Us’ section of the tool to find more info about the founders. Check if they are publically visible and socially active on channels like LinkedIn, IndieHackers, ProductHunt etc. If so, mostly likely they won’t break the user’s trust.
3. If the tool is brand new, check if they have been featured on sites like BetaList, ProductHunt, IndieHackers, HackersNews etc.
4. Look at the reviews and comments about the tool on the deal sales page. Observe how founder is responding to the criticism. Look for the public roadmap and check the changelog to find out how frequently the product is being updated.
5. Try to buy only from reliable deal sites which provide proper no-questions asked refund period so that you can check the tool properly and then refund it it doesn’t suffice your needs.