Guides/Declining price
Software that becomes free over time (and why that's the point)
Software that becomes free over time is not a discount. It is a promise, written into the license, that the maker will let go on a specific date. Elba's price falls each year and reaches zero on 1 January 2030.
The ladder
€49 in 2026, €39 in 2027, €29 in 2028, €19 in 2029, free in 2030. What you pay is the value of the time the maker still owns it — and that shrinks to nothing.
Why this beats a subscription for a small tool
Subscriptions align the maker with keeping you paying. A declining-then-free schedule aligns them with getting the tool good enough to release. It's a very different job.
Questions people actually ask
- If I buy in 2026 and the price drops in 2027, do I get a refund?
- No, but you got a whole year of exclusive use, plus every update along the way.
- Can the schedule change?
- The 2030 date is written into the license and can only move earlier, never later.
Take the island
Elba is one HTML file. It runs locally in a Chromium browser, seals a folder with AES-256-GCM, never phones home, and becomes open source on 1 January 2030.
- €49MMXXVI· now ·
- €39MMXXVII2027
- €29MMXXVIII2028
- €19MMXXIX2029
- FreeMMXXX2030
the price falls each year · free to all 1 jan 2030
pay once · no account · nothing leavesRelated guides
- What is mortalware? Software that dies into the commons
Mortalware is software with a release date — a scheduled transition from paid to free-and-open. Elba's mortalware plan explained.
- One-time-purchase encryption software (and why it still exists)
Encryption software you buy once, keep forever. Elba is €49 one-time in 2026, declining every year until it is free in 2030.
- Why encryption software should be open source, eventually
Closed-source encryption is a promise you can't verify. Elba is source-visible today and becomes MIT open source on 1 January 2030.