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I'm surprised that this question hasn't already been addressed, but I've noticed that all to often, when I view a plugin's page, and they have a free vs. "PRO" version, the price is not displayed anywhere. I go through all the tabs (which is time-consuming enough), I check the FAQ, Support, etc., but nowhere is the price listed.

I don't have time to first install a plugin and then find out what kind of functionality I'm missing out on, and then finally get to the bottom line. Does anyone else notice this problem? Or am I missing something simple in regard to finding out how much a plugin costs? I'd really like to see the price right away so I can decide if it's worth it to investigate the plugin.

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    They have done some improvements to the plugin repository over the years... but it's still not as intuitive as it should be. Also, a lot of people don't follow the guidelines. I typically have a development server where I can test all the plugins, before using it on a real site. Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 22:13
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    there is no established standard of how one charges for a plugin, and considering the fact that the people driving WordPress are of the opinion that charging for plugin code violates the WordPress license, it's not surprising that this info is not readily available. Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 22:18
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    @gdaniel that's a good idea to use a dev server. :) Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 22:21
  • @gdaniel Please feel free to post these as answers and I will upvote you. Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 22:22
  • @Milo Please feel free to post these as answers and I will upvote you. Commented Dec 30, 2014 at 22:23

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TL;DR: There is no fixed link, because there is no need for it and it couldn’t be done right.

I am the lead developer for MultilingualPress, a plugin that does have a Pro version. We would probably benefit from such a link, but I think it is good that there is no UI for it.

There multiple reasons for its absence.

  1. Buying a plugin is not a common task for some who is visiting wordpress.org. The current plugin page is already overloaded with information. Adding another tab/UI whatever would make the experience even worse. You optimize an UI always for the common tasks, not for the rare cases.

  2. Most plugin vendors don’t actually sell the code. They sell updates and support.
    While the Pro versions often contain additional features, their code is nowadays mostly licensed under GPL or a compatible license like MIT.
    Our plugin is pure GPL. You can get a Pro version and resell it for a lower price, that’s allowed. I wouldn’t like it, but there is nothing I can do about it. Some people are doing that, some even go so far to tell their customers that they are the plugin author. That’s a violation of the license.

  3. There are too many different pricing models and factors: Some people sell just one license, some take one price for a bundle of plugins, some sell a subscription for the support, and there are many different time limits: from three month up to a “life time support”.
    Sometimes the price depends on the currency or the country of the buyer (search for VAT europe to get an idea).
    There is no catch-all UI for all these options.

  4. You don’t just want to ask the user to buy the product. You want to explain why they should buy it and what exactly they can expect when they are doing that. That takes some room, and you need full control over these pages.

  5. Every country puts some slightly different legal requirements onto online shops. In Germany for example you need a second checkout page – that would be pure noise for someone who operates from a country without such a restriction.

  6. Some vendors put great efforts into localization: That includes translation, sometimes a different theme, product descriptions, colors, typography and more.

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  • But from a consumer's perspective, I don't want to get involved with a product until I know what the cost is. If I want to improve my company's website and obtain a pro version of a plugin, my boss's first question will be what the price is. How do I drill down to find this answer(s)? Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 15:16
  • @Mark On the product page. You can add a link to that page in the description of the free version on wordpress.org. Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 17:27
  • When you say the product page, you mean the main page for the plugin? I'm viewing wordpress.org/plugins/top-bar but I don't see the things you mentioned. I've searched for "product", "add", and "link". Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 17:42
  • I have found the price for this particular plugin, but I'd like to know what the best way is to find it for any plugin. Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 17:44
  • @Mark There is no best or standard way. Commented Dec 31, 2014 at 17:47

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