Under Community Review

Urgent Feedback: Trados Studio 2026 Pricing Policy (especially for LatAm users) and the Essential Need to Preserve Perpetual Licensing

Dear Trados Leadership Team and Product Managers,

I am writing from Sao Paulo, Brazil, to express my deep concern and dissatisfaction regarding the current commercial strategy for Trados Studio 2026, specifically the drastic price increases and the aggressive push toward subscription-based software models. As a long-standing user who has relied on Trados as an industry-standard CAT tool, I believe the current direction misaligns with the economic realities and fundamental needs of independent language professionals, especially those living in poor countries in Latin America, like me and hundreds of thousands of other high qualified translators in this part of the globe.

I strongly urge the executive leadership to consider the following points:

  1. Defending Perpetual Licensing over Forced Subscriptions: Software subscription models are deeply unfavorable to freelance translators and small practices. A perpetual license provides essential operational security, cost predictability, and true ownership of our primary working tools. Forcing users toward recurring SaaS payments turns software from an asset into an ongoing liability, leaving linguists vulnerable to losing access to their critical tools and workflows if market conditions fluctuate. A permanent, perpetual license option must remain a core, accessible pillar of the Trados offerings.
  2. Unsustainable Disparity Between Tool Costs and Market Rates: While the cost of Trados licenses and upgrades has escalated sharply, market rates for translation services have remained stagnant or experienced downward pressure due to broader economic conditions and machine translation post-editing. A steep increase in CAT tool software overhead severely erodes the profit margins of individual translators who form the foundation of the Trados ecosystem.
  3. Value Realization vs. Incremental Features: While new features and AI integrations are welcome developments, a significant portion of our daily workload remains grounded in core translation memory, terminology, and desktop file processing. The current price-to-value ratio for periodic upgrades—and particularly for recurring subscription fees—is becoming increasingly difficult to justify when compared to lighter, more cost-effective alternatives.

Independent linguists require financial stability, transparency, and the freedom to choose how they license their tools. I strongly request that RWS reconsider its pricing structure for Trados Studio 2026, especially here in Latin America (including Brazil) where people’s income is much lower than those in first-world countries, maintain fair and viable upgrade pathways for individual users, and reaffirm a long-term commitment to traditional perpetual licenses.

Thank you for your time, and I trust that leadership will take this community feedback into serious consideration now to readjust prices for LatAm (including Brazil) and when shaping future commercial policies.

Sincerely,

 

Marcio Tondin

Professional Translator / Long-Time Trados User

Marcio Tondin

  •  

    Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns and for your long-standing support of Trados. We understand the challenges that many freelance translators face today, where rising costs are often not matched by increases in translation rates.

    I wanted to address a few of the points you've raised:

    • Choice remains available. If you currently have a Trados Studio 2021, 2022, or 2024 Freelance perpetual license, you can still upgrade to Trados Studio 2026 Freelance or choose to migrate to a subscription model.  It’s also worth noting that if you already own a perpetual license, you keep it. Moving to subscription does not take away the license you previously purchased.
    • No difference in functionality. Perpetual and subscription licenses provide the same Trados Studio features and capabilities. The key difference is that a subscription ensures you are always using the latest version of Trados Studio, without needing to purchase separate upgrades in the future.
    • Benefits of being on the latest version. With a subscription, you automatically receive new features, compatibility updates, performance improvements, and technology enhancements as they become available. This helps ensure you remain up to date with evolving client requirements and industry standards.
    • Flexible payment options. Customers purchasing subscriptions directly from RWS can choose from monthly payments, annual plans with 12 committed monthly payments, or an annual plan paid in a single payment. Annual subscriptions also include Support as part of the subscription price.
    • Regional pricing considerations. I can see that your most recent purchase was made through our local reseller in Brazil in 2023 and during a promotional period. While local resellers often provide regional pricing tailored to their market, they may not always be able to offer all of the payment options available through direct purchases from RWS. 

    Thank you again for sharing your thoughts and for your continued support of Trados. We truly value your feedback and appreciate you taking the time to reach out.