Evernote hikes up prices, limits free users to two devices

Evernote has announced that it will increase the prices for its Plus and Premium tiers, while limiting the sync functionality for Basic users to two devices. Under the new pricing plan, Plus users have to shell out $3.99 per month (up from $2.99) or $34.99 yearly, and Premium users will have to pay $7.99 per month (from $5.99) or $69.99 annually.

Plus users get 1GB of uploads, while Premium users can upload 10GB monthly. Meanwhile, Basic users get 60MB uploads. Both paid tiers come with the ability to sync across an unlimited number of devices. From Evernote's blog:

Beginning today, the prices for our Plus and Premium tiers will change for new subscriptions, and access from Evernote Basic accounts will be limited to two devices. Current subscribers and Basic users who are using more than two devices will have some time to adjust before the changes take effect. If you are impacted, look for a message from us in the coming days.We don't take any change to our pricing model lightly, and we never take you for granted. Our goal is to continue improving Evernote for the long-term, investing in our core products to make them more powerful and intuitive while also delivering often-requested new features. But that requires a significant investment of energy, time, and money. We're asking those people who get the most value from Evernote to help us make that investment and, in return, to reap the benefits that result.Evernote isn't a vast corporation, and note-taking isn't a sideline for us. It's what we do, and we strive to do it better than anyone else. We hope you'll continue to capture your thoughts and develop your ideas with us.

Evernote's FAQ page details how the device limitation will be enforced:

Each device where you're signed in to Evernote counts toward your device limit.If you have multiple devices of the same type, each one counts toward your device limit. For example, if you sign in to your Evernote account on two different iPhones, it's counted as two devices.If multiple people sign in to separate accounts on the same Evernote app, on the same device, that device counts as one device for each Evernote account. For example, if you and your spouse share a Mac at home and use account switching to sign in to each of your accounts on the same Evernote for Mac app, the Mac counts as one device for you and as one device for your spouse. Each of you can use Evernote on at least one additional device.

I've been a long-time user of Evernote Basic, and I use the app for all of my writing needs. I have the app installed on more devices that I can remember, which means that I now have to pony up for the service. I went with the Basic tier as that was more than adequate for my use case, which was to have my notes synced across all of my devices.

Would I be willing to pay to retain that functionality? Absolutely. Also, Evernote's regional pricing means that I can subscribe to the Plus tier for just ₹850 a year ($12), and the Premium plan for ₹1,500 ($22) annually. That's not bad at all for a service I use every single day.

What do you guys think of Evernote's strategy?

Harish Jonnalagadda
Senior Editor - Asia

Harish Jonnalagadda is Android Central's Senior Editor of Asia. In his current role, he oversees the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, networking products, and AV gear. He has been testing phones for over a decade, and has extensive experience in mobile hardware and the global semiconductor industry. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.