#249 – Making a Choice: Free, “Freemium,” or Premium

Making a Choice: Free, “Freemium,” or Premium

In today’s episode, we explore ways that educators can minimize out-of-pocket costs and get the most out of free, “freemium,” and premium products.

Read a transcript of this episode.

Pricing Tiers

• Free:
  • No payment is required to use the product.
  • May include advertising.
  • May turn into “freemium” or premium models with little notice.
• “Freemium”:
  • This is a combination of free and premium access.
  • Some features are offered for free to draw in users.
  • A trial period may be offered that gives access to all features.
  • Payment is required to access premium features.
• Premium:
  • These are paid products.
  • These products are usually well developed and highly effective.
  • May include a free trial period for users to try the product.

Access Options

• Only use products that are fully free.
• Only use free features of “freemium” products.
• Find a free alternative to a premium product.
• Find premium products that are offered free to educators.
• Submit a funding request to purchase a premium product.
• Use artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to complete tasks similar to those offered by premium products.

For information about artificial intelligence (AI), explore the following AVID Open Access article collection: AI in the K–12 Classroom.