One thing we've heard our Public Beta Users being worried about is utilizing the platform and then things being dropped behind a paywall. We definitely hear you on the worry there and wanted to explain a bit more in detail about what the plans are moving forward around monetization and what you all can expect from us regarding that. First and foremost, it's important for our team to let you all know that monetization does not mean changing the general usability of Filametrics.

As it stands today the Filametrics Application is 100% free. The current lifeblood of the Application will always remain free.

That has been our entire goal in building out the monetization aspect of the business: to ensure end users can still receive a complete application at no additional cost to them. This meant that before we even launched the Public Beta we wanted full filament tracking and implementation in place for users as that's the primary focus of the application and service we provide here. We will continue to improve upon the general filament management solutions as time goes on.

So What Will Be Monetized vs Free?

Good Question. The first thing that we want to ensure is clear here is that Filametrics has no plans to launch any primary feature that is not available on the free plan. For clarity sake, when we say a primary feature we are specifically referencing the overall feature. For example, everyone will have access to add filaments to their application but utilizing the Vision AI system we have planned for Label based scanning will be a paid feature as it has a fixed cost for us. Another example below in My Projects is a great place to look.

Even those features, such as My Projects or  Project Catalog, that are primarily created for commercial printer use we plan to release a free version of those features (or already have released the free version). This is a key functionality of the monetization plans behind Filametrics is not charging for base level features and putting only those advanced "nice to haves" behind the subscription models. That way people that want to pay for advanced features have the ability to do so but those that just enjoy Filametrics for what it is can also access the growth of the application along it's lifetime.

This, for our team, is the most important message that we can send to our users.

Can You Give Me An Example?

Absolutely. Let's take a look at My Projects as a primary example of how the monetization structure will work within the app. My Projects is aptly named as it's a place to manage all your printed projects (past, present and future). This gives you a quick look at what filament you will be using coming up. It requires you to input the information on each project and move/adjust it as needed. You are able to have 5 active projects at a time, though we're also keeping a reasonably close feel on that number as we feel it might be slightly too small. That functionality is free currently and will remain free.

BUT...we have some major plans for My Projects that are directly related to 'commercial' printers. We feel that our Filament tracking adds a very unique structure to make a micro project management feature within our application that can auto deduct filament from projects used, integrate with various shops to automatically add projects to queues, and quite a bit more functionality like automated project creation and duplication.

We believe that features such as those mentioned are "nice to have" features and not having them doesn't effect the core of what Filametrics is as a platform. So these features will be added as subscription based features that any user can sign up for and add to their account if they need/want them.

What Does Pricing Look Like Then?

This is both an easy and an in depth question. We have not decided fully on what the actual pricing numbers will look like, however, we do know exactly what the structure will look like and will be able to announce pricing soon with some feedback from you, our users.

As far as pricing goes we will be looking at a 'pick your plan' style of monetization. Individual features tabs (ie. Project Management) will be available to purchase as you want/need them on their own or there will be an overall subscription that grants access to all features. An example would be say you only want My Projects and not In Depth Analytics or API Integration you could subscribe to just the My Projects feature for a lower rate than the whole monthly subscription. If you want access to everything Filametrics offers there will be a plan for that as well which gives access to everything.

Regarding the actual price of the features and plans that we will be introducing we aren't finalized on those yet and will rely pretty heavily on users themselves to give us feedback on what is an acceptable rate for the plans. We strive to ensure that, no matter what aspects of Filametrics you're looking for, it remains an affordable option for your 3D Printing business. We aren't looking to gouge the very users that make our platform exist for a few nice to have features. Our goals are to cover the overhead and be able to continue growing and pushing the platform for years to come.

How Will We Know the Difference?

Our team has always been transparent with our roadmaps and that does not change with the PBR. We will still be keeping an updated feature tracker, as well as sharing a long form post regarding new features as we finalize and begin working on them. Within these areas we will clearly differentiate between what is expected to be launched as an application wide feature and which aspects will be included in the paid plan features. More information on this process coming in the future.

Final Thoughts

We hope this is able to ease some of the worries, and help with some of the confusion, around what the Filametrics Monetization Model looks like moving forward. Filametrics was created for 3D Printers, by 3D Printers, and we will keep that mentality at the forefront of everything we do.

For those of you interested we will be announcing a Lifetime Pricing option coming soon. Final pricing is still being discussed but it will give you unlimited access to all we have to offer for the life of your account for one affordable cost (under $150).