Pricing for ColdFusion 2016, including upgrading from CF 10 or 11

Note: This blog post is from 2016. Some content may be outdated--though not necessarily. Same with links and subsequent comments from myself or others. Corrections are welcome, in the comments. And I may revise the content as necessary.

Before we proceed, let me note: if you're already aware of pricing, and want to complain about it, or want to know about anything beyond what's documented on the Adobe site (I offer several references below), this is not a place where such things will be debated.

I'm simply presenting actual pricing information that I found on the Adobe site. Only Adobe, or perhaps a reseller, can answer questions that are NOT answered on the Adobe site, as I have presented here. If you may find that helpful, please read on. If you were thinking this was going to be a place discussing the FACT that Adobe charged for CF, or how much, etc., that's NOT the goal here. Sorry.

Why am I offering this pricing info? Can't one find it readily on the Adobe site?

Well, yes, the pricing information is indeed available there, but I find lots of people who complain that it's hard to locate specific information on the Adobe site, especially when it comes to ColdFusion, and more specifically since the redesign for ColdFusion (2016 Release), as the new release is known.

So what are the prices?

I list here the $US prices both for the base price and for upgrades from CF 10 and 11, and for CF Standard and Enterprise, for someone purchasing from the US, in Feb 2016.

Yes, it does appear that Adobe is offering no difference in price if you are upgrading for CF Standard to Enterprise, regardless of whether you are moving from CF 10, 11, or even 12! Perhaps we'll learn that's a mistake. Again, I explain below where I found these prices on the Adobe site, and how you can confirm at any point if perhaps they have changed. (I will certainly update this page if I learn that.)

What about pricing for VMs, for staging servers, for more than 2 CPUs, and so on?

I'll discuss in a moment how I found these prices. Let me point out now, though, that the pages offering the prices do NOT discuss things like pricing for VMs, staging servers, more than 2 CPUs, and so on. Instead, I would point readers to the licensing agreement (EULA) for CF 2016, which discusses those things.

This blog post is not the place to draw out that discussion, though I do realize they are important questions for some readers. I may do another post, especially to compare the licenses for CF 2016 and CF11, etc.

In the meantime, let me point something that may be good news to some: the EULA does indicate that where CF 11 Enterprise was sold "per 2 CPUs", CF 2016 Enterprise is sold "per 8 cores". There is not the same change in numbers for CF Standard: CF11 Std was priced "per 2 CPUs", and CF2016 Std is pried "per 2 cores".

As for the definition of "cores" and more, please, PLEASE see the EULA for more details, and indeed direct your questions to Adobe on licensing and pricing for such things as discussed in this section.

That said, I do answer some other "pricing questions" below, where I could find the information readily available.

How did I find these prices?

But first, in case it may be found that I have made a mistake, or if indeed the prices change over time, let me explain below how I found the prices. This could be especially helpful for those in other countries, as again I am showing the price only for a customer in the US.

If you go to the main page for ColdFusion (also more easily remembered as coldfusion.com, you will find that it has a blue band across the screen about 1/3rd down the screen. See the bottom of the following screenshot:

Note that it lists an "upgrade price". I'll show in a moment how to find what version that refers to upgrading from, as well as how to see prices for upgrading from different versions.

But at the bottom of that front page, there is yet another set of information that shows the base (non-upgrade price):

As for finding different upgrade prices for different versions, I have not found any single page listing them. But if you take the option to "upgrade now" (as shown in the first screenshot above), or the "Buy now" option (as shown in the second screenshot above), either will take you to a "cart" page showing whatever you selected. You don't need to proceed to purchase, of course, and you won't even be asked to login to see this page. As for finding the price of upgrades from various versions, note that if you chose the "upgrade now" button above, it will default to showing the price for an upgrade from CF11 Enterprise to CF2016 Enterprise. See the following screenshot (with an arrow added pointing out that fact):

To find other prices (such as from CF10, or from Standard to Enterprise), we don't need to proceed to any other page, but instead just take note that there is an "edit" link on the top right of the cart page, shown in the screenshot above (with another arrow added to point to it).

Note then that the phrases "I want to buy" and "I own" change to now appear as drop-down/select controls. And if you click the "I want to buy", you can change it to either "Standard or Enterprise", as shown in the next screenshot:

And if you choose the option for "I own", you'll see that you can select from CF10, CF11, and/or CF12, and Standard and/or Enterprise, depending on what version is selected for "I own". That's how I got the values I have placed in the table above.

What about other pricing? (Education or upgrading from CF9)?

As for "education" discounts, those are not indicated here. You can find that information (including an available free license of CF Standard, for education, meaning "learning" not "production" purposes) in the section on this in the CF FAQ page.

What about upgrading from CF9 or earlier? That's addressed on the FAQ page in another section as well: "Customers running ColdFusion 9 or earlier are not eligible for upgrade pricing."

What if I just recently had bought CF11? Do I need to pay to upgrade to 2016?

That, too, is answered on the FAQ page, where they indicate that you MAY be eligible for a free upgrade. See that page for details (including who to talk to and how), as well as answers to other common questions. (I'm not intending here to replicate what's on that page. Just addressing what I'm sure some would ask about in comments, and pointing out that there are such answers and resources for more on that FAQ page.)

What about pricing in other countries?

I'm afraid I can't help there. I have heard from others (in 2016 and for years) that when they visit the Adobe site, they are shown different prices than we see here in the US. I suppose part of it is about exchange rates, and perhaps taxes, but I've heard folks complain that there was still more to the difference (where some complain that the price for them is much higher than those differences alone would explain). I really have nothing more to add on that.

Indeed, I would ask that this post (comments on it) NOT be a place to elaborate on your disappointment about differences in prices among countries.

What else would I ask we not debate here?

Following on that last point, I'd also plead with you to withhold comments complaining about the fact that Adobe DOES charge for CF. In my opinion, it's an old, tired discussion that's been done to death in many places for many years, and I just don't feel we need yet another elaboration of the two sides of the argument.

Perhaps Adobe will do a post on it, and then folks can offer thoughts, or what they may think are new perspectives on that subject.

Indeed, I would point out, before leaving this topic, that Adobe HAS listened (to such comments in their post about CF 2016 being released) and has created a new blog post this week on better marketing CF. If you feel that's a topic you want to contribute to, that's the place to have that discussion.

Where might I find even lower prices than listed on Adobe's site (and above)?

But let me end on a more positive note: some don't realize that there are resellers of ColdFusion, who generally offer discounts (and may also be able to answer questions raised above). One in particular is Intergral, the makers of FusionReactor, FusionAnalytics, and FusionDebug, who offer their CF product reselling (including prices) on a separate site.

Currently (on Feb 24, 2016), the discounts range from 6% to 10%, which will save SOMEONE some money. :-) They even throw in discounts on FusionReactor with some purchases of CF.

Conclusion, and comments I do/don't want 

But I will repeat the caveats I indicated above, about things I do NOT want to see comments about:

• questions or comments on licensing issues like prices for using VMs, more CPUs/cores than mentioned above, staging servers, and such
• complaints about international pricing
• and complaints about the fact that CF costs money at all
• same with comments on CF being dead or dying.

I'm not denying people the right to HOLD those opinions or have those questions. I'm just saying this post is not the place to discuss or air them, as I point out above where to raise the questions, and as for those opinions, they've been covered amply elsewhere (for years and again even recently).

I reserve the right to delete comments that ignore this request, or remove parts that do.

This is the first time in 18 years of blogging that I've taken this stance. It's just that I've seen such simple attempts to share info get derailed by protesters, whether well-meaning or not.

Again, my goal here has just been to make more readily available the information that IS available on the CF site, if hard for many to find, it seems. It just is not the place to debate Adobe's policies or prices.

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