Most sellers choose a model available for them to implement easily. First, it was one-time payments then with Easy Digital Downloads we saw renewals become common and eventually automatic renewals. If EDD or some other solution were to make it straightforward to sell access to new major releases then I think we'd see adoption of that model too.

But, I'm not sure it'd be as good for business because repeat payments would be manual and irregular. I'd expect more initial sales but with repeat revenue reduced. What has become clear is that people will continue to pay for what they continue to use and especially if they use it frequently and renew automatically. Developers should consider what type of product they're making.

I'm going to toy with a monthly payment option via Chargebee for a new plugin. Annual subscriptions will be discounted. Agencies will be able to scale the number of sites up and down at will. Non-renewal may disable the ability to add new items. This approach is not something out of the box solutions accommodate but I think it could boost both new customers and renewals.

Freemius is the only ready to use solution I've seen that has toyed with models like this that would be considered "alternative" in the WordPress world but not elsewhere. Vova Feldman shares some valuable insights on the Freemius blog.