- CLC MAIN WORKBENCH PRICE INSTALL
- CLC MAIN WORKBENCH PRICE UPGRADE
- CLC MAIN WORKBENCH PRICE FULL
- CLC MAIN WORKBENCH PRICE SOFTWARE
More than once I’ve bought programs anew at full price because I let the maintenance period expire on previous licenses. Commercial bioinformatics programs frequently undergo major changes, which can significantly improve the software. Although costly, subscribing to the maintenance agreement can be wise.
CLC MAIN WORKBENCH PRICE SOFTWARE
In other words, nine months after buying the software I was sent an invoice for $1,500, with 2 percent interest per month if left unpaid. Renewal of the maintenance program was 25 percent of the purchase price per year-and automatic.
CLC MAIN WORKBENCH PRICE UPGRADE
Enrollment in the upgrade and support program for the first 12 months, which was mandatory, was an additional $1,500, making the initial cost of the software $7,500. Last year, for approximately $6,000, I purchased a single academic license of CLC Genomics Workbench and a genome-finishing plugin (more on plugins later) as part of a package deal. Geneious and most other bioinformatics manufacturers have switched to “version-based licensing,” meaning that users receive free updates to their version of the software no matter when they are released, but access to newer versions requires an upgrade, which typically costs anywhere from 25 percent to 75 percent of the software list price. Because this occurred within one year of my purchasing the program, I was able to upgrade to the newest version for free. Shortly after I purchased a student license for Geneious, the firm released a new version of the software. Most commercial packages include 12 months of free upgrades and support. There can be hidden costs and clauses associated with running the software. Purchasing a commercial sequence analysis suite is not as simple as a one-time payment followed by a lifetime of bioinformatics bliss. When requesting price quotes, expect to receive several follow-up e-mails and phone calls from sales representatives. I went through similar processes to get pricing on DNAStar’s Lasergene (approximately $6,000 for an academic license) and Sequencher from Gene Code ($2,500 for an academic license). After a successful trial of CLC bio’s Genomics Workbench, for example, I filled out an online pricing request form and was contacted two days later by a sales agent who provided me with a formal quote (an estimated $5,500 for a standard academic license). Most often, to get pricing details I had to request quotes from sales representatives, making it difficult to quickly compare the costs of different software packages. I’ve since gone on to test, and in some instances purchase, other bioinformatics platforms.
As of May 2014, a student license costs $395 (a standard academic license is $795), which still places it among the least expensive all-in-one commercial suites on the market.
CLC MAIN WORKBENCH PRICE INSTALL
Seven years ago, I paid about $200 for a student license, which allowed me to install the software on a single computer. I chose Geneious largely because the company gives student discounts. I felt that paying for such programs went against the spirit of academic research and that using graphical user.Īfter testing an assortment of commercial bioinformatics packages, I decided on Biomatters’s Geneious. Here I describe my own experience with evaluating-and purchasing-some commercial bioinformatics packages.Īt first I was reluctant to buy bioinformatics software. Like buying a car, choosing among the many software suites can be challenging, and there is surprisingly little information out there to evaluate the different programs. Although beautifully designed, these software suites can come with hefty price tags, meaning that most researchers are lucky if they can afford just one. There are, however, various commercial alternatives, which bring together multiple bioinformatic programs into stand-alone, user-friendly packages. Many of these tools are open source, but they can be difficult to use some require in-depth computational knowledge. Whatever your sequence analysis problem, there is probably a program or application to solve it.
Today’s ’omics-obsessed scientific marketplace is overflowing with bioinformatics programs.