Earlier this month Strava faced a backlash from users with many subscribers looking to abandon the fitness tracking app after it increased subscription prices by around 50 percent in the US, around 28 percent in the UK and by varying amounts around the world depending on location.
The price rises meant that the cost of Strava's subscription went up from $7.99 to $11.99 in the US and £6.99 to £8.99 in the UK for monthly users, with annual subscribers facing increases from $59.99 to $79.99 and £47.99 to £54.99. Considering Strava is a global platform, the varying and vastly different increases had certainly stirred debate within its user base.
As first reported by our colleagues at Cycling Weekly, Strava which is recognized as one of the best cycling apps has attempted to appease users by issuing an apology over its handling of subscription increases and very confusing messaging.
A statement recently released by Strava said, "we made a mistake by not providing enough information directly to our community and we sincerely apologize for the confusion and concern this has caused many of our valued subscribers." And also added, "Our intention was not to hide these pricing changes, we just moved too fast. We also missed the opportunity to inform long-standing monthly subscribers that, by shifting from paying monthly to annual, they can avoid a significant price increase altogether."
It also stated that, "Strava is fully committed to our community. This commitment means not allowing our subscribers to receive an automated email about changing subscription costs, or to read or hear about price change confusion elsewhere.”
Although an apology is all well and good, it appears that the pricing increases will still go ahead with users seeing the updated pricing come into effect from 2 February 2023 and users who subscribed after 23 November seeing no price change.
For many in the current climate switching from monthly to annual is not an option, so again, time will tell if users will continue to subscribe and pay the increase, move to the free version or look for another platform.
