Hyprland has become one of the most sought-after dynamic tiling window compositors on Linux. Its sleek animations, responsive performance, and expansive customization options cater to both power users and new users looking for a minimal desktop experience.
Now, in a turn of events, Hyprland’s lead developer, Vaxry, has been spotted working on a new paid tier that offers additional perks beyond the standard free version.
Hyprland Premium: Should You Subscribe?
Putting aside speculation, Vaxry shared that this is something they’re actively working on and reassured everyone that Hyprland is not going closed source because of it. Priced at €5 per month (excl tax), Hyprland Premium will provide additional features like access to exclusive forum categories, a tailored desktop experience via premium dotfiles, and premium support.
All of these perks will be offered without restricting any core features, keeping Hyprland fully open source and free for all users. The primary reason for introducing this is to provide a sustainable financial support system for Vaxry, who puts it like this:
I need something to eat too. Once I end university, if I can't make this my full-time job, I will have to severely decrease my contributions in favor of a real job. If this gets us somewhere, it will be only with benefits to you, the users. If I get enough money to hire another guy to help me work on Hyprland full time, I will.
One-time and monthly donations are still around, but they don’t seem to include the premium perks. This checks out, as a subscription is designed to offer exclusive benefits.
My take on this
I understand why Hyprland is taking this approach; it balances keeping the core open while providing a sustainable way to support ongoing development, much like how Archcraft does with its premium offerings alongside the free core experience.
Although, a price tag of €5 per month plus taxes is not something everyone can afford. We already live in the shackles of subscriptions, adding one more to the list can be daunting.
I would have preferred if there was price-parity, yearly pricing or even a lifetime option.
Take our offering, for example. Our monthly membership costs $3 per month but just $24 a year. And then we also have the lifetime option to save you the trouble of recurring payment.
Not saying our is the perfect system, just that having more options would be better.
💬 What do you think of this? Let me know in the comments below.
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