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Comment by rb808 | Hacker News Reader

My view is also that selling developer tools is a really hard road. Developers always want stuff for free, people would rather work an hour a day all year than figure out how to get a $50 tool through purchasing.

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I have no problem buying tools up to around $1000. $50 is a total no brainer for which I don't need any approval. I often buy stuff that's only used once but it still is worth it because it saves time.

I think there is more willingness to pay in the Windows and Mac world than in the Linux world though.

Not when your employer is paying. And your employer will usually be happy to pay, as from their point of view buying things off the shelf is cheaper than having their devs build it from scratch.

My experience is different - I've often seen employers be ridiculously "penny smart and pound foolish", saving $50 here and $100 there at the expense of hours and hours a week wasted.

Over the past decade or so that "want" turned into "require". I would much rather go with a slightly inferior FOSS alternative than depend on the whims of the investors of whoever sold me proprietary software. Pretty much the only non-free "core" thing I use is GitHub, and I could easily drop it if Microsoft gets uppity about anything.

The challenge can be the company but really you should be able to raise your request to your boss who can navigate the system for you.

I'm personally always happy to pay a premium for the tools of my trade.

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