Don’t invest
I bought Home Design 3D: Gold Edition because it was a one-time purchase. I was happy to pay for the app and even spent additional money on content because I thought I was investing in a product I could keep using.
Now, the Gold Edition has been removed and replaced with a subscription model that costs $80 a year. I get that developers need to make money, but this price is just too high for me. An annual subscription for a home design app is simply too much, especially when many of us originally picked the Gold Edition because it was not subscription-based.
What makes this especially frustrating is that I wasn’t expecting everything to be free. I would have happily paid for a reasonably priced upgrade, bought optional furniture or decor packs, or even purchased a new version as a one-time deal. Instead, the only option now is an expensive recurring subscription.
It feels like loyal customers who supported the original app have been left behind. Those of us who paid for the Gold Edition and put extra money into the app deserved a more customer-friendly upgrade path than being asked to pay $80 annually.
I genuinely loved this app, which is why writing this review is so disappointing. I still think it’s a great piece of software, but I can’t back a pricing model that turns what was once an affordable, one-time purchase into an ongoing yearly expense.
It’s sad to walk away from an app I truly enjoyed, but I won’t support a pricing model that forces loyal customers into an expensive recurring subscription.
Now, the Gold Edition has been removed and replaced with a subscription model that costs $80 a year. I get that developers need to make money, but this price is just too high for me. An annual subscription for a home design app is simply too much, especially when many of us originally picked the Gold Edition because it was not subscription-based.
What makes this especially frustrating is that I wasn’t expecting everything to be free. I would have happily paid for a reasonably priced upgrade, bought optional furniture or decor packs, or even purchased a new version as a one-time deal. Instead, the only option now is an expensive recurring subscription.
It feels like loyal customers who supported the original app have been left behind. Those of us who paid for the Gold Edition and put extra money into the app deserved a more customer-friendly upgrade path than being asked to pay $80 annually.
I genuinely loved this app, which is why writing this review is so disappointing. I still think it’s a great piece of software, but I can’t back a pricing model that turns what was once an affordable, one-time purchase into an ongoing yearly expense.
It’s sad to walk away from an app I truly enjoyed, but I won’t support a pricing model that forces loyal customers into an expensive recurring subscription.
Show more
Wondering what happened to the Gold Edition of this app!
Love this app but I’ve been playing the Gold Edition and recently I tried to update it and it says it’s no longer on the App Store but there is 2 other versions and one says it’s not available in my country and the other says it’s not compatible with my device? What happened to the original one time paid version of the app? It was just updated a month ago and now it’s not here anymore? ABSOLUTELY REDICULOUS THAT WE HAVE TO PAY 80 DOLLARS FOR AN APP I ALREADY HAD QND PAID FOR! Straight garbage and you all should be ashamed! Please fix it or give me my money back! Thank you!
Show more
It’s a scam
This game used to be genuinely great. About five years ago, I paid for the Gold edition, which gave me access to all of the features. I was a loyal paying customer and had built up years’ worth of projects that I enjoyed coming back to.
When the app changed in June and new features were placed behind a subscription, I was disappointed, but I understood that apps evolve and developers need to make money. I simply stopped creating new projects and continued enjoying the projects I had already made and paid for.
Now, however, the app has become essentially unusable without a subscription—and, even worse, many of my old projects that I had kept for years are gone. That is completely unacceptable. I paid for this app and invested years of time into creating those projects, only to have access to them taken away.
What makes this even more frustrating is the complete lack of meaningful customer support. Please don’t respond with a generic “Thanks for your review” or pretend that this isn’t happening. Actually listen to what longtime customers are saying. Loyal users who supported this app years ago deserve better than having the experience they paid for gradually stripped away.
There are other house-design games out there, such as Planner 5D, that offer a much better experience. At this point, I would strongly encourage people to think twice before investing money or years of work into this app, because there is no guarantee that features you have access to today won’t be locked behind another subscription tomorrow.
This isn’t just about paying for new features. It’s about trust, loyalty, and preserving the things customers already paid for and created.
This app has gone from something I genuinely enjoyed to something I can no longer recommend. Shame on the developers for treating longtime customers this way!
When the app changed in June and new features were placed behind a subscription, I was disappointed, but I understood that apps evolve and developers need to make money. I simply stopped creating new projects and continued enjoying the projects I had already made and paid for.
Now, however, the app has become essentially unusable without a subscription—and, even worse, many of my old projects that I had kept for years are gone. That is completely unacceptable. I paid for this app and invested years of time into creating those projects, only to have access to them taken away.
What makes this even more frustrating is the complete lack of meaningful customer support. Please don’t respond with a generic “Thanks for your review” or pretend that this isn’t happening. Actually listen to what longtime customers are saying. Loyal users who supported this app years ago deserve better than having the experience they paid for gradually stripped away.
There are other house-design games out there, such as Planner 5D, that offer a much better experience. At this point, I would strongly encourage people to think twice before investing money or years of work into this app, because there is no guarantee that features you have access to today won’t be locked behind another subscription tomorrow.
This isn’t just about paying for new features. It’s about trust, loyalty, and preserving the things customers already paid for and created.
This app has gone from something I genuinely enjoyed to something I can no longer recommend. Shame on the developers for treating longtime customers this way!
Show more
Houses
Houses
Long time user
I don't usually write reviews especially negative ones.
(for the people who don't want to read)
Summary:
After a recent app update and revamp I have lost access to content I paid for as a one-time purchase previously, with no ability to restore purchase forcing me into a subscription model or watch ads.
(for those who want to read)
In Depth Details:
- Used to love this app so much so that I paid at the time what was a one-time payment for premium content and used to recommend this app to other people.
- Used this app for many years, probably nearing almost 10years
- Used it for personal use for redesigning, remodeling, and home projects for myself and others.
- After this update and app revamp I lost access to premium content I paid for in the past without being able to restore purchases.
So disappointing, why is there no option to grandfather in long-time paid customers? I get the app/company needs to grow and would have loved to support this app in further expansion even pay for new content packs if given the opportunity, but I wasnt. Just one day to the next I lost access and am being forced into a subscription or ads to unlock access I used to have and paid for already.
Personally I think this was a poor move. So many people hate subscription models. Give us the opportunity or choice, one time payment or subscription.
Before the update the app was wonderful, I had multiple projects could scale it to size, import patterns and make existing items work to suit my needs. It felt very useful, a practical way to visualize projects before sinking in money. It definitely could have used an update and the position for new item packs for purchase.
Now after the update it seems kind of gimmicky with an avatar and not very professional.
So unfortunate. I would have paid and supported this app if given the opportunity. Now I cannot recommend this.
At this point if there is no respect for long-time users then I am going to switch to a different app and delete this one.
Very sad.
(for the people who don't want to read)
Summary:
After a recent app update and revamp I have lost access to content I paid for as a one-time purchase previously, with no ability to restore purchase forcing me into a subscription model or watch ads.
(for those who want to read)
In Depth Details:
- Used to love this app so much so that I paid at the time what was a one-time payment for premium content and used to recommend this app to other people.
- Used this app for many years, probably nearing almost 10years
- Used it for personal use for redesigning, remodeling, and home projects for myself and others.
- After this update and app revamp I lost access to premium content I paid for in the past without being able to restore purchases.
So disappointing, why is there no option to grandfather in long-time paid customers? I get the app/company needs to grow and would have loved to support this app in further expansion even pay for new content packs if given the opportunity, but I wasnt. Just one day to the next I lost access and am being forced into a subscription or ads to unlock access I used to have and paid for already.
Personally I think this was a poor move. So many people hate subscription models. Give us the opportunity or choice, one time payment or subscription.
Before the update the app was wonderful, I had multiple projects could scale it to size, import patterns and make existing items work to suit my needs. It felt very useful, a practical way to visualize projects before sinking in money. It definitely could have used an update and the position for new item packs for purchase.
Now after the update it seems kind of gimmicky with an avatar and not very professional.
So unfortunate. I would have paid and supported this app if given the opportunity. Now I cannot recommend this.
At this point if there is no respect for long-time users then I am going to switch to a different app and delete this one.
Very sad.
Show more
