In today’s day and age, everything works over the internet. Humanity has never been more tech-dependent than it is today. Everything today runs on computers or smart devices and maintaining compatibility between devices is one of the greatest challenges we all face. Some brands of software have become more popular than others, so it is necessary to have access to the popular brands of software that prevail in the market.

However, as a software becomes increasingly popular, it also becomes more expensive. Buying original software licences for these popular software is not affordable for most people. But resorting to “cracked” or pirated versions of these software is dangerous. Such versions often come with malware, spyware, and other dangerous software that could harm your computer or worse – steal your data, spy on you, etc.

In short, you can’t afford to buy original software and getting pirated copies is dangerous. So, what do you do?

You could do one of two things. One is to scour the internet for discounted prices on original software products. The other is to look for cheaper alternative software that suitably substitutes the one that’s popularly used. Did you know that you can actually find insanely discounted prices even on these alternatives?

Let us show you the options at your disposal to get software products at affordable prices.

Option #1: Straight from the Source

Brands often run sales at special prices or offer discounts on their products via their own websites or a select few partner websites. This is a common marketing technique adopted by brands around the world. You will find details of such deals on the company’s official website.

So, what you need to do is simple:

1. Find out the name of the company that created the software you want to get, for eg. Microsoft, Adobe, etc.
2. Go to the company’s official website. Ensure you’re on the actual official website because there are many misleading sub-domains from other companies with similar names out there.
3. Search for the software you want.
4. Browse through the various versions and options available. Companies will often club the software you want with a host of others, as part of a ‘suite’ of software that may all be useful.
5. If the software you want is available as part of a bunch of other software, check whether the other software in the bunch are of use to you. Chances are that they will be. Don’t make your choice unless you’re sure. There are usually many options available; make sure you browse through them all.
6. Check how many users each pack permits and calculate the price per user for every pack available. Typically, packs that allow multiple users will work out to be cheaper than individual packs. Find the packs that work out to the lowest price per user.
7. Find others who are willing to invest in the pack you’re looking to buy. You can approach your coworkers, friends, or even use social media for this. The point is to find enough people to buy a single pack. So, if it’s a family pack allowing 5 users, you need 4 others to buy it with you.
8. Contribute and the pack that best suits your needs!

This is a very safe method to get exactly the same software you’re looking for at the best possible price. However, if you’re like us, chances are that you will still find this too expensive for your liking. In that case, you can go for option 2.

Option #2: AppSumo

This is easily the best way to find software deals on the internet. AppSumo’s very tagline is, “You’re never paying full price for software again.” And the service they provide is very true to this promise.

The way that AppSumo works is simple to understand, too. It’s important to know this so that you can trust the services provided rather than worrying about the quality you’re going to get.

AppSumo partners with the most popular tech companies and works out a way to offer heavy discounts on the products these partners offer. Typically, these products are almost the same thing as the most popular software out there, so you will face no compatibility issues. This way, you can get software that fits your needs without burning a hole in your pocket while also eliminating the risk of getting malware-infested pirated versions.

The deals AppSumo strikes with its partners usually only allow them to put up limited-period offers on their website. But every time you purchase any software at a heavily discounted price via AppSumo, AppSumo earns a commission. Working in this manner helps AppSumo earn its share while offering you incredible discounts on original, malware-free software. Knowing this allows you to buy from the website without worrying about whether or not the products they sell are authentic.

If you’re still not convinced, though, there’s a solution for that. You can get your money back for any of the products available on the website within the first 60 days after you make the purchase.

To make the deal even sweeter, AppSumo offers you direct access to the creators of the products sold on their website. Since most of the products on AppSumo are newly launched alternatives to popular software in the market, you are one of the early users of said products. That puts AppSumo in a unique position to allow you direct access to the minds behind these products.

In short, this is a website that can quite literally meet every single one of your software needs. But if you aren’t comfortable experimenting with new products, and still find option 1 too expensive, there’s one last thing you can try.

Option #3: Aggregators

We understand that the first option may still be too expensive for your tastes and you may not like the second one because you want the same software that everyone else is using and not some new alternatives. The internet is a place of abundance, for the most part, so you still have options.

Here’s what you can do instead.

Remember the misleading sub-domains with similar names that we talked about under Option 1? Those are the ones you want to land up on. Such sub-domains typically belong to aggregator platforms that are designed to bring under one roof all the discounts and offers available on the internet.

There is a treasure-trove of aggregators out there that offer software at crazy discount rates. A number of these are legitimate businesses offering safe, original products. You can find the software you want on these platforms.

However, the way to get to the actual good stuff through this option is laden with danger. Most such sites have click-bait and intrusive ads that lead to suspicious and dangerous websites. You may unwittingly end up downloading spyware, viruses, and other harmful software that can wreck your system or facilitate serious cybercrime.

So, although this is an option, it is basically a hit-or-miss with rather scary consequences if you miss. We wouldn’t recommend going with this option. But you can decide for yourself if it’s worth the risk when you could easily go with the much safer AppSumo option and save a ton of money instead.

Conclusion

In our opinion, the above-listed options are an accurate summary of everything you can do to find the best deals on software products online. We hope it has helped you find the software you need at the best possible price!