12
JetBrains are offering 65% off Rider until 4th September
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Do they not offer a simple purchase option, only subscriptions?
Yes, included in the 12 month license is the entitlement to that version forever.
https://sales.jetbrains.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207240845-What-is-perpetual-fallback-license-
Also worth noting that unlike every other subscription service they reward loyalty with large discounts on renewing annually.
IDEs need to be constantly updated to keep up with language / framework changes. Your subscription pays for that continued work.
If you really want, you can buy the 1 year and cancel after it's up - you get a perpetual license for the version you're on at the time it expires, but I really don't get why that would be a good thing.
Sure, but visual studio offers a standalone purchase option and Jetbrains should too.