The only time I’ve seen McNeel offer a discount for Rhino is for a limited time after a new version is released. After that the price from McNeel is the list price.
Rhino can also be purchased from authorized resellers such as Novedge, who (in the US at least) may sell at a discounted price. Novedge, for example, currently offers a $120 discount on a new Rhino 8 license and a $70 discount on an upgrade to Rhino 8 license. I don’t know if Novedge or other resellers offer further sales on Rhino - I don’t recall seeing any.
When you upgrade Rhino you can continue to have the previous version(s) you upgraded from installed and available. The rule is you can only use a license on one machine at a time, but you can multiple versions covered by that license open on one machine simultaneously.
If you upgrade from Rhino 6 to a Rhino 8 commercial or educational license then you will be eligable to also obtain a Rhino legacy key, so you could have Rhino 6, Rhino 7 and Rhino 8 available.
As arash mentioned, McNeel is one company that doesn’t want to rip you off. The upgrade money you pay is for 3,5y of development since v7 (or 6y from v6). Unbeatable price-performance ratio, no subscription, dirt cheap educational version (fully commercially usable afterwards), no price increase since years, weekly service updates…
We want Rhino to prosper. That means throwing in some cash from time to time (bought my v8 upgrade on day 1).
Sounding like a salesperson, which I’m not… I’m just convinced.
I didn’t really notice that Rhino needs support. When I contacted tech support with problems after buying Rhino 8. I’m new to Rhino, before that I worked in Fusion 360. After Fusion, Rhino is like putting pants over your head. Of course, I had a lot of questions, something didn’t work, something didn’t work properly, a couple of times the program just crashed. I contacted them, they helped me from time to time. But then they said go to the forum and consult there. When I told them that with my health problems I go to a doctor and not to the forum. And the answer was something like “millions of people use our program, if you don’t like something, take your money and get lost.” It was in a more friendly form, but the meaning was the same. And by the way, after the updates, the problems went away. So they don’t give a damn about customers and their opinions, well, what’s the conclusion about support!
The forum is the primary support for working in Rhino, with McNeel employees almost always participating. The forum is available 24 hours a day, everyday, not just business hours.
Which “tech support” you mean? The official “McNeel” staff, or some of your local private resellers of the program?
Who said “something like “millions of people use our program, if you don’t like something, take your money and get lost.””? Do you have a proof that this really happened?
I will give you a simple example with the Rhino resellers in my country. I had a conversation with them several years ago. The guy who was supposed to be a “technical support” had nearly zero knowledge about NURBS modeling with Rhino. In fact, he often asked questions in a local forum for 3d graphics. It was funny, because he claimed that buying Rhino from their company also comes with “free support” by the phone. Meantime, he was unable to answer most of my questions. I knew all the the answers, but my goal was to confirm if he is capable to be a technical support.
At the time they also claimed that they offer 3d engineering services. The funny thing is, that same guy contacted me via the local forum for 3d graphics, in order to hire me to create a Rhino 3dm model for their customer. Those people had no clue about NURBS modeling in Rhino.
The part about Autodesk’s tech support being more helpful than McNeel’s made me think that post is more of a creative writing exercise than anything else.
And did anyone compare the two tech support? Personally, I compared Fusion 360 and Rhino. I noticed that the transition from Fusion to Rhino is quite complicated because Fusion looks more logical and intuitive. And after buying Rhino, I was completely stunned. I contacted tech support for help and told them about this experience. I did not compare Autodesk’s and McNeel’s tech support!
You are right, but I wanted to be helped not by millions, but by professionals involved in the creation and promotion of the program. Note that I am a newbie and had just bought the program and quite reasonably expected something a little different. And in general, I wrote this post to the person who said that McNeel needed support. After talking with the Rhinoceros team, I doubt it very much! I can understand them too, maybe they don’t have time for everything. Well, for example, I bought a Qidi 3D printer four years ago, this is China. All these four years they have been with me from China, they extend a helping hand to all questions and problems. Any problems, they send me videos, just recommendations, firmware, etc. They have never sent me to the forum, although they could, four years! This is not an advertisement for the printer, by the way! And here I just bought the program, asked questions and have already pointed out the direction where I should go! I like the program, but I am still mastering it, it is very difficult. I don’t call support, I’m afraid they’ll tell me to fuck off , I’m trying to figure it out myself!
If you spend a while here, you will understand how valuable this group of various professionals is. Just start asking questions.
A hint: questions about Grasshopper must be followed with relevant image/code example.
I understand your point because I had the very same experience when I tried to use Autodesk Inventor after first learning CAD on Rhino. I was stunned. Just trying to coax Inventor to draw a simple cube felt painfully difficult. Rhino just felt so clear and intuitive by comparison.
Of course the reality is that whatever CAD package you learn first is the one that is most likely to feel intuitive whenever you encounter a new and unfamiliar CAD program.
Rhino has its own clear logic, but it is probably starting from a different set of priorities and design principles from other CAD. Use what suits your needs the best.
You may be right, but it took me a month to learn Fusion to start creating my own models and more or less feel the program. For Rhino, just don’t laugh, it took me a year. Of course, I do projects, but very easy ones. Of course, I can only devote a couple of hours a day to learning. I haven’t yet started working closely with mesh and subdivision, and I’m afraid to think about Grasshopper. Why did I want to learn Rhino? This program seemed universal to me in several areas. And then I’m stubborn. Bears are taught to ride a bicycle. How am I worse than a bear? Now I understand that there are no universal programs and I need to try to learn more at least to fight Alzheimer’s.
Knowing Fusion may have slowed down learning Rhino. Most new Rhino users who already know other 3D modeling software seem to assume that their knowledge of the other software means they can just jump into Rhino and start modeling, However many of the paridigms, fundamentals of how the software works and terminology can be very different. It can take a while for the experience user to understand that they need to spend some time learning the basics of Rhino.
When someone who knows how to drive gets into a car of a brand they have not previously driven, they usually are able to start driving as soon as they figure out how to start the engine and put the car in gear. Unfortunately the differences in fundamental paradigms and terminology among 3D modeling software are much larger than the corresponding differences between brands of cars.
(Disclaimer - my only connection with McNeel is as a Rhino user since 2009.) As for your experience with the direct phone support and similar, McNeel has decided to strongly support the forum and use it as a primary method of support. The forum is available to all Rhino users at no cost, and the feedback I’ve seen has been about unanimous that it is among the best or the best software support forum on the internet.
I like the program, but I am still mastering it, it is very difficult. I don’t call support, I’m afraid they’ll tell me to fuck off 
be followed with relevant image/code example.