Why is there a subscription fee for the Premium Plan of the TAP Kiln Control Mobile app?

While we’d love to be able to give away all of the premium features of the TAP Kiln Control Mobile app for free, developing an app was a major investment for us – and we have big plans for future upgrades. 100% of the net subscription fees for the Premium Plan go directly back into the app for maintaining our servers, developing new features, and providing improvements for all users.  

 We understand why some users are frustrated by the prospect of having to pay a subscription for an app when they already made a significant investment in buying a new kiln or controller. While we’re sympathetic to this frustration, we do want to remind you that you’re not paying a subscription to use your controller, you’re paying a subscription to use our app – which is completely optional and more of a convenience factor! 

Additionally, we provide all remote firing monitoring features, as well as the ability to abort firings, review logs, adjust settings, access advanced diagnostics, receive push notifications, calculate firing costs, and set preventative maintenance alerts as part of our free plan. Most of these features – if they're available at all – are paid features for Bartlett KilnAid or Skutt KilnLink. And neither of those apps allow true remote control or firing adjustments.