Not too long ago I broke down a the costs between Ableton and bitwig, and they are quite similar over time.

Ableton has the big #'rd updates where as bitwig you get all updates within a year from license activation.

Since BW will still run after the license runs out (you just cant update to any new versions) I don't always update until there is a new feature that I want to work with drops in an update.

I also limit purchasing licenses to sale periods as a license can sit on the shelf until you're ready to activate it - this significantly reduced the cost for me.

I think there are other ways to go about this though on the vast sea of the net if your sails catch the wind right ;). If you're making stuff for fun and not for profit I think everyone should have access to creative tools.

If you make money than it's worth considering sending some. money their way. ¯_(ツ)_/¯