Cubase IS a DAW. It is all about audio and midi. Its score editor, on the other hand, is way behind Dorico and other score focused programs.
Digital Audio Workstation is the correct term.
Jesper
By the way, MakeMusic (Finale) can afford to make their product a bit less expensive…
They literally have zero customer support, so no salaries to pay.
Every time they have a “big” update, it turns out to add no new features, fix no long-standing bugs, and be nothing but behind-the-scenes updates to their software.
Compare with Dorico, where every user is listened to and responded to, where there are discussions that involve the development team, and more often than not, suggestions are actually implemented into the software.
I don’t consider $480 for professional level software to be in any way “costly”.
And as others have said, there are often promotions and cross-grade offers.
I think with my cross-grade and the promo at the time, my Dorico license cost a bit over $200.
I’ve suggested it already in an other topic a few years ago but I think the best option would be for them to go on Splice with their rent-to-own system, that way they could still charge the same price while being affordable for everyone and people would still get the lifetime license after that (altough this model doesn’t cover upgrades/updates but at least it makes the software more affordable for those who can’t spend over 500€ at once).
They (Steinberg) eventually went this way with Cubase I think last year (or was it already the year before ? 
), I wonder how well it is working though (I’m hoping it allowed them to get more customers and could motivate them to follow up with Dorico).
Not only that, but it only ran on Macintosh computers with an additional disc drive. That set-up cost me about $2,500 (in the late 1980’s - around $7,000 in todays dollars).
My first (Apple) laser printer cost $5,000. 300 dpi and nothing larger that legal size paper.
So don’t complain!
For what it’s worth, there is an interesting post on software pricing over at the other forum, written by the developer of a very popular plugin. Describes the 3 major pricing models, their effect on the customer, including the negative, and what these guys are trying to do to get out of that loop.
I wasn’t.
Sorry, that was meant for the OP.
just another perspective for those who think Sibfin might be better value. A direct quote from a user on a different forum after a frustrating failure to get Sibelius to start:
I really, really, don’t trust software like this, and Avid’s non-support - even for customers who not only have an active paid subscription but paid extra for a support call - is really substandard in ANY field. The wasted support code cost me only $30, but still… it’s the principle of the thing.
(And no, there were no updates to my case. Maybe in a few weeks someone will get back to me.)
I do hope I will finally be able to persuade this individual (who has expressed interest in Dorico in the past but like so many, is frightened of all the work involved in learning new software) to switch!
Hi dko22:
I agree with you where Avid is concerned, but really like Dorico. I’m on Elements 5 and can’t wait to get Pro, but will wait until there is a discount, usually around Christmas.
Also, I find Steinberg very helpful, when I call them. They’re easy to connect with and will answer your questions. Here is their number in case you don’t have it: (844) 358-4022.
Take care.
Minna_Mansky
For me, it is costly, but it’s also worth it. But as you (and others) have rightly observed, it is a professional program.
I use Studio One Pro, it costs $400. I use Hauptwerk, it costs just under $500, and the sample sets that load into it can cost over $1,000. Many are in the $400-600 range; I own multiple. I use Inspirata pro Reverb and it costs $200 now, but used to be double that when I first purchased it. I use Melodyne Studio which normally goes for $700. I have one of the large isotope suites that cost me $500 at the time (although they frequently offer sale prices). Shall I keep going? 
Suffice it to say: there is nothing unusual about Dorico’s pricing model, especially when compared to its direct competitors. People have become so jaded by iPhone and android apps that cost $4.99 that they forget that real computing comes at a real cost.
Hi Michel:
I have had Sibelius Ultimate for a little more than a year. I also have Dorico Elements, so maybe I could get the cross-grade price on Dorico Pro.
Take care.
Minna_Mansky
I’m not sure which country this phone number refers to – probably the USA – but I’ve never found the need to phone Steinberg as all my questions in the past have been answered by the team and fellow users on this very forum. But I’m glad you’ve found your Steinberg team helpful on the phone.
And I suspect you could get a crossgrade from Sibelius if you’ve had it more than a year, though others would be able to confirm.
MM, You could also use the trial version of Dorico Pro in the mean time. It will allow you to test the full version with all bells and whistles for a whole of 60 days! And then, if you really like it, do the cross-grade, when the sales are on, this could be way before Christmas even…
Hi dko22:
The number that I sent in the last email is a USA phon number.
I usually get help from the Steinberg Forums.
Minna_Mansky
I’m going to chime in here from a slightly different perspective.
Sometimes the cost of a new app or new version of an app is more than just the cost of the software. Sometimes there’s hardware involved too. For example, I’m still on Dorico 4, because I still use a very old MacBook Pro 2013 model that won’t support the Mac operating version I need to use in order to run future Dorico versions. (If you followed all that!)
It gets worse. I finally did break down and buy a newer MacBook Pro, with a slightly larger screen, and which will run the latest OS. But! All the connection ports are totally different from my old Mac, which means I either have to get adapters for all my various connections, or get new cables to run from here to there and vice versa. All of which is not cheap but is very time consuming. So I haven’t done it, and I’m still running Dorico on my old Mac, and the newer one is pretty much just sitting there waiting for me to learn to use it.
I drool over version 5 of Dorico, but so far drool is all I’ve been able to produce!
Yeah, no doubt the total commitment to any professional-capability software that requires processing-intensive computer power has that built-in extra expense. It’s not just the original price, but upgrades in both software and hardware just to keep up.
I know you know this, but the only alternative is for software and hardware to stay stagnant. Hardware capability progresses over time. Software takes advantage of that progress with it’s own progress.
All related industries employ specialists who must be paid a salary that attracts their skills. And yet they are geared towards a market that is not nearly so large as to be massive in scale.
At it’s root, the reason professional DAW and notation software costs so much is precisely the need for so much capability to chase such a niche market in a dynamic environment.
Although of little comfort today when faced with wanting things that stretch our budgets, we should also be thankful we live in a time where tools like Dorico and computers capable of running it are at least somewhat affordable by mere mortals such as ourselves. If musicians 50 years ago could have looked ahead to see today’s possibilities they would have been amazed.
Not only amazed. We would have put off writing down anything until Dorico got here!
I’m often aware that 50 years ago, to do what I can now accomplish alone would have required an entire company with a huge investment in real estate, equipment and personnel.