Autodesk currently lists the Flex Plan for $99 per month as its lead offer, best for people who need software for just a few months or who prefer month to month billing. The other published options are an annual subscription at $168 per month and a regular monthly subscription at $255 per month; the newsletter signup is available for special promotions but is not the main offer.
If you need the software for a single month or sporadically. Choose the Flex Plan at $99/month. It is the lowest cost for short term use compared with the $255 monthly subscription. For a one month example: original price $255, discounts none, final price $255 with the monthly subscription; Flex cost $99, so you save $156 by using Flex instead of the monthly plan.
If you plan to use the software month to month with no long term commitment. Flex at $99/month remains the cheapest ongoing option because it is billed only for months you use. If you used the software for two months, Flex would cost $198 versus $510 on the monthly subscription, so Flex saves $312 over two months.
If you plan to use the software for a full year. Compare totals across plans. The Flex Plan billed $99 per month for 12 months totals $1,188. The annual subscription at $168 per month totals $2,016 for 12 months, and the monthly subscription at $255 per month totals $3,060 for 12 months. On a 12 month example: original prices and discounts in order, Flex original price $99/month for 12 months (fixed), final price $1,188, saving versus annual $828 and versus monthly $1,872. The Flex Plan therefore produces the lowest 12 month cost of the three listed offers.
If you want potential future promos or one time welcome deals. Sign up to the newsletter for special offers and promotions. The newsletter is a separate route to hear about deals and is useful if you hope to receive a limited time discount, but it is not an immediate price guarantee and does not replace the published plan prices on the site.
When choosing between the plans, take whichever leaves you the lowest total cost for the exact months you will use the product. For short term and intermittent use the Flex Plan at $99/month is the cheapest per month. For continuous 12 month use the numbers above still show Flex at $1,188 is lower than the annual total $2,016 and the monthly total $3,060. No offer text here states that these plans combine, so treat them as separate billing choices and pick the single plan that gives the lower final total for your period of use.