Dassault emailed me a price quote for SolidWorks Professional the other day...

To say I'm not quite ready to commit would easily qualify as Understatement of the Millennium.  Perhaps if I were a licensed P.E. and could come up with a strong business case, I'd jump all over a full-up license.  But I'm merely a destitute street urchin without an engineering degree to save my soul, so any prospect of investing in this incredibly capable design solution is entirely out of the question at this time.

Regardless, can anyone explain license v. subscription?  Thanks.