My COP9 trial is finish this week. its a great software and I love it. because I'm just amateur and I take photo by pleasure, $299 ($400 CDN) is to much money for software, plus I can't move out from adobe cc because photoshop.
If you use Sony or Mamiya/Leaf/Phase One equipment,
Capture One is
free to use (there is a modestly-priced upgrade to the
full Sony version). If you are a Mac user,
Pixelmator is an excellent substitute for Ps, and integrates very well with Capture One.
Luminous Landscape have good connection with Phase One and maybe can work on good discount for members. who want move from adobe lightroom.
I don’t see that happening, but you can
rent C1 by the month. I bought into the C1 Universe about six years ago during a cross-promotion, and haven’t looked back (I rent Lr and Ps by the month but scarcely use them).