NCH Software has been around since 1993. The company was founded in Canberra and has since expanded to include a US office in Colorado.
NCH Software provides a wide range of products to suit different needs, which is why the software company has become such a big name in the industry.
Unfortunately, however, the discussion surrounding NCH Software hasn’t always been wholly positive.
Several years back, NCH Software was plagued by issues such as unnecessary add-ons that were difficult to remove.
This meant that users were less satisfied with their experience and were reluctant to recommend NCH Software to others.
Since then, however, NCH Software has implemented some changes.
As a result, the question on everyone’s mind is, ‘Is NCH Software now worth buying?’ Read on to find out!
What Is NCH Software?
As we’ve established, NCH Software is a software development company based in Canberra with an office in Colorado for the U.S. customer base.
NCH Software produces a wide range of software products, from invoicing software for businesses to PDF and audio editing software.
This means that regardless of what industry you’re in or what your personal interests and needs are, NCH probably develops software that will benefit you.
We’ll explore the range of products developed by NCH Software in a moment.
You can download individual products from NCH Software from the company’s website.
Program Range
NCH Software’s broad and expansive range of programs includes:
- FastFox. This is a software program that allows you to make keyboard shortcuts for specific lines of text. If, for whatever reason, you find that you’re using the same phrases a lot of the time when typing, this can really speed up your work.
- MixPad. If you’re in the audio production industry, MixPad could be a useful program for you. Using this program, you can mix multiple tracks in addition to recording audio from scratch.
- Express Invoice. This program makes invoicing clients easy and stress-free, allowing you to send invoices via email or fax. Additionally, you can apply payments and manage your clients’ accounts using Express Invoice.
- Orion. If you’ve deleted a file on your computer and need to recover it, Orion will be your best friend. You can access deleted files on your hard drive or external drives, recover the file, and even overwrite it.
- Pixillion. Pixillion is perfect if you need an easy way to convert image files from one format to another.
- VideoPad. Video editing is made much easier with VideoPad. You can create professional-quality video projects by combining and editing different clips together, or editing a single, longer clip.
- Zulu. This audio DJ program means you can mix music live by dragging and dropping audio clips into the correct order. You can also preview tracks using a different audio input.
- MoneyLine. If you have a goal to work on your personal finances, you need to use MoneyLine. This program gives you quick access to all the data you need surrounding your finances so you can monitor your spending and budgeting easily.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the software programs developed by NCH Software. You can find the full list of products available to download here.
User-Friendliness
There are two main aspects of NCH Software that we would like to discuss today, in terms of user-friendliness.
These are the licenses you can purchase from NCH Software, and the process of installing and uninstalling the software.
Licenses
One of the biggest issues customers of NCH Software have faced in the past is with purchasing licenses.
NCH Software sells licenses for use of its products, but the problem is that these licenses expire with version changes. This means that when the software updates, your license could expire.
If you look at the small print, NCH states that its licenses are only valid for one version of the product and updates within the next six months.
So, if you get a license for an NCH Software product intending to use it at a later date, you’re likely to be unable to use it for long.
With that being said, you can also access a list of Old Versions of NCH Software and redownload it to keep using your license.
Installing And Uninstalling
Installing NCH Software is pretty straightforward, but a lot of users have run into problems when it comes to uninstalling software.
NCH Software seems to have made it easier to uninstall software programs in the last couple of years, so you should be able to use official uninstall methods to remove a program you no longer want.
However, be aware that a lot of registry entries are created when you download NCH Software, and these might remain after you uninstall the program itself.
The only way to completely get rid of these is to clean your system registry manually, which can be tedious.
Safety
There has been a lot of concern surrounding the safety of NCH Software programs in recent years.
That’s because there was a bug in some of the programs that caused changes in file associations.
Additionally, NCH used to come with a browser toolbar and bundleware, which caused the software to be flagged as a virus, which was alarming.
Luckily, both of the above issues seem to have been corrected since the problems were initially raised.
As long as you download NCH Software from the official site instead of relying on third-party free downloads, you shouldn’t have any malware issues.
Pricing
One major benefit of purchasing software from NCH Software is the fact that the programs are all reasonably priced.
Most programs listed in the NCH Software catalog can be downloaded for no fee, and you can use your selected program without paying anything for up to a month.
At the end of your one-month trial period, you can choose to pay for a license, which will give you access to the full version of the program, or you can continue with a limited version of the program.
Even this restricted version will still be fully functional, but it won’t have all the bells and whistles of the full program.
Customer Service
One issue that a lot of customers voiced after trying out NCH Software in the past was the customer service.
At the time, NCH was not active on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, which made it very difficult for users to get in touch if they ran into difficulties.
Today, however, NCH Software has an active presence on both Twitter and Facebook and will also answer user queries on tech support forums.
You can also directly contact the Software Technical Support team if you have a specific problem that you can’t find the answer to anywhere else.
Just bear in mind that you may receive a different level of support depending on which Technical Support Plan you have paid for.
Whether you’re paying for a complete version of a program or not, you will be able to email customer service, but if you want your issues to be treated as priority, you’ll need to pay for an advanced plan.
The Platinum plan will get you the most efficient support, followed by the Gold plan, and then the Silver plan.
NCH Software Overview
Pros
- Wide range of programs for all interests and industries
- Month-long free trials and free versions of programs
- Old program versions can be downloaded to continue license use
- Safe to use on your computer
- Many customer support avenues
Cons
- Licenses expire after 6 months
- Registry entries may need to be manually removed when uninstalling
- Free program versions are limited
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NCH Software Worth The Money?
NCH Software develops useful and fully functional programs that are worth the money.
You can use the full version of your chosen program for up to a month for free before purchasing the full version for an affordable price or continuing with a free, limited version.
Is NCH Recording Software Good?
Yes, NCH recording software is professional-quality and makes it easy for anyone to use, even if you’re new to audio recording and editing.
How Can I Uninstall NCH Suite?
Uninstalling NCH Suite on Windows involves going into the Control Panel, choosing ‘Uninstall a Program’, and right-clicking NCH Suite.
You can then click ‘Uninstall’ and it will give you prompts to complete the uninstallation process.
Final Thoughts
Although many issues were reported with NCH Software in the past, we’re pleased to report that the company has been implementing important changes over the last couple of years to make the suite more intuitive and user-friendly.
NCH Software’s extensive library and programs caters to many different industries and interests, and provides free trials and versions of programs to make the software more accessible.
The customer service has improved in recent years, the uninstallation process is easier, and the software should no longer be flagged as a virus by your computer.
Remember that licenses for NCH Software only last for 6 months, but you can redownload older versions of the software through the website.
