Unofficial subscription market booming in Bangladesh – here's why

A growing number of Bangladeshi freelancers, students and small businesses are turning to informal reseller networks to gain access to premium artificial intelligence and software tools as high subscription costs and limited access to international payment methods make official services difficult to afford.

Infographic: TBS

The expanding market reflects the growing dependence on digital tools across the economy, while also exposing users to cybersecurity risks and operating within a largely unregulated environment.

Official subscriptions to global digital platforms typically require payment in US dollars through international credit cards, which remain inaccessible or inconvenient for many Bangladeshis. Local resellers have stepped in to bridge the gap by purchasing subscriptions in bulk, using family or team plans, or sourcing packages from lower-priced regions before reselling access in local currency through mobile financial services like bKash and Nagad.

The price differences are substantial. ChatGPT Plus, which officially costs around Tk2,400 to Tk2,500 per month, is commonly sold by local resellers for about Tk400. Canva Pro and VPN services, which officially cost between Tk1,500 and Tk1,800 per month, are available through resellers for Tk150 to Tk350.

Similarly, YouTube Premium, priced at Tk239 per month for individual users, is offered through shared arrangements for Tk100 to Tk150. Netflix's Premium 4K plan, which costs around Tk1,200 to Tk1,250 per month, is frequently resold through shared profiles for approximately Tk450.

According to the ICT Division, Bangladesh has around 6,50,000 freelancers working in a sector valued at nearly $1 billion annually, making the country one of the world's largest freelance labour markets. A 2025 study published by the International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science found that many freelancers earn less than $209 per month, making multiple full-price software subscriptions financially out of reach.

"For most freelancers, paying full international prices for several tools together becomes almost impossible," freelancer Sourav Biswas told TBS.

Digital tools becoming essential

As AI and digital productivity platforms become increasingly integrated into everyday work, many users now regard premium subscriptions as essential rather than optional.

Digital marketing agencies rely on design and content creation tools, while freelancers use AI and writing assistance platforms to serve international clients. Students increasingly depend on such tools for assignments, presentations and research.

Tanvir Hassan, executive director of Ekush Communication, said premium software has become indispensable for agency operations.

"Content teams use them for design, copywriting, presentations, client communication and productivity. AI tools especially have significantly reduced turnaround time in many creative tasks," he said.

For smaller agencies with multiple employees, he added, maintaining official subscriptions across all required platforms can create a significant monthly financial burden.

University student Aniruddha Biswas said many students could not afford official subscriptions individually.

"Usually, a group of students purchases subscriptions together through local sellers to reduce costs," he said.

Several freelancers and students said access to such tools directly affects their competitiveness in global digital marketplaces.

Digital inequality driving demand

Md Neamul Hasan Mimu, chairman of reseller business Bongo Digital, said demand for subscriptions to ChatGPT Plus, Canva Pro, Adobe products, Spotify and Grammarly had increased rapidly in recent years.

His company currently serves between 30 and 50 customers daily.

"A large number of users in Bangladesh still do not have access to international payment cards, and the high exchange rate makes official subscriptions relatively expensive," he said.

Neamul called on global technology companies to introduce local currency billing and integrate domestic payment platforms.

BM Mainul Hossain, director at the Institute of Information Technology of the University of Dhaka, said the growth of the reseller market highlighted broader digital inequality.

"Global pricing is often too high for a country like Bangladesh. If regional pricing or localised access models are not introduced, many users simply cannot afford these services," he said.

According to Mainul, unofficial parallel markets tend to emerge naturally when digital services remain financially inaccessible to large segments of the population.

Security and privacy concerns

Despite their lower prices, reseller services carry significant cybersecurity and privacy risks, according to experts.

Mainul warned that shared accounts may expose users' browsing histories, prompts and personal information to others. He also noted that some unofficial login methods could facilitate the spread of malware.

Cybersecurity expert Arif Mainuddin said many consumers prioritise affordability over account security.

According to him, some resellers request customers' email credentials, passwords or even remote access to their devices, creating risks of identity theft, unauthorised account access and credential misuse.

The Business Standard also observed that some group-buy services rely on browser extensions to provide access. Experts caution that such extensions may gain access to browsing sessions, cookies and account activity.

"While unofficial subscription markets may appear economically attractive, users must understand that lower costs often come with hidden cybersecurity and privacy trade-offs," Mainuddin said.

The Business Standard contacted Group Buy Services, one of the larger operators in the market, for comment, but the company declined to respond.

Regulatory uncertainty

The market currently operates in a legal grey area. No publicly known licensing framework exists under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission specifically for the resale of shared software-as-a-service subscriptions. 

Despite repeated attempts, TBS could not obtain comments from commission officials.

Although subscription reselling itself may not be illegal, practices involving unauthorised credential sharing, cracked software or stolen payment methods could potentially violate platform policies, copyright protections or cybercrime laws.