You can buy 5 outright with limitations (basically only the updates until 6.0), or go with Sphere and get 5, plus all add-ons (eg,, new sound sets & tutorials) as published, plus the update to 6.0 and beyond if you maintain the subscription. Sphere is the best way to go unless you don't plan to ever move beyond 5 and don't particularly care for add-ons that may come along. If you buy 5 outright, you can get still get add-ons, but only if you pay for them - which is why Sphere is economically better. Aside from that, the regular outlets like Musician's Friend, Sweetwater and, of course, PreSonus all have a package that lets you upgrade to 5 Pro from any prior version of Pro.
