If you have already paid for the app, the link from their app to their website gives you a 50% off code to upgrade to 5. The 50% discount is for the your first yearly subscription payment, not the onetime purchase. Apparently it is also now Mac AppStore only.
“We’re delighted to express our gratitude to all current Screens users with a special 50% discount on their first annual subscription.”
Yearly $24.99
Monthly $2.99
Lifetime $75.00
Soon as I saw this, knew that I wouldn’t be upgrading.
Not worth a subscription to me. If they’d have given 50% off lifetime for an upgrade then I probably would have done it.
I initally thought that’s what they were doing since they already have gotten $30+ from us. Sadly, not the case. I don’t like the fact that its AppStore only now either. I will continue to use v.4 until it no longer works, then look at all of the options at that time. Filmic Pro’s example tells me this is not a good time for them to do this.
Pricing aside - any reports of how well the software works?
Does it handle Ctrl/Alt/Option keys well? Any significant delays?
I won’t upgrade.
Screens became very unreliable to connect to a Raspberry Pi in my local network.
I switched to VNC Viewer and it’s been rock solid.
I don’t have the need to remote access another Mac, but if I ever do, macOS Sonoma has it covered.
The screen sharing feature received a lot of improvements.
Here are two articles from Six Colors about it.
Sonoma review (there’s a paragraph about screen sharing)
Chiming in to recommend Jump Desktop to anyone looking for alternatives. It’s still a one-time purchase (although it requires separate purchases for Mac and iOS/iPadOS).
Note that the dev has confirmed the lifetime option is not family shareable.
Edit: edovia: "@exkclamation@mastodon.social Family sharing is n…" - mastodon.cloud
It really doesn’t have much going for it then, does it.
Wow.
For reasons I don’t entirely recall, I switched from Screens to Jump Desktop a couple of years ago.
So while I still have Screens installed, I too, will not be upgrading. And will likely just delete Screens.
Really bad form that they are not offering the 50% for lifetime to long time licensees. Way not to treat your users well, and how not to read the market as other options like Jump and, as noted above, Sonoma screen sharing are available.
So SO glad I didn’t buy Screens and stuck with Jump Desktop.
RIP screens.
purchasing macOS and iOS means we have already paid $50/66% of the Lifetime. Apparently their Lifetime doesn’t have a past… 
This is almost as bad as a text editor that cannot survive a macOS upgrade.
I just contacted the support to ask if they‘re serious that they don‘t offer a upgrade discount for me who purchased both lifetime versions (macOS + iOS). This was the answer:
Thanks for reaching out. The offer is for the annual subscription only. However, keep in mind that Lifetime already brings significant long-term savings.
Consider that the app is now universal, spanning all your Apple devices. Previously, acquiring both Screens 4 for iOS and Mac cost $50. We’ve priced the Lifetime subscription at $75, a reasonable offer.
„Lifetime already brings significant long-term savings.“… 
this kind of thinking sounds delusional when their users have already paid $50 and there are free options. the kicker is that the people who are most likely to use this type of app are also saavy enough to know how to just do it for free. oh well…
Edovia Screens leaving SetApp now…
https://blog.edovia.com/index.php/2023/12/21/screens-leaving-setapp/
this is also why I dislike SetApp.
Jump Desktop is on sale for Boxing Day. Buying two versions wasn’t ideal, but it was less than the subscription and the lifetime rate for Screens. I enjoyed Screens while it lasted. Hopefully, Jump stays with their current model for a while.
I recently started a Setapp trial and briefly experimented with Screens before it is removed from Setapp (tonight?).
Maybe too briefly, because I did not see what value it adds compared to (the improved) Screen Sharing in macOS Sonoma.
Which additional features make Screens worthwhile (for you)?
I have had Screens 4 for years and only use it to Screen Share within my own network, which can now be done much easier with macOS.
Over the last few months screens 4 has been unreliable with one of my Macs on my network where the Screen will juts go black. So no confidence in upgrading to Screens 5 for more $$
I just got a new iPad and unfortunately can’t install Screens4 on it (removed from App Store) I can’t believe how many apps get removed from the App Store even though previously purchased. Apple should always store the last version for download so us folk can re-download to newer devices or even when doing a new setup on an existing device. Very frustrating, Apple (and App Store developers).
I missed out on the $75 Lifetime deal for Screens5 (been using Screens for several years). Looks like it’s $119 Lifetime now or $25/year … so it works out to about 5 years before you make up for the Lifetime license. Considering this is called Screens5, what’s the chance Screens6 will come out within the next 5 years … 
I have no experience with JumpDesktop which I see mentioned here. Currently $35 for Mac, $15 for iOS. Curious how well it works in comparison to Screens … should I spend the $50? I know that Screens just works when I’m outside the home … which I value.
This happened to me (downloads going away) over a decade ago with an app I bought from the Mac App Store. I contacted Apple and they said, beyond “tough luck”, that I should save downloaded apps locally so I can restore from that. Unfortunately Apple’s store has gotten more sophisticated with “signed” apps that eventually time out as well as some apps that seem to be locked to the original machine.
Bottom line is that you never own the software you have “bought.”