Have you checked with other dealers. I know that even my Viking software upgrade for my machine is free, Brother has all of their upgrades for free. Even their scan and cut got an upgrade that allowed it to do more scanning and in color as well. Even for the extra hoop I think that's really high since its still basically software upgrade. I'd be checking into that.

Good morning. I am new to this board and your mention of the Floriani software caught my attention. Trying to decide on buying a Babylock Destiny 2 and see this software mentioned on other store sites. My interest is in embroidery of monograms, etc. and wondered if you use this software for such? I have a love for the vintage French monograms. Any suggestions are very much appreciated! Thank you.

Floriani is my go-to software. It works on one page, meaning, some software programs have a "page" for each step of the import/digitizing/manipulation/exporting process. There are several other programs that will work with the main program, Floriani Total Contro-U. There is 3 quilting programs and 1 file management program.
I have the embroidery, and the 3 quilting programs and they work together in designing quilt squares, quilting and embellishing those squares. There is also some really cool features that allow you to do a square completely in the hoop from designing the square, appliqué, and quilting.
I have millions of embroidery designs, so the management program would not work for me.
contact RNKDistributing and they have a list of dealers. This program is not cheap, but is one of the best. I have 9 different embroidery programs, so I have some experience with the good and bad. You can get better pricing if you attend one of their events, plus they have all,sorts of gifts and fun stuff. Make sure you work with your dealer, your first line of education. But there are hundreds of video training on their web site.