Unless something changes between now and then (in the spirit of this forum, I reserve the right to change my mind ), I expect to be application subscription-free in October when my 1PW, MindNode, Grammarly, and Ulysses subscriptions expire. The exception is my Apple One Premier subscription.
Canceling app subscriptions has been an easy decision, except for the Ulysses subscription. Concerning Ulysses, I have gone back and forth on whether to keep my writing in Ulysses or rely on Pages and Scrivener (book only). As I’ve shared before, I like much about Ulysses, but as I’ve assessed the trade-offs between Ulysses’ ease of use and underlying proprietary markdown format versus the advantages of Pages for the type of work I do, I’ve opted for the latter.
My app stack is as shown below. I’ll add Apple’s password app once I install iOS 18 and Sequoia next week.
In short, although not identical, I, too, have opted for familiar, more straightforward, and, in my case, subscription-free applications in the spirit of this post:
I’m not subscription-free, but I have combined most of them into one Settapp subscription, paid annually.
I primarily blog, and Ulysses is such a perfect fit for what I do I didn’t want to use anything else. Likewise, MindNode is an essential part of my workflow–I think visually, and none of the other mind-mapping apps are as beautiful, simple, and feature-rich as MindNode. I recently found NotePlan (thanks to @davidr and MPU) and find it a perfect match for my workflow and needs, not complicated like Obsidian, but very flexible to work the way I do. And puts everything I need in one screen–notes, calendar, reminder, and daily note.
I am experimenting with switching from 1Password to Apple Password, which I have running on almost all my devices. So far, it does exactly what I was using 1Password for, so it’s a pretty sure bet I’ll lose that subscription. I have an annual plan right now that doesn’t run out until Jan, so it gives me plenty of time to experiment.
This sounds more like consolidating subscriptions now that Apple has viable candidates. I’m assuming you’l be using the new Passwords app? Apple Intelligence can fill in for Grammarly. I totally get it, but I don’t think we’ll ever be fully subscription free when cloud services are in play.
Agreed, which is why I was careful to note that I am not including Apple One when considering myself subscription free. I am referring essentially to personal apps that I use for my productivity. In that regard, I’m almost completely subscription free.
@Bmosbacker did say app subscriptions, and I don’t consider Apple One an app subscription, since it’s primarily delivering entertainment content and cloud storage that incur high ongoing acquisition costs. The complementary Apple default apps he uses aren’t part of that umbrella and don’t require a subscription.
App subscriptions are categorically different. When you subscribe to an app like Ulysses, Fantastical, NotePlan, etc., you’re just paying the dev to maintain and develop the app itself and grant you permission to use it for as long as you keep the subscription active.
Congratulations on reaching the goal @Bmosbacker! It was actually following your journey that inspired that post you linked. Although I couldn’t remove all app subscriptions, you encouraged me to reduce by half.
I wish I could be subscription free! I have been chopping away this month on stuff that I can get rid of…I shaved off ~$150 so far…here’s what I am down to so far…
Entertainment
Christian Broadcast Network (Superbook for the kids)
Crunchyroll (Anime)
Hulu
Netflix
Paramount+
Disney+
Spotify
Apple Arcade
Backup Services
Backblaze
Backblaze B2
Synology C2
Apple iCloud
Health
Qardio
Life
IFTTT
Cloudways Server (Wordpress instances / Blogs)
Craft
Day One
Drafts
GoodNotes
Microsoft 365
Collectorz
CovrPrice (tied to Collectorz)
Matter
Obsidian
Notion
Fantastical
Amazon
1 Password
Not counting one-time fees that happen maybe 1x every 2-3 years, like when Omnifocus, DevonThink, or PDF Expert release a whole new app.
In effect, a subscription transfers the business risk from the developer, where it belongs, to the user, where it does not. (And there is no guarantee that I would want any of the new features developed.)
Photoshop, which I think gives good value for the subscription.
Carrot Weather, which I will likely let lapse when it is up.
Drafts, which I just started using and thus not sure long term.
Parallels, which I use for work. And with retirement looming …
Note that I do have subscriptions to services, which to me are a different category.
Carrot Weather could fall into the services category, as there is an ongoing cost to the developer for my using the app. But there is a long standing issue with the Mac version of Carrot not recognizing my weather station as the input source, and the developer does not seem interested in addressing it.
You both make valid points, and I hadn’t really considered that distinction. I was a bit narrow-minded in my interpretation and I admit, it initially didn’t click for me. In that regard, Apple One is almost a utility with bonuses. If using it for device backups and cloud storage alone, the app benefits are icing on the cake. It makes sense to separate that.
I’ve been off on the other end of spectrum trying argue in favor of subscriptions. Within reason of course, I’d be hard pressed to defend $100+ per year (I’m looking at you YNAB ). I do find many smaller options, usually $20/year or less very reasonable provided sufficient value is given.
At the same time, I’ve been working my way through Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism, and really reflecting on this approach and how I may benefit from it. I think you’re onto something good here, and I applaud you for paving the way. I’m also actively following your interest in iA Writer in the other post, but I’ll leave that topic to that thread
No, you didn’t fix anything “for me.” Whether you pay a one-time payment or a subscription, “you’re just paying in the hope that the dev [will] maintain and develop the app itself,” or at least fix bugs and keep it compatible with OS updates so you can keep using it.
In the case of devs that offer a choice of a larger single one-time payment or a smaller ongoing yearly subscription, you’re gambling either way. If a year or two after you make the one-time payment the dev abandons the project, goes out of business, or sells out to a bigger company that kills the app (perhaps to use the code in their own product) you’re worse off than someone who went for the subscription at the same time.
In a sense, by choosing the one-time payment, you’re investing in the future of the app and company up front in the hopes that it will pay off in the long run.
I stand by my statement that “you’re just paying the dev to maintain and develop the app itself and grant you permission to use it for as long as you keep the subscription active.” That’s what they promise. Of course, they may at some point fail to deliver, and then you no longer have any reason to keep paying.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of app subscriptions and avoid them whenever possible, but the equation is not as simplistic as you make it out to be.
I don’t have many subscriptions because I’m opposed to them as a concept, but it’s always good to review anyway because stuff creeps in and before you know it you’re running 10+ subs without noticing!
Your post reminded me to check if I should switch to Apple One, but for now it’s not worth it for me - I’m paying for Apple Music and iCloud separately, but that’s cheaper than Apple One and I don’t want or need the other services offered.
My current app sub list is:
NotePlan (essential, I’m happy to pay)
YNAB (essential, I’m not happy to pay AND they’ve put prices up again, but I complain about this app constantly and have yet to find a replace I’m happy with)
GeForce Now (gaming sub I added this year. Mac still doesn’t support the full line-up of computer games, so this virtual gaming system means I can play PC games. Amazing! P.S. they recently added iPad support, which means you can now play PC games on your iPad! SO GOOD!)
Carrot Weather (just for the Apple Watch complication. And the sarcasm)
Weathergraph (the actual weather app I use for forecasts)
Readwise & Reader (I’m not getting my money’s worth out of this, but it’s a problem with the brain controlling the keyboard, not the apps themselves. I feel there’s lots of value in this app, and I need to sort out my workflow)
VPN? I’m going to count it here though it’s not really an app. I switched to NordVPN from Trust.Zone last year and Nord is much better.
I am also interesting the question as to whether folks count app upgrades in their sub costs. I have various apps that are one-off fees that I would pay to upgrade, like Moom 4 recently, and DevonThink of course!
I would almost pay a sub to this forum just to count how many times someone will post that they are app subscription free in a one year period. I believe a similar post was floating around just 4 months ago.
I don’t use Hazel or Things. I have KM but rarely use it; I doubt I’d pay for an upgrade to KM when it comes out.
That said, I realize that one has to update apps when new OSs break them or if they have new compelling features. There is no free lunch. I have to pay for my apps either directly or, in the case of Apple’s default apps, the price is baked into the hardware and or the services I purchase from Apple. For example, I expect to upgrade Logos, EndNote, Scrivener, OmniOutliner, iA Writer, and SimpleMind when needed to maintain functionality with updated OSs or if the upgrades include compelling new “must-have” features. Additionally, nearly all of my core apps are free default apps or have free versions.
What I’m striving for is minimizing unnecessary ongoing costs, or to put it another way, to avoid “renting” the tools I use to the extent possible. I dislike the notion of my tools ceasing to function even if there has been no OS-related problem if I decide I no longer wish to pay a monthly fee.
When considering an app subscription, I find it helpful to calculate the cumulative TCO (total cost of ownership) of applications over three to five years or longer. One generally comes out ahead with one-time purchases relative to the TCO with subscriptions. We often hear that “x app subscription is less than the cost of a cup of coffee per month.” I’d argue that 1) you may be paying too much for your coffee and 2) that “app coffee” at $9.99/month will cost you $360 over three years and $600 over five years. If you have five such app subscriptions, the cost is $1,800 and $3,000, respectively. That is a lot of money, particularly if there are “good enough” free or one-time purchase alternatives.
Everyone has different needs and priorities, but I’m not willing to pay that kind of money for what, given my needs, are marginal functional and aesthetic benefits of subscription apps versus alternatives, if suitable alternatives are available.
One time purchases and subscriptions all come out of the same bucket of money, so subscriptions don’t bother me.
I’ve been purchasing computer hardware and software for myself and/or a company since the mid 1980’s, and when mobile came along I was surprised how cheap the software was. As I’ve mentioned before, in the early days software frequently added 50% or more to the cost of a computer. And sometimes the hardware was a fraction of the cost of owning a computer.
At some point, after I started submitting budgets to my company for hardware/software, I started considering the total cost of ownership for my personal purchases. For example:
The cost of owning my iPhone 11 (purchase/apple care/att service) currently averages $93/month. My AirPods Pro run around $8.33/month.
), I expect to be application subscription-free in October when my 1PW, MindNode, Grammarly, and Ulysses subscriptions expire. The exception is my Apple One Premier subscription.
). I do find many smaller options, usually $20/year or less very reasonable provided sufficient value is given.
