Just wanted to consolidate. I already had iCloud Mail+ with the Apple One bundle I share with my partner, so it made sense. iCloud+ Mail is good enough for my needs.
I still highly recommend Fastmail.
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I was considering the same, since I already paying for Apple iCloud + for 2T storage. However, the fastmail / 1password masked emails is the killer feature that I use almost everyday. Also I heard some reliabiliy issues with using iCloud with own domain
- Removed: Safari Books Online and HDPiano, not that they are not useful, itās just that I donāt have time for them! Special case for Apple Arcade, the titles there didnāt spark any interest.
- Kept: Evernote (!!!), iCloud Storage Plan, Google Paid Storage.
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Letās get this topic going again.
Has anyone else done a deep dive into their subscriptions lately with all the services seeming to increase their prices at the same time in the last couple months?
Iāve been dropping subscriptions left and right and SetApp has been a lifesaver for meā¦especially now that it has Craft!!
Iāve really reduced my subscriptions over the last year.
In the last 12 months I dropped:
Fantastical
SetApp
Omnifocus
Superhuman
Google Workplace
Office 365
PDF Expert
I kept:
Ulysses
iCloud
MacSparky Labs
More Power Users
Day One
Readwise
Drafts
BackBlaze
Creative Cloud (although my work pays this so no brainer)
+media subscriptions
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I just added Fantastical to my list of canceled/to be canceled. 8% inflation does not justify a 42% price increase. wtf. I have about 11 months left and then I will just go back to v2. This is the problem with subscriptions. You acquiesce and tell yourself to feel good that you are helping devs survive. The devs get you used to paying regularly, then hose you by raising prices. People should not accept this. I would cancel today if I could get a refund.
42% <------- LOOK AT THIS
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I couldnāt agree more.
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So far Iāve dropped Fantastical, Notion, YouTube Premium, a bunch of streaming servicesā¦the Star Trek channel on Pluto is my go to right now. 24/7 Star Trek for free. What more could you want in life?ā¦and I try to find apps within SetApp to replace ones I have a current subscription for.
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Maybe it was a tone-deaf Douglas Adams reference? 
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Thereās also a number of explanations that donāt require the developers to be horrible people out to defraud.
Maybe it was underpriced for a while?
Maybe they just lost a bunch of customers?
ā¦I am sure there are more.
However, I do agree that price increases are a problem with subscriptions, and I prefer to avoid that model.
I really donāt have too many subscriptions. Other than stuff for work (cPanel and some other licenses for server stuff), I try to run pretty light and pay for software outright. We donāt run any TV subscriptions (other than Prime, which includes video - but we wouldnāt buy Prime Video otherwise), other than on an as-needed basis.
Recently Iāve ditched:
- Workona - Intelligent management of tab hibernation in Vivaldi gets me what I need in that department.
- BBEdit - realized Iāve been on a subscription with them for a few months since I demoād some of their fancy features. Iāll probably just buy the software outright. I could get by on the free version, but itās good software that I use to do actual work that makes me money.
- Drafts - I like it, but I donāt use the fancy features enough to make it worth paying for. I mostly use it to get notes from my iPhone to my Mac in plaintext, and Iāve got a new tool for that (below).
Iām keeping:
- Overcast - I know Marco doesnāt need my $10/year, but itās my favorite podcast app. I donāt even use the premium features anymore, since I run my own auto-generated custom B2-based podcast feeds instead of uploading filesā¦but itās less than $1/month.
- My 200 GB iCloud - I canāt quite squeeze into the next tier down, and I donāt begrudge Apple their $3 per month.
- Dropbox - I know theyāre evil. But dollar-for-dollar, itās the best file sharing when you have to work with people outside the Mac ecosystem.
- Backblaze - the extended 1-year retention plan. It backs up more data for me than I have any right to expect them to.
- AppleCare+ on all my devices - Yeah, I know. Might not be worth it. Iāve discovered though that if I donāt have AppleCare, Bad Things seem to happen. If I buy it, nothing ever goes wrong.
- Amazon Prime - I know itās pricey, but we watch Prime Video and order enough knickknacks that basically $10/month for free shipping and some TV is a no-brainer.
Iām trying:
- Quick Notes To Self - a weird iPhone app that lets me type or record a note, and then emails it to me. I know I could probably do this in Drafts - but this is this appās sole function. Itās a unitasker, and it makes my workflow better thus far.
- Bloom - This is a DIY CBT / journal program. A bit pricey ($39.99/year is the rate Iām at), but I figured Iād give it a shot to see if it helps with journaling / self-reflection.
I canāt think of any others right offhand.
Thereās lots of misc. little software Iāll shell out for - but almost all of it is direct-buy, not subscription. And if I get the choice, Iāll use a subscription for a month or two to try something - but then Iāll usually just pay for the software outright.
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Iāve canceled Readwise, Craft and Fantastical recently.
Not yearly, but whenever one comes due I revisit its value. I struggle with this a lot because I sometimes conflate how useful an app is with how well I know it.
For example, Iāll review my list and say ādo I really need to spend $48 a year on Todoist?ā. So I wonāt initially renew it and put my tasks in MS Todo because itās free through my work. It works fine, but the moment I hit friction points or things that take me even a fraction of a second longer Iām like āthatās it, Iām going back to Todoist!ā.
And really, when I think of that frustration and how it equates to $48 a year ā Iād rather pay the $48 and keep my workflow singing than be unhappy elsewhere to save $5 a month. Iād rather look at the number of times I had takeout for a meal or bought something for $40 that I didnāt really need from the home centre or cut unnecessary expenditures elsewhere. For half the price of my monthly utility bill, I have access to an amazing task manager that Iām super familiar with.
Now of course, thatās one app. If you have several then things add up, but it gets tough. Well thatās only $48 year, thatās only $18 a year, thatās only $20. I try to cut things a lot, but I find I often go back within a week because I miss my workflow being so smooth.
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What did you replace readwise with?
Unfortunately, nothing. The only meaningful thing I was using Readwise for was extracting Kindle highlights into Logseq, so Iām just living without it.
Is this a fastmail or 1PW feature
I think you need both.
You connect 1P with your Fastmail account to activate it. I donāt think it works with other email providers (or vice versa, Fastmail does not seem to integrate with other password managers to provide masked mails)/
I did what you did until last year. I will say, there are advantages of looking at all of them at the same time (no matter when they renew).
- You can see (and be horrified by) the total youāre spending on subscriptions. This makes ones that are more āon the fenceā easier to let go of.
- You can see which have overlapping features and, with some effort and adjustment, perhaps get rid of some apps by using others more fully.
The downside, of course, is how much longer it takes to do them all at once. I think thatās part of the calculation of subscription sellers, however. When we just look at their subscription in isolation when we get the renewal notice - āEh, itās $50 bucks.ā And we click. But if weāre looking at them all together we make a more informed decision about the value.
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