For an application with as many customers as Ulysses has, the marginal revenue from one additional Setapp customer probably exceeded the marginal cost of supporting that customer. The cost is probably close to zero. So why not play in that domain? And if the customer (like some of us here) gets ticked off by Setapp’s new pricing and switches to a full-price subscription directly from Ulysses, then that’s even better. Either way, Ulysses wins.
What’s rubbing me the wrong way in that latest statement is that they think the $2.49 per extra seat is a way to make the business model “remain sustainable.” Uh huh. Sooooo… what was this $4.99 business then? Just because they could? Because they thought the market could stand it?
I’ve already bailed on Setapp, which was never a huge win for me anyway, but I suspect I would have been less outraged at $2.49 than $4.99.
So since it now is $2.49 does that mean you are less outraged? ![]()
I’m no longer outraged at the price because I’m not paying them anything. I was referring to what would have been my initial reaction to this had they come out of the gate at $2.49. But that is, of course, guesswork.
Ah, so you’re hypothetically less outraged. Excellent!
Now we need an app for measuring outrage levels 
I hear that’s in the next version of the Apple Watch.
I’ve conducted my own audit of my Setapp usage.
I determined that it’s still worth my while, but they’re officially on notice!
Hi MPU community! I’m a PR Manager for Setapp. The Setapp team has been monitoring feedback on this thread and on other channels actively since the iOS announcement last week. Thanks to everyone here for all of the comments, suggestions and ideas to improve Setapp.
As a result of the feedback, today Setapp is officially decreasing the price for additional devices to $2.49 effective immediately. The new pricing is already reflected on the website: setapp.com/pricing, and will be applied to all accounts. More details are available in the Setapp Members group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/setapp/.
Hi there. While you’re here, would it be possible for you to answer a simple question with an honest and straightforward answer?
Does Setapp provide free or discounted subscriptions to some podcasters?
Many podcasters continue to talk enthusiastically about Setapp even when other internet communities are reacting negatively to controversial changes to the pricing & seating model.
So again, a simple question: Does Setapp provide free or discounted subscriptions to some podcasters?
Hi Brad, thanks for the information but I’m afraid this will come too late for many of us. And, as stated above, the math still doesn’t work unless you have a very intensive and diverse app usage. (And I had the two-plan device!) I’m sorry but, personnally, I am never going back to Setapp.
Using Ulysses on my Mac, iPad, and iPhone on August 31 will cost me $10/month.
On September 1st, that’s going to cost $15/month.
Now, that’s better than $20/month, for sure. But it’s still a 50% increase.
Thanks. Since i use many of the apps for the Mac and not much on iOS this works out for me, but I can see those with heavy iOS workflows having issues. I have 2 seats now - one on the EDU acct and i pay for the second. Will my second seat now be 2.49? Thanks.
@bradwells thank you for taking time to come here and chat with the community.
At $2.49 or $4.99 or whatever, there’s been a considerable loss of credibility among your customers by the way Setapp managed the announcement and follow-on confusion. But more, is that the add-on subscriptions do not offer value for money. Other than Ulysses and, for some, MindNode, there’s not a compelling offer on the table in return for almost $30/year/device. And most of the users here have at least two mobile devices.
If Setapp had prepared the way behind the scenes a great package deal with several dozen top tier iOS/iPad OS apps that together on their own cost more per year than what SetApp’s subscription is, then I suspect the customers would have come running.
I hope the company is not in financial trouble. Is it?
Hi Brad! Honestly, I think that most people would be modified by the simple sacrifice of a minor limb (or digit), or a fragrant of your soul in a ritual involving typing out the whole of your EULA on a MacBook butterfly keyboard with no skipped or repeated keystrokes ![]()
Sorry for the confusion everyone. The message below is not from Setapp. I posted below an example of the kind of announcement I would have appreciated from Setapp. Again, the message below is not from Setapp.
Dear loyal Setapp users,
We hope you all have been well. In order to maintain top applications and continue expanding our efforts to recruit top apps, we’ve come to the conclusion that we have to begin charging per iOS device. I know this isn’t good news especially in these trying times. However, we’ve kept the cost as low as possible at 2.49 per iOS device and will not begin charing for 6 months. This will allow us to keep top tier apps and recruit new top tier apps. We will work to make this up to you by offering continued amazing apps including this list of new iOS apps (amazing list of iOS apps here). We hope you decide to stay with us as we continue to improve the experiences for the Setapp community.
Best,
The Setapp Team
Even a statement like this with the typos and grammar issues would have been appreciated. Instead they make it seem like it’s a feature. I think this is what I felt betrayed my trust. Don’t pretend it’s a feature when I’m really getting less than before if I don’t pay more. Setapp should recruit me for their PR 
Could you please provide these details someplace other than a FB group? Not every Setapp user is on FB, but Setapp does have every user’s email address.
I currently have 3 Macs using SetApp. I get a lot of value out of it, but like others on this thread I already owned a number of the marquee apps in the subscription. Even though it will cost me more, I think I’m going to continue to support the service.
For me, my main drivers are Ulysses, Screens, PDF Pen and occasionally MindNode. But what I’m really paying for is the nice-to-have apps that I would not bother to buy because either I rarely use them, or I already have a similar app that is not quite as good, but good enough:
(Blue apps are apps I’ve previously paid for, but it’s easier to just install via Setapp.)
Like others, I will basically be paying $5 a month so my iPhone and iPad can continue to use Ulysses, and occasionally MindNode. Not ideal, but I’m hoping that supporting this business model opens the door to additional apps.
I’m going to go from
- 2 Macs * $9 (grandfathered annual plan, which I think I will lose)
- 1 Mac * $5
to
- 1 Mac * $9
- 2 Macs * $2.50
- 2 iOS devices * $2.50
So, from $14 to $19. Not ideal, but if I want to move from Ulysses to IA Writer, I can save the $5 bucks a month!
I think this makes sense. You can keep Setapp on both computers and just sign in whenever you have to work on the other Mac. Seems like a minor inconvenience to me.
I think this has also made me re-evaluate needing ulysses. I think I’m going to give iA writer a 1-3 month try. I love the Ulysses app and can see why people need to stick with ulysses (e.g. novel writer and online writers/bloggers). I mostly used ulysses for first drafts and distraction free writing. My writing always end up in Word eventually. I will miss some of the features (e.g. word goals), but in my use case iA writer might be fine or an even better alternative. I also like that iA writer stores file in txt files rather than a propriety format.
