{ "source": "https://lifetimemac.com", "licence": "CC BY 4.0 — attribution to lifetimemac.com", "lastSweep": "2026-09-22", "count": 165, "apps": [ { "slug": "1blocker", "name": "1Blocker", "developer": "1Blocker LLC", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/1blocker", "officialUrl": "https://1blocker.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/1blocker-ad-blocker/id1365531024", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "safari content blocker with a real $39.99 lifetime unlock", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 39.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free download. In-app purchases are 1Blocker Lifetime at $39.99 one-time, 1Blocker Yearly at $14.99 and 1Blocker Monthly at $2.99, with legacy-user tiers at the same yearly and monthly prices and two expired promo tiers still listed. It is a Universal Purchase with Family Sharing, so one $39.99 unlock covers your iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro.", "catch": "Lifetime lasts as long as the company keeps shipping blocklist updates", "caveats": "Lifetime here means the lifetime of the app and the company, not a contract: what you are really paying for is the ongoing curated blocklists, and if development stops the rules go stale even though the app keeps running. Safari-only, because it is built on Apple's content blocker API — Chrome, Firefox and web views inside other apps see nothing from it. The free version is limited to a subset of rules. At $39.99 against $14.99 a year the break-even is under three years, which is the easiest sum on this site.", "replaces": [ "AdGuard", "Magic Lasso Adblock", "Wipr Filtr" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Magic Lasso Adblock Pro", "yearlyUsd": 30, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ad-blocker-magic-lasso/id1198047227", "note": "\"Pro Yearly (macOS)\" in-app purchase" }, { "name": "AdGuard for Safari", "yearlyUsd": 35, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/adguard-ad-blocker/id1440147259", "note": "annual subscription on the Mac App Store" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "2do", "name": "2Do", "developer": "Guided Ways Technologies (Fahad Gilani)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/2do", "officialUrl": "https://www.2doapp.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.2doapp.com/docs/faqs/licensing-explained/", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "configurable task manager, bought direct rather than from the App Store", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$49.99 USD one-time when bought direct from 2doapp.com, with a 14-day free trial. The developer calls it \"a one-time purchase and not a subscription\" and a \"perpetual license\" that includes 18 months of free updates from the purchase date; after that, newer releases need an optional discounted renewal. The Mac App Store version is subscription-only at $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. 2Do is also included in Setapp.", "catch": "Updates stop eighteen months after purchase unless you pay a discounted renewal", "caveats": "Buy from the website, not the Mac App Store — the App Store listing for 2Do is now subscription-only, and it is the version most people find first. The direct licence includes 18 months of free updates from the day you buy; after that the app keeps working and keeps syncing, but new versions require an optional discounted renewal, so this is not buy-once-updated-forever. The iPhone and iPad apps are separate purchases and the developer's site does not list their prices. Sync runs over Dropbox, CalDAV, iCloud or Apple Reminders rather than a first-party service.", "replaces": [ "Todoist Pro", "TickTick Premium", "Amazing Marvin" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Todoist Pro", "yearlyUsd": 60, "url": "https://www.todoist.com/pricing", "note": "$5 per month, $60 billed yearly" }, { "name": "TickTick Premium", "yearlyUsd": 50, "url": "https://ticktick.com/about/upgrade", "note": "US$49.99 a year, annual billing only" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "a-better-finder-rename", "name": "A Better Finder Rename", "developer": "publicspace.net", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/a-better-finder-rename", "officialUrl": "https://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename/order.html", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "batch renaming for people who rename thousands of files", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 29.95, "currency": "EUR", "priceNote": "EUR 29.95 for a Single User licence, priced in euros by the developer, so the dollar figure moves with the exchange rate. At checkout you pick an update policy: Standard covers free minor updates up to but not including version 13, while Forever includes all future versions permanently. Tiers count people, not Macs — Single User is 1 individual, Family up to 5, Small Business up to 20, Business up to 50, Enterprise unlimited. Existing owners pay $14.95 for the version 12 major upgrade or $29.95 to move to Forever.", "catch": "The default licence stops before version 13 unless you pay more for the Forever tier", "caveats": "On the default Standard policy, major versions are paid upgrades — currently $14.95 — so plan on paying again every few years. The escape hatch is the Forever option sold at checkout, and as a $29.95 upgrade for existing owners, which the developer says includes all future versions forever; if buying once is the point, pick that one. Licences are counted per individual rather than per Mac, so one person with three Macs needs a single licence. New purchases carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. The current release requires macOS 13 or later.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "acorn", "name": "Acorn 8", "developer": "Flying Meat Inc.", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/acorn", "officialUrl": "https://flyingmeat.com/acorn/", "pricingUrl": "https://flyingmeat.com/store/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "small, fast mac image editor from a two-person shop", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 29.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$29.99 one-time, the same price direct from Flying Meat and on the Mac App Store. Buying two or more seats direct drops the price to $19.99 each. There is no subscription and no in-app purchase; the developer's own FAQ answers the question with \"you buy a thing, you get a thing\". A 14-day trial is available from the site.", "catch": "Each major version is a fresh $29.99 purchase, not a discounted upgrade", "caveats": "Flying Meat ships a paid major version every two to three years and sells it as a new purchase rather than an upgrade SKU, so budget for that. Acorn 8 needs macOS 14 or later; if you are stuck further back, Acorn 7.4.6 runs on 10.14 and will accept an Acorn 8 registration number. PSD support is good but not perfect, and the FAQ says so itself. Mac only, no iPad app and no cloud sync.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Photoshop", "Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Photography plan", "yearlyUsd": 240, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html", "note": "US$19.99 a month, or US$239.88 prepaid for the year" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "aerospace", "name": "AeroSpace", "developer": "Nikita Bobko", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/aerospace", "officialUrl": "https://nikitabobko.github.io/AeroSpace/guide", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/nikitabobko/AeroSpace", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "free MIT tiling window manager with i3-style keybindings", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and MIT licensed. Install with `brew install --cask nikitabobko/tap/aerospace` or download a build from GitHub Releases. No paid tier, no donation prompt.", "catch": "configured only by hand in a TOML file, and it replaces macOS Spaces rather than using them", "caveats": "The learning curve is real: configuration is a TOML file rather than a preferences window, and your first evening goes on keybindings. Because AeroSpace emulates workspaces by moving inactive windows off-screen rather than driving native Spaces, anything that assumes real Spaces — native fullscreen especially — needs care and a read of the docs. It is also not a snapping utility: there is no drag-to-edge halves and quarters behaviour, so if that is what you actually want, Rectangle is the free tool for the job.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "affinity", "name": "Affinity", "developer": "Canva (Serif)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/affinity", "officialUrl": "https://affinity.studio/", "pricingUrl": "https://affinity.studio/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "the whole design suite, now free for individuals", "licenseModel": "free", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$0. The site says plainly that Affinity is free for individuals, and the download links route through Canva's sign-in. The only paid part is the Canva AI tooling inside Affinity, which needs a Canva premium plan; check canva.com/pricing for that figure, because it has risen more than once and we could not read it from Canva directly. The old paid Affinity v2 perpetual licences are no longer sold.", "catch": "Free, but the download runs through a Canva account and the AI tools need a paid Canva plan", "caveats": "Free is not the same as unowned. The download goes through Canva sign-in, and the company that gave the app away can change the terms later. Paid v2 perpetual licences still work if you hold one, but they are no longer sold and development has moved to the unified app. AI features are gated behind a paid Canva plan whose price has gone up repeatedly, so treat any quoted figure as stale until you check. Keep masters in PDF, TIFF, PSD or SVG rather than betting everything on the .af format.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Creative Cloud", "Adobe Photoshop", "Adobe Illustrator", "Adobe InDesign" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Creative Cloud Pro", "yearlyUsd": 840, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/all-apps.html", "note": "US$69.99 a month on Adobe's annual plan, billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "agenda", "name": "Agenda", "developer": "Momenta B.V.", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/agenda", "officialUrl": "https://agenda.com", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/agenda-date-focused-notes/id1287445660", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "date-based notes where unlocked features stay unlocked", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 34.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free with no time limit. In-app options on the Mac App Store: \"Premium Features macOS and iOS\" at $34.99 as a one-time unlock you keep forever, \"Premium Subscription macOS and iOS\" at $39.99 a year, and \"Lifetime Premium Features\" at $179.00 covering everything future as well.", "catch": "The one-time unlock covers today's features plus one year of new ones, not everything after that", "caveats": "The $34.99 unlock is permanent, and it covers both the features that exist when you buy and those added over the following year - the developer is explicit that they are permanently unlocked and survive cancelling. What it does not cover is everything after that window, which is why the app can feel like it keeps asking; only the $179 lifetime tier settles it for good. The free tier is genuinely usable with no time limit, but the calendar integration and better export options that most people come for are premium. Apple platforms only - Mac, iPhone and iPad, with no Windows or Android client.", "replaces": [ "Craft", "NotePlan", "Evernote", "Notion" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Craft Plus", "yearlyUsd": 96, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/craft-docs-notes-ai-writer/id1487937127", "note": "$95.99 a year" }, { "name": "NotePlan", "yearlyUsd": 99, "url": "https://noteplan.co/pricing", "note": "$99 paid annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "aldente-pro", "name": "AlDente Pro", "developer": "AppHouseKitchen", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/aldente-pro", "officialUrl": "https://apphousekitchen.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://apphousekitchen.com/aldente-overview/pricing/", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "hard charge limit for a MacBook that lives plugged in at a desk", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 23.99, "currency": "EUR", "priceNote": "AlDente Free is a permanent, no-cost licence covering the charge limiter and manual discharge. AlDente Pro is 11,49 € for a year (auto-renewing) or 23,99 € once for the Lifetime licence, and is also included with Setapp at 9,99 € a month. AppHouseKitchen publishes no USD price at all, so a card outside the eurozone pays whatever the conversion is on the day.", "catch": "Recent Apple silicon MacBooks already cap charging at 80% in macOS, which may be all you need", "caveats": "Check what your own Mac does first: macOS offers an 80% charge limit on recent Apple silicon MacBooks, and if a plain cap is all you want, you already have it. What Pro adds is an exact percentage, calibration cycles, heat protection, schedules, automatic discharge and Shortcuts support — the free tier stops at the charge limiter and manual discharge. Some behaviour, including discharge and heat protection, depends on what the hardware allows, so it is not identical on every model. Prices are quoted only in euros. And this slows future wear; it does not recover capacity the battery has already lost.", "replaces": [ "Setapp", "Endurance" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed annually, which includes AlDente Pro; $14.99/month if billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "alfred", "name": "Alfred", "developer": "Running with Crayons Ltd", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/alfred", "officialUrl": "https://www.alfredapp.com", "pricingUrl": "https://www.alfredapp.com/powerpack/buy/", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "keyboard launcher with clipboard history, snippets and workflows", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 34, "currency": "GBP", "priceNote": "Priced in GBP, not USD. Single Licence £34 - about $46 at the 21 Sep 2026 rate of 1.3395 USD/GBP - for one user on one Mac, sold as a \"v5 License\". Mega Supporter £59 (about $79) adds free lifetime upgrades. Both tiers currently carry a free upgrade to Alfred 6. A discounted upgrade path exists for older Powerpack licences, priced on request. The core Alfred app is free; only the Powerpack is paid.", "catch": "Only the £59 Mega Supporter tier includes free upgrades forever; £34 buys Alfred 5", "caveats": "The £34 Single Licence is version-locked - it is sold as a \"v5 License\", so you own Alfred 5 plus the currently promised free Alfred 6 upgrade, and a later major version would normally be a paid upgrade. Only the £59 Mega Supporter tier states \"Free Lifetime Upgrades\". The free Alfred 6 upgrade is framed on the buy page as an offer for buying now, not a permanent term of the licence, and Alfred 6 is announced for \"This Autumn\". Because the price is set in pounds, the dollar figure moves with the exchange rate and your card may add a conversion fee. There is no Powerpack trial, though the free core app is fully usable. Mac only, with no iOS companion.", "replaces": [ "Raycast Pro", "TextExpander" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Raycast Pro", "yearlyUsd": 96, "url": "https://www.raycast.com/pricing", "note": "$10 a month, or $96 on the annual plan" }, { "name": "TextExpander", "yearlyUsd": 60, "url": "https://textexpander.com/pricing", "note": "Pro tier, billed annually at $60 per user" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "alt-tab", "name": "AltTab", "developer": "Louis Pontoise (lwouis)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/alt-tab", "officialUrl": "https://alt-tab.app/", "pricingUrl": "https://alt-tab.app/pricing", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "window switcher with thumbnails, free core plus a one-time pro tier", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 9.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "The base app is free and GPL-3.0 — `brew install --cask alt-tab` or a GitHub release. On top of that, AltTab Pro is $9.99 one-time, described on the pricing page as \"All Pro features. One-time purchase, no subscription. Includes all updates for the current major version.\" Pro Lifetime is $24.99: \"Everything in Pro, plus every future update — forever.\" Both cover 3 devices per licence, with a 14-day Pro trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Paddle handles local currency, so UK and EU buyers see £7.99 / £19.99 and €9.99 / €24.99.", "catch": "$9.99 Pro covers the current major version only; the $24.99 lifetime tier is the forever one", "caveats": "The free build is genuinely free and open source and still does the main job — per-window switching with live thumbnails across Spaces and displays, dark mode, live preview, window controls, trackpad gestures. But several things people assume are free became Pro-only in 2026: typing to search the window list, the App Icons and Window Titles display styles, auto-sizing, and more than a handful of shortcut sets (Pro allows up to nine). Pro at $9.99 is version-locked to the current major release, so a future major version would be another purchase; only the $24.99 Lifetime tier includes every future update. AltTab needs Accessibility and Screen Recording permission to draw thumbnails, which costs some CPU and battery on older Macs with many windows open, and its default binding collides with system Command-Tab until you remap one of them.", "replaces": [ "Setapp" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "amadine", "name": "Amadine", "developer": "BeLight Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/amadine", "officialUrl": "https://amadine.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://amadine.com/store", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "approachable vector drawing app with a 29.99 dollar lifetime licence", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 29.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "A single-user lifetime licence is 29.99 dollars; the five-seat family licence is 49.99. The iPhone and iPad app is separate, sold with its own in-app purchases (month, year or lifetime) from 2.99 dollars a month. The Mac App Store build is a free download that unlocks with either a subscription or the lifetime licence. Non-profit and educational discounts are offered separately.", "catch": "The iPhone and iPad app is a separate purchase with its own monthly subscription", "caveats": "Because the Mac App Store build sells subscriptions alongside the lifetime option, it is easy to end up on a monthly plan by accident — check what you are buying before you confirm. Nothing on the store page promises free major-version upgrades, so \"lifetime\" means this app for as long as BeLight ships it. The Mac licence does not unlock the iPad and iPhone version. Capability-wise it is mid-weight: no CMYK-heavy print production and no non-destructive effects stack.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Illustrator", "Linearity Curve", "Adobe Creative Cloud" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Illustrator", "yearlyUsd": 264, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/pricing-info.html", "note": "single-app annual plan, prepaid" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "amethyst", "name": "Amethyst", "developer": "Ian Yh", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/amethyst", "officialUrl": "https://ianyh.com/amethyst/", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "free MIT automatic tiling, the gentler xmonad-style option", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and MIT licensed. The site states plainly that \"Amethyst is free and always will be\", and the developer redirects offers of donations to other organisations rather than accepting them. Install with `brew install --cask amethyst` or download from ianyh.com. No paid tier.", "catch": "it uses native Spaces, so you keep the slow macOS switching animation, and it is still a 0.x release", "caveats": "Because Amethyst works with native macOS Spaces rather than replacing them, changing desktop keeps Apple's sliding animation — the trade for it behaving normally with fullscreen apps and Mission Control. Layouts are fixed sets rather than a window tree, so you have less say over exactly where a third window lands than you would in AeroSpace. Development is slow but alive: the last push was August 2026 and the version is still 0.24.x. Requires macOS 10.15 or later, and apps that insist on their own window sizes will fight the tiler.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "amphetamine", "name": "Amphetamine", "developer": "William C. Gustafson", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/amphetamine", "officialUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amphetamine/id937984704", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amphetamine/id937984704", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "keeps your Mac awake on rules, not a single toggle", "licenseModel": "free", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free on the Mac App Store. The developer states \"No in-app purchases\" and \"Nothing to unlock/no 'pro' version\", describing the app as a gift with no advertisements and no tracking.", "catch": "Mac App Store only — no direct download or licence file, and the source is closed", "caveats": "Distribution is Mac App Store only, so there is no standalone installer and nothing to archive. Closed-lid sessions on many Macs still require power and an external display, which is a macOS and hardware limit rather than an app one. The trigger system is the reason to use it and the preferences window is dense — expect to spend real time reading before it behaves the way you want. It is closed source despite being free, so the no-tracking claim is the developer's word.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "appcleaner", "name": "AppCleaner", "developer": "FreeMacSoft", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/appcleaner", "officialUrl": "https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/", "pricingUrl": "https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "finds the preferences and caches an app leaves behind", "licenseModel": "free", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free in practice: the developer's page offers no price, no store and no purchase option of any kind, only an optional PayPal donate link. Note that the page never says the word \"free\" — that is inferred from there being nothing to buy. Legacy builds for older macOS releases are published alongside the current one.", "catch": "no build listed for macOS 27 yet — the newest release on the page stops at macOS 26", "caveats": "Development is quiet and it shows: as of today the newest listed build is 3.6.8, \"For macOS Mojave up to Tahoe\", with nothing yet listed for macOS 27, so check the download page before relying on it. It matches leftovers by name and bundle identifier, which means it can miss oddly named files and can occasionally propose one you want to keep — read the list before confirming. It uninstalls apps and does nothing else: no cache sweeping, no browser extension removal, no general system cleanup.", "replaces": [ "CleanMyMac", "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "CleanMyMac", "yearlyUsd": 40, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cleanmymac/id1339170533", "note": "Apple's listing shows \"CleanMyMac Yearly Access\" at $39.99 for the standard yearly plan" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "arq-backup", "name": "Arq Backup", "developer": "Haystack Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/arq-backup", "officialUrl": "https://www.arqbackup.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.arqbackup.com/pricing/", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "encrypted offsite backup to storage you rent yourself", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 59.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$59.99 per computer, one time, for Arq 7 - app only, you supply the cloud storage. Further app updates after the first year are $25 per year per computer. Arq Premium, at $69.99 a year, is the separate subscription that bundles 5 computers and 1 TB of storage.", "catch": "Updates stop after one year unless you pay $25 a year; your version keeps working", "caveats": "The one-time price includes a single year of app updates. After that, more updates cost $25 per year per computer, and if you decline you keep the version you bought forever - which does eventually mean running an older build against a changing macOS. Licensing is per computer, so a two-Mac household pays twice. Cloud storage is not included: budget a few dollars a month for B2, S3 or Wasabi on top. Restores run at the speed of your download link, so keep a local copy too.", "replaces": [ "Backblaze Personal Backup", "Arq Premium", "iDrive" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Backblaze Personal Backup", "yearlyUsd": 99, "url": "https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup/pricing", "note": "flat-rate unlimited backup for one computer" }, { "name": "Arq Premium", "yearlyUsd": 70, "url": "https://www.arqbackup.com/pricing/", "note": "Haystack's own subscription, bundling 5 computers and 1 TB of storage" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "aseprite", "name": "Aseprite", "developer": "Igara Studio S.A.", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/aseprite", "officialUrl": "https://www.aseprite.org", "pricingUrl": "https://www.aseprite.org/faq/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "pixel art and sprite animation, with a timeline built for frames and tags", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 19.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$19.99 one-time. The developer's FAQ states that \"$19.99/USD is the minimum pledge amount to get the convenient .exe and .dmg files of the 1.x version series of Aseprite\", with updates listed up to v1.9. Also sold on Steam, Paddle and itch.io at the same price; a direct purchase includes a Steam key.", "catch": "The $19.99 covers the 1.x series only; a future 2.0 would be a separate purchase", "caveats": "The purchase is tied to the v1.x line, so a major version 2 is very likely a fresh payment. Aseprite is also no longer open source: it moved from GPLv2 to the Aseprite EULA in August 2016, and while the source is still public on GitHub, you may compile it for your own use but not redistribute binaries. Buying through Steam ties the convenient install to Steam. It is a pixel-art tool, not a general illustration or photo editor.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Photoshop", "Adobe Animate" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Photoshop", "yearlyUsd": 264, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html", "note": "Adobe's single-app annual plan, prepaid" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "audio-hijack", "name": "Audio Hijack", "developer": "Rogue Amoeba", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/audio-hijack", "officialUrl": "https://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/", "pricingUrl": "https://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/buy.php", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "record and route any audio on your Mac, one licence per person", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 69, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$69 USD for an Audio Hijack license key; $29 USD to upgrade from Audio Hijack 3. One single-user licence covers the current version on every machine you personally own, so there is no per-Mac maths. Local taxes may apply at checkout.", "catch": "Major versions are a separate purchase — the jump from 3 to 4 cost $29", "caveats": "Your key unlocks the current major version. Rogue Amoeba charges for majors, most recently $29 for the v3 to v4 upgrade, and they land every few years, so plan on a small fee somewhere down the line rather than never paying again. Until you buy, the trial runs the whole app but overlays noise on the output after a few minutes. Audio Hijack installs an audio capture system extension, which occasionally needs re-approving in Privacy settings after a macOS upgrade.", "replaces": [ "Descript", "Riverside", "Adobe Audition (Creative Cloud)" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Descript", "yearlyUsd": 288, "url": "https://www.descript.com/pricing", "note": "Creator plan, $24/mo billed annually" }, { "name": "Adobe Audition", "yearlyUsd": 276, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html", "note": "single-app plan at US$22.99/mo, annual billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "bartender", "name": "Bartender", "developer": "Surtees Studios", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/bartender", "officialUrl": "https://www.macbartender.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.macbartender.com/purchase/", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "menu bar icons hidden behind a chevron, sold as a licence or a subscription", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 24.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Bartender 7 is $24.99 one-time, described by the developer as including \"all future updates for Bartender 7\"; the same licence also activates the latest Bartender 6, and all tiers list \"Includes Bartender 6 for Tahoe, and 7 for Golden Gate\". Bartender Pro is $19.99 a year and adds the Pro suite plus Top Shelf. A \"Mega Supporter\" lifetime tier covers every version forever and includes Pro, but the developer publishes no figure for it on any static page and currently tags it \"Launch Discount\" — read it on the purchase page. Four-week trial for new users, two weeks for returning ones.", "catch": "$24.99 buys Bartender 7 only; version 8 is a paid upgrade and Pro features are yearly", "caveats": "This is the clearest paid-major-version cadence in the category: the 6-to-7 upgrade was discounted rather than free, so expect Bartender 8 to cost again. The Pro features — widgets, clipboard, notch file storage, Top Shelf — are behind the $19.99/year subscription and are not in the one-time licence. The Mega Supporter lifetime tier is the only single payment covering every future version, but its price is rendered client-side by Paddle and is currently discounted, so any figure quoted second-hand (including the widely repeated $80) is unconfirmed until you open the purchase page. All prices are localised and tax-inclusive by country. Bartender is also on Setapp, where it stops working when you cancel.", "replaces": [ "Setapp", "Bartender Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Bartender Pro", "yearlyUsd": 20, "url": "https://www.macbartender.com/purchase/", "note": "the developer's own yearly tier, which adds the Pro suite and Top Shelf" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "base", "name": "Base 3", "developer": "Menial", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/base", "officialUrl": "https://menial.co.uk/base/", "pricingUrl": "https://menial.co.uk/base/buy/", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "native SQLite browser and editor for one small payment", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 29.99, "currency": "GBP", "priceNote": "£29.99 one-time purchase, priced in pounds by a UK developer, so the dollar figure moves with the exchange rate and any VAT at checkout. Sold direct, on the Mac App Store, and included in a Setapp subscription; all three builds have the same features. The free download is feature-limited until unlocked.", "catch": "Menial does not publish update terms, and past major versions were paid upgrades", "caveats": "The buy page states the price and nothing about how long updates are included or whether Base 4 will be a paid upgrade. Menial has charged for major versions before, so budget as though this buys Base 3 rather than every future release. Base 3 requires macOS 15 Sequoia or newer, which rules out older Macs. SQLite only: no Postgres, no MySQL. Pricing is in GBP.", "replaces": [ "SQLPro subscription", "Setapp subscription if SQLite browsing is all you need" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "bbedit", "name": "BBEdit", "developer": "Bare Bones Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/bbedit", "officialUrl": "https://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.barebones.com/store/index.html", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "the 1992 Mac text editor that still sells perpetual licences", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 59.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$59.99 individual licence for the current version. Upgrades are priced separately: $29.99 from 15.x, $39.99 from 14.x or earlier. Multi-user pricing is by quote. No subscription option appears anywhere on the store page.", "catch": "Major versions are paid upgrades, currently $29.99 to $39.99 every couple of years", "caveats": "Bare Bones charges for major versions, at roughly half list price, on a cadence of about two to three years — skipping one is fine and the version you own keeps working. macOS only, so the licence is worth nothing to you on Linux or Windows. After the evaluation period the app does not stop: it drops into a reduced free mode with the core editing features, which for occasional use may be all you ever need. It is not an IDE and has no ambitions to become one.", "replaces": [ "Nova update renewals", "Ulysses", "iA Writer" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Ulysses", "yearlyUsd": 40, "url": "https://ulysses.app/pricing", "note": "$39.99/year, relevant if you were paying it mainly to write plain text" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "betterdisplay", "name": "BetterDisplay", "developer": "waydabber (István Tóth)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/betterdisplay", "officialUrl": "https://betterdisplay.pro/", "pricingUrl": "https://betterdisplay.pro/", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "custom HiDPI modes and DDC control for external monitors", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 21.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "\"Pricing is $21.99 / €19.99; price, currency, and taxes may vary by country or state.\" A Pro licence covers the current major version and earlier ones where needed, and includes at least one year of updates including major upgrades released in that window. 14-day trial of all Pro features; a large set of features stays free for non-business use.", "catch": "One purchase covers about a year of updates, after which newer major versions are a fresh buy", "caveats": "The developer is explicit that the licence is perpetual rather than a subscription — you keep the versions your licence covered — but the free-update window is roughly a year, and later major versions need paying for again. The free tier is free for non-business use only: businesses need a licence even for the features that are otherwise free. DDC brightness and volume control depends on your monitor, cable and dock actually implementing DDC/CI, and plenty of USB-C hubs quietly drop it. The GitHub repository hosts releases and documentation, but the app itself is not open source.", "replaces": [ "Lunar", "DisplayBuddy", "MonitorControl" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "bettertouchtool", "name": "BetterTouchTool", "developer": "Andreas Hegenberg (folivora.ai)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/bettertouchtool", "officialUrl": "https://folivora.ai/", "pricingUrl": "https://folivora.ai/buy", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "gestures, shortcuts and window snapping, with a real $25 lifetime licence", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 15, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Standard Licence $15, which \"receives updates for 2 years\", after which you keep the last version you received forever. Lifetime Licence $25, which \"receives all updates while BetterTouchTool exists\" plus any other macOS apps the developer releases in the following two years. Exact price varies with country and tax. 45-day free trial, no account required.", "catch": "The $15 licence stops getting updates after two years; only the $25 tier is a true lifetime", "caveats": "The $15 tier is time-limited rather than version-limited: after two years you keep the last build you were sent, so a later macOS release may eventually break something that never gets fixed. The $25 lifetime tier is the one to buy if you intend to keep the app. Configuration effort is real — this is not an install-and-forget utility. It is also on Setapp, where it stops working if the membership lapses.", "replaces": [ "Setapp", "Swish", "Rectangle Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed annually; $14.99/month if billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "beyond-compare", "name": "Beyond Compare 5", "developer": "Scooter Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/beyond-compare", "officialUrl": "https://www.scootersoftware.com", "pricingUrl": "https://www.scootersoftware.com/shop", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "file and folder comparison you buy once per major version", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 35, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Standard Edition $35 per user, Pro Edition $70 per user. A per-user licence covers that one person on any number of computers, and the same licence works on Windows, macOS and Linux. Quantity discounts begin at 5 users and fall to $15.75 Standard / $31.50 Pro at 100 or more. A site licence is $5,250 Standard or $10,500 Pro for unlimited users at one named location; enterprise is $21,000 or $42,000 for a whole organisation worldwide. The shop page states the fee is a one-time purchase with no annual renewal fees.", "catch": "Three-way merge is Pro only, so the $35 Standard edition will not serve as a git merge tool", "caveats": "Major version upgrades are paid, \"generally at half price\", while minor updates within a version are always free — so expect to pay roughly $17 when version 6 arrives, if you want it. The features that make it useful to a programmer are Pro-only: three-way merge, folder merge and the scripting engine. The interface is functional rather than Mac-native, and it will never win a design award.", "replaces": [ "Kaleidoscope", "Sync subscriptions used only for folder comparison" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Kaleidoscope", "yearlyUsd": 96, "url": "https://cloud.kaleidoscope.app/store", "note": "$8 per month on yearly billing" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "bike", "name": "Bike", "developer": "Hog Bay Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/bike", "officialUrl": "https://www.hogbaysoftware.com/bike/", "pricingUrl": "https://support.hogbaysoftware.com/t/pricing/5033", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "fast native outliner, perpetual only if you buy it direct", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 30, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Direct from Hog Bay Software: $30 (written $29.99 in places) as a one-time purchase that does not expire, including one year of free updates. Renewing updates afterwards costs about half the current price, roughly $15. The Mac App Store route is instead $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year, and Bike stops working when that subscription ends. Also included with a Setapp subscription. Free trial download available direct.", "catch": "Only the direct licence is perpetual; the Mac App Store version is a subscription that stops working", "caveats": "Buy direct if you want to own it - the developer states plainly that the Mac App Store licence is a subscription and that Bike stops working when it expires. On the direct licence, updates past the first year need a paid renewal at about half the current price, though the version you already have stays unlocked forever either way. It is Mac only: no iPhone or iPad app, and no sync service of its own, so you supply iCloud Drive or Dropbox. It is an outliner, not a notes database - no backlinks, no library, no tags.", "replaces": [ "WorkFlowy", "Dynalist", "OmniOutliner" ], "versus": [ { "name": "WorkFlowy Pro", "yearlyUsd": 84, "url": "https://workflowy.com/pricing/", "note": "$6.99 a month billed annually" }, { "name": "Dynalist Pro", "yearlyUsd": 96, "url": "https://dynalist.io/pricing", "note": "$7.99 a month billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "bitwig-studio", "name": "Bitwig Studio", "developer": "Bitwig GmbH", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/bitwig-studio", "officialUrl": "https://www.bitwig.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.bitwig.com/buy/", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "modular DAW you own outright, with optional paid update years", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 99, "currency": "EUR", "priceNote": "Priced in euros only, with no USD price on bitwig.com: Essentials EUR 99, Producer EUR 199, Pro EUR 399. Every purchase includes 12 months of free upgrades; extending that afterwards is an optional 12-month Upgrade Plan, which dealers list at about EUR 169 for the full version although Bitwig does not print the figure on its own shop.", "catch": "The Grid, the reason most people buy Bitwig, is only in the EUR 399 Pro edition", "caveats": "The editions are not a simple content ladder. Essentials (EUR 99, 51 instruments, 10 modulators) and Producer (EUR 199, 105 instruments, 18 modulators) do not include The Grid at all; it arrives with Pro at EUR 399 alongside the full 43-modulator system. After the included 12 months your licence keeps working with the latest version you received and minor updates continue until the next major release, so an expired plan never disables the software — the next feature version is simply a paid Upgrade Plan. Prices are euro-only, so a US buyer pays whatever conversion and tax produce at checkout, and renewal pricing is not published on bitwig.com.", "replaces": [ "Ableton Live paid-upgrade cycle", "Max for Live add-on purchases" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "bookends", "name": "Bookends", "developer": "Sonny Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/bookends", "officialUrl": "https://www.sonnysoftware.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.sonnysoftware.com/bookends-for-mac/buy", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "reference manager for macOS you buy once, upgrade when you like", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 74.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$74.99 for a single-user licence, which includes two years of free updates. 10% off for two copies, 25% off for three or more. Upgrading from Bookends 11 or later costs $49.99 and resets the two-year update window. A bundle with the Mellel word processor is $114.99.", "catch": "Updates stop after two years unless you pay $49.99 for another window; the app keeps working", "caveats": "The licence includes two years of updates; after that you either carry on with the version you have or pay $49.99 for a new two-year window. It is macOS only, and the iPhone and iPad companion, Bookends On Tap, is a separate purchase. Sync runs through your own iCloud or Dropbox rather than a hosted service, which is better for privacy and more work to set up. Note the refund policy: all sales are final once the registration code has been sent, so use the free demo first.", "replaces": [ "Papers", "Paperpile", "Mendeley paid storage", "EndNote" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Papers", "yearlyUsd": 95, "url": "https://about.readcube.com/pricing/", "note": "Papers Essentials, $95 per user per year; academics take 40% off" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "boxy-svg", "name": "Boxy SVG", "developer": "Jarosław Foksa", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/boxy-svg", "officialUrl": "https://boxy-svg.com", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/boxy-svg/id611658502", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "cheap SVG editor whose saved files are still clean, readable SVG", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 19.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "19.99 dollars on the Mac App Store, paid up front, with no in-app purchases listed (version 4.113.0). The developer also sells a separate browser-based version through boxy-svg.com under its own terms; that pricing page is a client-side web app we could not read, so no figure for it is claimed here.", "catch": "Buy it on the Mac App Store — the developer's own site sells a separate web version", "caveats": "The App Store purchase is the only route to a one-time licence we could verify: 19.99 dollars up front with nothing to unlock. Third-party software directories describe boxy-svg.com's direct pricing as an annual plan from around 9.99 dollars a year; we could not confirm that on the developer's own page, so treat it as reported rather than read, and do not assume a purchase there is the same licence. Beyond price, the Mac app wraps a web-based editor, so it is not fully native and it struggles with very large documents. There is no print or CMYK workflow and no multi-page layout. Single-developer project.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Illustrator", "Figma Professional (for icon work)" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Illustrator", "yearlyUsd": 264, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/pricing-info.html", "note": "single-app annual plan, prepaid" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "bruno", "name": "Bruno", "developer": "Bruno (usebruno)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/bruno", "officialUrl": "https://www.usebruno.com", "pricingUrl": "https://www.usebruno.com/pricing", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "offline-first API client that keeps collections in your git repo", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "The open-source app is free and fully usable. Paid tiers are subscriptions only: Pro at $6 per user per month and Ultimate at $11 per user per month, both billed annually, with a 14-day Ultimate trial and no card required. There is no one-time or lifetime purchase.", "catch": "Deeper git and team features are subscription-only; only the open-source app is free", "caveats": "Everyday request building, environments, scripting and assertions are in the free open-source app, which is what qualifies it here. Deeper git integration, automation and enterprise controls sit behind the Pro and Ultimate subscriptions, and there is no perpetual licence for them. It is an Electron app, so it is heavier than a native Mac client, and the pool of shared public collections is much smaller than Postman's.", "replaces": [ "Postman paid plans", "Insomnia subscription" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Postman", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://www.postman.com/pricing/", "note": "Solo plan at $9 per user per month, billed annually" }, { "name": "Insomnia", "yearlyUsd": 122, "url": "https://insomnia.rest/pricing", "note": "Pro plan at $10.20 per user per month, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "busycal", "name": "BusyCal", "developer": "BusyMac", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/busycal", "officialUrl": "https://www.busymac.com/busycal/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.busymac.com/store/", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "power-user Mac calendar that never went subscription", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "BusyCal $49.99 one-time. BusyContacts is a separate $49.99, or $79.99 for the two together (down from $99.99). BusyCal for iOS is another $9.99 and covers iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Renewals for existing licence holders are discounted 20-40%. Volume discounts apply automatically at checkout.", "catch": "The licence never expires but includes only 18 months of updates", "caveats": "BusyMac states it directly: \"Your license comes with lifetime access to the app—it never expires. However, it comes with 18 months of updates from the date of purchase.\" After that window the app keeps working exactly as it is, and newer releases mean buying a renewal at a 20-40% discount, with the exact rate depending on promotions at the time. Practically, that is a paid upgrade every year and a half if you want to stay current — cheaper than a calendar subscription, but not buy-once-updated-forever. BusyContacts and the iOS app are separate purchases.", "replaces": [ "Fantastical Premium", "Vimcal", "Calendars by Readdle" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Fantastical Premium", "yearlyUsd": 57, "url": "https://flexibits.com/pricing", "note": "Flexibits Premium individual, $56.99 per year on Flexibits' US App Store listing" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "calendar-366", "name": "Calendar 366", "developer": "Dominik Stoisits", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/calendar-366", "officialUrl": "https://calendar366.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/calendar-366-events-tasks/id6502818600", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "full calendar app with a $49.99 one-time unlock", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free download with a 7-day trial of premium features. The Mac App Store listing shows one-time unlocks \"Calendar 366 Pro\" $49.99 and \"Calendar 366 Pro Family\" $69.99, against subscriptions \"Calendar 366 Pro (Yearly)\" $19.99, \"Calendar 366 Pro Family (Yearly)\" $29.99 and \"Calendar 366 Pro Family (Monthly)\" $4.99. Separate iOS-only unlocks are listed at $19.99 and $29.99. The store does not label the one-time unlocks \"Lifetime\".", "catch": "The $49.99 unlock is an in-app purchase, and separate iOS-only unlocks are sold alongside it", "caveats": "This is a subscription-first product with a one-time option, not a perpetual licence. The unlock is an in-app purchase tied to your Apple Account, so it would not carry over if the developer ever shipped a new App Store listing, and Apple's listing never uses the word \"Lifetime\" for it. The site describes a \"universal purchase\" across Apple devices, but the listing also carries iOS-only unlocks at $19.99 and $29.99, so confirm with the developer what the $49.99 Mac unlock actually covers before assuming it includes iPhone, iPad and Watch. The free tier is genuinely limited and the premium trial runs for seven days. Not on Setapp.", "replaces": [ "Fantastical Premium", "Calendars by Readdle", "Vimcal", "Notion Calendar paid tiers" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Fantastical (Flexibits Premium)", "yearlyUsd": 57, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fantastical-calendar/id975937182", "note": "Annual Flexibits Premium in-app purchase, $56.99" }, { "name": "Calendar 366 Pro (Yearly)", "yearlyUsd": 20, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/calendar-366-events-tasks/id6502818600", "note": "The app's own yearly subscription, $19.99" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "calibre", "name": "calibre", "developer": "Kovid Goyal", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/calibre", "officialUrl": "https://calibre-ebook.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://calibre-ebook.com/about", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "free ebook library, converter and EPUB editor for Mac", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and open source (GPL v3, per the source repository); the download page offers an optional donation. Current macOS builds require macOS 14 (Sonoma) or higher.", "catch": "Current builds need macOS 14 or newer, so an older Mac is stuck on an old version", "caveats": "The current macOS build requires macOS 14, which quietly cuts off perfectly good older Macs — you can keep running an earlier calibre, but you stop getting fixes. The interface is dense and looks like a desktop app from 2010; that is the price of the feature list. It does not remove DRM, which needs third-party plugins and the legal questions that come with them. Conversion to or from PDF is lossy in both directions no matter what you set.", "replaces": [ "Paid ebook converter apps" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "canary-mail", "name": "Canary Mail", "developer": "Cartasec Pte. Ltd. (Canary Mail)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/canary-mail", "officialUrl": "https://canarymail.io/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/canary-mail-ai-email/id1236045954", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "ai mail client that still sells a one-time lifetime bundle", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 99.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "canarymail.io/pricing lists Free $0 (2 devices), Growth $3/mo \"billed yearly at $36/year\" (5 devices) and Pro+ $10/mo \"billed yearly at $100/year\" (5 devices), and says both paid tiers are available as a yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase — without printing the lifetime amounts. The only published lifetime prices are Apple's in-app purchases on the Mac App Store listing: \"Canary Growth Lifetime Bundle\" $99.99 and \"Canary Pro Lifetime Bundle\" $99.99. 7-day trial, no card required.", "catch": "The lifetime price is not printed on the pricing page — only Apple's listing shows $99.99", "caveats": "The lifetime option is described in words on canarymail.io/pricing but the number is not published there, so the figure you can check in advance is Apple's: both lifetime bundles show $99.99 on the Mac App Store listing, and any higher figure quoted elsewhere is unconfirmed. Apple's IAP names (Growth, Pro) do not map cleanly onto the website's tiers (Growth, Pro+), so ask support which tier a store purchase actually grants. Licences are single-user, tied to one email ID, and cover up to 5 devices across macOS, iOS, Windows and Android. The help pages do promise that \"Lifetime licenses include future updates for the purchased plan\". This is an AI-dependent product with ongoing per-user model costs, which is exactly the situation where lifetime terms later acquire usage caps. The vendor of record is Cartasec Pte. Ltd.", "replaces": [ "Superhuman", "Spark Premium", "Shortwave", "Mimestream", "SaneBox" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Shortwave", "yearlyUsd": 360, "url": "https://www.shortwave.com/pricing/", "note": "Cheapest listed seat, Business at $30 per month" }, { "name": "Mimestream", "yearlyUsd": 50, "url": "https://mimestream.com/pricing", "note": "Individual plan, $49.99 per year" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "low" }, { "slug": "capto", "name": "Capto", "developer": "Global Delight Technologies", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/capto", "officialUrl": "https://www.globaldelight.com/capto/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/capto-screen-capture-recorder/id1078184147", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "screen capture, recording and light video editing for one payment", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 29.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free download on the Mac App Store with non-subscription in-app unlocks: \"Lifetime Discount Pack\" at $29.99 and two packs named \"Lifetime Base Pack\" and \"Lifetime Pack\" at $49.99. Global Delight's own store pages advertise a rotating \"50% OFF\" sale but do not print a figure, so the App Store is the only place a price can actually be read. Also included in Setapp.", "catch": "The $29.99 tier is the discounted pack; the two full unlocks are $49.99", "caveats": "You have to shop carefully. The App Store sells three differently named one-time unlocks — $29.99 for the \"Lifetime Discount Pack\" against $49.99 for the other two — and the developer's own store shows no prices at all, only sale banners, so what you pay depends on when and where you buy. The editor is genuinely basic next to ScreenFlow or Camtasia: trimming, splitting and audio, not compositing. The trial runs 15 days. Releases land a couple of times a year rather than monthly.", "replaces": [ "Camtasia subscription", "Loom paid plans" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Loom Business", "yearlyUsd": 216, "url": "https://www.loom.com/pricing", "note": "$18 per user/month at the monthly rate; annual billing is up to 17% less" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "carbon-copy-cloner", "name": "Carbon Copy Cloner", "developer": "Bombich Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/carbon-copy-cloner", "officialUrl": "https://bombich.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://sites.fastspring.com/bombich/product/ccc7", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "full-disk copies and versioned local backups you can restore from", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$49.99 for the Personal & Household licence, valid on every Mac in your household for non-commercial use, and also valid with CCC 5 and CCC 6. Upgrades from older versions run 25-50% off. Commercial use needs a separate licence from Bombich's corporate store. Prices exclude local taxes and VAT.", "catch": "CCC 8 will be a paid upgrade, discounted for existing owners", "caveats": "Major versions are paid: your CCC 7 licence also unlocks CCC 5 and 6, but the next major release will cost again at a 25-50% discount. Apple no longer guarantees a bootable clone of the system volume on Apple silicon, so treat CCC as a data-restore tool rather than a guaranteed spare boot disk. It copies to drives and network shares you own; no cloud storage is included, and the current version requires macOS Ventura or later.", "replaces": [ "Backblaze Personal Backup" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Backblaze Personal Backup", "yearlyUsd": 99, "url": "https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup/pricing", "note": "offsite subscription backup — CCC replaces the local half of a backup plan, not the offsite half" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "charles-proxy", "name": "Charles", "developer": "XK72 Ltd (Karl von Randow)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/charles-proxy", "officialUrl": "https://www.charlesproxy.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.charlesproxy.com/buy/", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "web debugging proxy with published upgrade pricing, fifty dollars a seat", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 50, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$50 for a single licence, dropping to $40 each at five licences and $30 each at ten. Site Licence $400, Multi-Site Licence $700. A licence covers the major version current at purchase (5.x today) plus all updates up to, but not including, the next major. Upgrading to a new major costs 40% of what you paid, and is free if that major ships within three months of your purchase.", "catch": "The next major version costs 40% of what you paid; your licence stops before it", "caveats": "Paid major upgrades are stated policy, not a surprise: 40% of the original purchase price, so budget for a version rather than for forever. Charles is a Java application and feels like one next to native Mac tools. Reading HTTPS means installing and trusting a local root certificate, and apps that pin their certificates stay unreadable no matter what you do. Unregistered, it quits after 30 minutes and makes you restart the session.", "replaces": [ "Proxyman Team subscription", "HTTP Toolkit Pro subscription", "Fiddler Everywhere subscription" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Fiddler Everywhere Pro", "yearlyUsd": 156, "url": "https://www.telerik.com/purchase/fiddler", "note": "$13 per user per month, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "chronosync", "name": "ChronoSync", "developer": "Econ Technologies", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/chronosync", "officialUrl": "https://www.econtechnologies.com/chronosync/overview.html", "pricingUrl": "https://www.econtechnologies.com/store.html", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "defined, repeatable folder sync jobs with free major upgrades", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "From $49.99 for ChronoSync. ChronoSync Express, a cut-down sync-only version, is from $9.99, and ChronoAgent - needed for fast connections to another Mac - is a separate purchase from $19.99. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.", "catch": "Syncing to another Mac properly wants ChronoAgent, a separate $19.99 purchase", "caveats": "ChronoAgent is bought per remote Mac, so a two-machine sync setup costs more than the headline price. The store lists ChronoSync as \"From: $49.99\", meaning multi-seat tiers cost more and the page does not spell out how many Macs a single licence covers - worth an email before buying if you have several. The interface is dense and dated next to newer sync tools, and it expects you to understand what your sync rules will do.", "replaces": [ "Dropbox", "GoodSync" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "cleanshot-x", "name": "CleanShot X", "developer": "MTW (Make the Web)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/cleanshot-x", "officialUrl": "https://cleanshot.com", "pricingUrl": "https://cleanshot.com/pricing", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "screenshots, recording and annotation in one $35 app", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 35, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "CleanShot Basic: $35 once, including 1 GB of cloud storage and one year of updates, with \"Optional renewal at $19 per year\" afterwards. CleanShot Pro is a separate subscription at \"$10 per user/mo, billed annually\" and adds unlimited storage, custom branding, team management, SSO and SCIM. 30-day money-back guarantee. Also included with Setapp.", "catch": "Updates stop after one year unless you renew at $19; the version you own keeps working", "caveats": "The $35 buys the app and twelve months of updates, not updates forever — after that you keep the build you have and pay an optional $19 a year for newer ones. Cloud storage beyond 1 GB, custom branding, SSO, SCIM and team management belong to the $10-per-seat Pro subscription rather than the licence. Requires macOS 13.0 or newer. If you already subscribe to Setapp, CleanShot is part of it and buying a licence separately gains you nothing.", "replaces": [ "Snagit", "Zight (CloudApp)", "Droplr", "Monosnap Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Zight (CloudApp)", "yearlyUsd": 119, "url": "https://zight.com/pricing/", "note": "Create plan, $9.95 per user per month billed annually" }, { "name": "CleanShot Pro", "yearlyUsd": 120, "url": "https://cleanshot.com/pricing", "note": "The developer's own subscription, $10 per seat per month billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "coconutbattery", "name": "coconutBattery", "developer": "coconut-flavour.com (Christoph Sinai)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/coconutbattery", "officialUrl": "https://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/buy/", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "battery health readout for a Mac and for iPhones plugged into it", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 12.95, "currency": "EUR", "priceNote": "The app itself is free. Plus is a one-time purchase in two editions on the developer's FastSpring store: coconutBattery 4 Plus at €12.95, which receives updates within version 4 only, and the Lifetime Edition at €17.95, which includes all future Plus updates. Both figures are shown with local VAT included (€10.53 and €14.59 before tax); no USD list price is published, so the store charges in your own currency.", "catch": "The cheaper Plus edition only gets 4.x updates — only the Lifetime Edition covers what comes next", "caveats": "Two one-time editions are sold side by side and they are not the same deal: the cheaper one is locked to version 4, so a future rewrite is another purchase. The Plus trial is metered rather than timed — ten launches in Plus mode. Prices are only ever shown in the currency your card's country maps to, with tax added at checkout, so read the figure on the buy page before committing. And this is a diagnostic readout, not a tool: it reports on the battery and changes nothing about it.", "replaces": [ "Sensei" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Sensei", "yearlyUsd": 29, "url": "https://cindori.com/store/sensei", "note": "Cindori's annual Sensei Plan for up to 3 Macs, whose battery panel covers similar ground" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "coderunner", "name": "CodeRunner", "developer": "Nikolai Krill", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/coderunner", "officialUrl": "https://coderunnerapp.com", "pricingUrl": "https://coderunnerapp.com/purchase", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "run snippets in about 25 languages without making a project", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 22.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$22.99 Personal License from the developer, for individual use on computers the licence holder owns personally; the licence policy states that free future upgrades are included with all licences. A Site License for company or institution machines is $15 per computer with a 5-computer minimum. The same $22.99 price applies on the Mac App Store with no in-app purchases, and Mac App Store buyers can request a key for the direct-download build. Also included in a Setapp subscription.", "catch": "Company or institution machines need the $15-per-computer site licence, minimum five", "caveats": "The developer's licence policy says free future upgrades are included with all licences, so there is no known paid-upgrade cliff — but that is a policy statement from a one-person shop, not a contractual term. Work machines belonging to an employer fall under the Site License, not the $22.99 personal one. No trial terms are published anywhere on the site: the download link hands over the app directly, so assume unlicensed use is feature-limited rather than a defined trial period.", "replaces": [ "Replit Core", "JetBrains IDE subscriptions kept only for scratch files" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Replit Core", "yearlyUsd": 216, "url": "https://replit.com/pricing", "note": "Core plan at $18 per month on annual billing" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "cryptomator", "name": "Cryptomator", "developer": "Skymatic GmbH", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/cryptomator", "officialUrl": "https://cryptomator.org/", "pricingUrl": "https://cryptomator.org/pricing/", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "client-side encryption for files you keep in someone else's cloud", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "The desktop app is free and open source: \"All functional and encryption features are absolutely free to use on the desktop.\" An optional Supporter Certificate at €29.99 one-time adds cosmetics such as dark mode, not encryption features. The mobile apps are separate one-time purchases at €29.99 each for iOS and for Android, and App Store dollar pricing differs by region. Cryptomator Hub, for team key management, is a separate paid product with a free self-hosted Community edition for five seats and Enterprise from €10,000/year.", "catch": "Free on the desktop only — the iOS app is a separate €29.99 purchase", "caveats": "Only the desktop app is free. iOS and Android each cost €29.99 one-time, and the pricing FAQ states plainly that a licence bought for one platform is not valid for another, so a Mac plus iPhone setup is not free and adding Android pays twice over. Encrypted filenames break some providers' web previews and deduplication, and vaults sync more slowly than plain folders because a small edit rewrites whole chunks. Team key management means the paid Hub product. And it encrypts files, not disks — FileVault is still what protects the Mac itself.", "replaces": [ "Tresorit", "Sync.com", "Boxcryptor" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "daisydisk", "name": "DaisyDisk", "developer": "Software Ambience", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/daisydisk", "officialUrl": "https://daisydiskapp.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://daisydiskapp.com/buy", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "sunburst map of a drive so you can see what ate the space", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 9.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$9.99 one time for a licence the buy page calls a lifetime licence, covering up to 5 personal Macs, with a 30-day money-back guarantee and no recurring payments. Also sold on the Mac App Store.", "catch": "The licence covers minor updates only, so a future major version may cost again", "caveats": "The buy page scopes what you get to \"minor updates & bug fixes\", and DaisyDisk's history has been paid major upgrades, though cheap ones; the page itself says nothing either way about the next major version. It only visualises and deletes files - no cache cleaning, no app uninstaller, no duplicate finder. Scanning system areas requires granting Full Disk Access.", "replaces": [ "CleanMyMac" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "dato", "name": "Dato", "developer": "Sindre Sorhus", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/dato", "officialUrl": "https://sindresorhus.com/dato", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dato/id1470584107", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "menu bar calendar and clock with a no-subscription promise in writing", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 18, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$18 one-time on the Mac App Store, with no in-app purchases. The developer states on the listing: \"It's a one-time purchase with free upgrades forever. Dato will never be subscription-based.\" A fully functional trial is available from the developer's site, limited only by a reminder to buy every 12 hours and no automatic updates. Dato is also included in Setapp.", "catch": "", "caveats": "Mac only — there is no iPhone or iPad version. It is a menu bar companion rather than a calendar client: events can be created and lightly edited from the dropdown, but you will still manage your schedule in Calendar, BusyCal or Fantastical. It shows the calendars macOS already knows about, so any account your Mac cannot connect to will not appear in it.", "replaces": [ "Fantastical Premium", "Meeter", "Itsycal paid alternatives" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Flexibits Premium (Fantastical)", "yearlyUsd": 57, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fantastical-calendar/id975937182", "note": "$56.99 a year for the individual plan" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "davinci-resolve-studio", "name": "DaVinci Resolve Studio", "developer": "Blackmagic Design", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/davinci-resolve-studio", "officialUrl": "https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve", "pricingUrl": "https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/studio", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "four apps in one, $295 once, with a free version that isn't crippled", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 295, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$295 one-time for DaVinci Resolve Studio, with no subscription option anywhere on the product page. The standard DaVinci Resolve is free. A Studio licence also ships with many Blackmagic cameras and hardware panels, so check the box before you buy.", "catch": "The free version already covers most 8-bit UHD work — check you actually need Studio", "caveats": "Studio does not unlock collaboration: Blackmagic's own page says the free version already lets several people work on one project at the same time. What $295 actually buys is output above the free ceiling of UHD at 60fps (Studio goes to 120fps at up to 32K), temporal and spatial noise reduction, HDR grading for Dolby Vision and HDR10+, the Neural Engine tools such as Magic Mask, Super Scale and Speed Warp, stereoscopic 3D, immersive audio, remote monitoring and 45+ extra Resolve FX. Blackmagic's record of free major upgrades for Studio owners is a long habit, not a written guarantee. The licence lives on an activation code or a USB dongle, and dongles get lost. It is a heavy application that expects a real GPU.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Premiere Pro (Creative Cloud)", "Adobe After Effects (Creative Cloud)" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Premiere Pro", "yearlyUsd": 276, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/plans.html", "note": "single-app plan at US$22.99/mo, annual billed monthly" }, { "name": "Adobe After Effects", "yearlyUsd": 276, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/plans.html", "note": "single-app plan at US$22.99/mo, annual billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "default-folder-x", "name": "Default Folder X", "developer": "St. Clair Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/default-folder-x", "officialUrl": "https://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "rebuilds the macOS Open and Save dialogs around your folders", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 39.95, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$39.95 for a single-user licence, or $34.95 each when buying two or more. Free 30-day trial. Major upgrades are date-based and mild: free if you bought on or after 1 March 2023, $9.95 if you bought between 1 September 2022 and that date, and $19.95 for anything older.", "catch": "Major versions are a paid upgrade, $9.95 to $19.95, roughly every five to seven years", "caveats": "St. Clair charges for major releases instead of shipping them free, but states plainly that an upgrade is \"a one-time purchase, NOT a subscription\" and entitles you to free updates until the next major release, typically five to seven years away. To hook into system dialogs it needs Accessibility and Automation permissions, which macOS will ask you to grant by hand. It also occasionally needs a point release to catch up with a new macOS version, so expect a short wait after each September. The site does not say how many Macs one single-user licence covers.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "devonthink", "name": "DEVONthink 4", "developer": "DEVONtechnologies", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/devonthink", "officialUrl": "https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink", "pricingUrl": "https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/devonthink/pricing", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "research database for documents, mail and scans that stays yours", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "One-time: Standard $99, Pro $199, Server $499. Every licence covers two Macs and includes one year of updates. Extending updates later costs $49 / $99 / $149 a year, cheaper if prepaid (Standard: $44 for one year, $79 for two, $104 for three, when extended before the current window ends). Extra seats and academic discounts available. Trial is 30 days or 150 hours of runtime, whichever is longer.", "catch": "Updates stop after a year unless you pay to extend; the version you have keeps working forever", "caveats": "The included year of updates is the thing to understand before buying: when it lapses your licence still never expires and the app is never restricted or deactivated, but you stay on the last version you received unless you pay to extend. The iOS companion, DEVONthink To Go, is a separate purchase - Pro includes five mobile seats and Server 25. Sync is bring-your-own (iCloud, Dropbox, WebDAV or local Bonjour), which is good for privacy and more setup work for you.", "replaces": [ "Evernote", "Notion", "Readwise Reader" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Readwise", "yearlyUsd": 120, "url": "https://readwise.io/pricing", "note": "full plan including Reader, at $9.99 a month billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "devutils", "name": "DevUtils", "developer": "DevUtils", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/devutils", "officialUrl": "https://devutils.com", "pricingUrl": "https://devutils.com/pricing/", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "offline toolbox for JSON, JWT, regex and thirty-odd other small jobs", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 29, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Basic $29 for one device, Personal $39 for two, Team $24 per device at three or more. Each is a one-time purchase with a perpetual licence and one year of updates; renewal afterwards is offered at 40% off. 30-day money-back guarantee. Also sold on the Mac App Store, bundled in Setapp, and installable via Homebrew.", "catch": "Updates stop after a year unless you renew at 40% off; your copy keeps working", "caveats": "The purchase includes twelve months of updates. After that the version you hold runs indefinitely, but new releases need a paid renewal at 60% of the list price. The Basic tier covers a single Mac, so a laptop-plus-desktop setup means the $39 tier. It is a collection of small tools, not a replacement for an editor or an IDE. If you already pay for Setapp, it is included there.", "replaces": [ "jwt.io and online JSON formatters", "Paid online regex testers" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "downie", "name": "Downie", "developer": "Charlie Monroe Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/downie", "officialUrl": "https://software.charliemonroe.net/downie/", "pricingUrl": "https://software.charliemonroe.net/downie/", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "video downloader for a long, maintained list of sites", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 19.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$19.99 for a permanent licence direct from the developer, quoted excluding VAT and sales tax. Also offered through Setapp, and bundled with Permute for $26.99, down from $35.", "catch": "Which sites work depends on constant updates; a redesign can break one for a while", "caveats": "Site support is maintenance, not magic: when a video host changes how it serves streams, that site stops working until an update lands, and how quickly that happens is entirely down to the developer. The app is sold as \"Downie 4\", so a future major version could in principle be a separate purchase, though nothing on the page says so. Downloading material you do not own may break a site's terms of service or local copyright law, and that part is on you rather than the app.", "replaces": [ "4K Video Downloader+ subscriptions", "Setapp subscription" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "dropzone", "name": "Dropzone", "developer": "Aptonic", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/dropzone", "officialUrl": "https://aptonic.com", "pricingUrl": "https://aptonic.com", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "drag-and-drop action grid with a $35 lifetime licence", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 35, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Dropzone 5 Pro is $35, which the developer's own page calls a lifetime licence, with a 14-day trial of the Pro features and upgrades from earlier versions at up to 50% off. A free tier with the basic actions exists alongside it. The price sits on the aptonic.com front page rather than a separate store page. Also sold through Setapp and the Mac App Store.", "catch": "The free tier is deliberately basic — the actions worth having sit behind the $35 Pro licence", "caveats": "Pro gates most of what makes the app interesting: multiple grids, the upload destinations and the developer actions. Dropzone 5 needs macOS 13 or newer, so older Macs are stuck on an earlier version. Several built-in actions upload files to third-party services, which means handing those files to those services. Getting the app through Setapp or the Mac App Store is not the same as owning the $35 direct licence, so buy the route you actually want to keep.", "replaces": [ "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed yearly, before tax; Dropzone is one of the 300+ apps in it" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "eaglefiler", "name": "EagleFiler", "developer": "C-Command Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/eaglefiler", "officialUrl": "https://c-command.com/eaglefiler/", "pricingUrl": "https://c-command.com/store/", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "archive documents and mail into plain folders you can still read", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 69.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "One-time: $69.99 single user, described as \"one person or one computer - your choice\". Family / 2-user pack $111.98. Maintenance and minor feature updates are free. Major upgrades (2.0, 3.0) are free if you bought the previous version within the last six months, discounted otherwise.", "catch": "Major versions are a paid upgrade, and upgrade discounts apply only if you bought direct from C-Command", "caveats": "Major version upgrades cost money unless you happened to buy within six months of the release, and the free-or-discounted upgrade path exists only for licences bought direct from C-Command - the Mac App Store has no mechanism for it. This is an archiver and organiser, not an editor: no PDF editing, no OCR of its own, no document generation. The interface is plain and utilitarian, and has been for a long time.", "replaces": [ "Evernote" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "em-client", "name": "eM Client", "developer": "eM Client Inc.", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/em-client", "officialUrl": "https://www.emclient.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.emclient.com/pricing", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "mail, calendar and contacts client whose one-time licence covers future versions", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 39.95, "currency": "EUR", "priceNote": "Priced in euros on the developer's own page. Personal is 39,95 € as a one-time payment, with Lifetime Upgrades shown at checkout as an included line item at no extra charge, and covers one user on up to three devices. The alternative is a 29,95 € yearly subscription. Business is licensed per device and sold in packs (the default ten-device one-time pack showed 251,95 €). The free tier is 0 € for two accounts, personal non-commercial use only. Android and iOS apps need no licence. Checkout converts to other currencies at the rate of the day, so a USD figure will drift.", "catch": "VIP Support is free for the first year only, then needs a paid extension", "caveats": "Lifetime Upgrades is bundled into the current one-time Personal price — the checkout itemises it at no extra cost — but eM Client also sells it separately \"from 70,00 €\" for existing licences that went without it, so if you ever bought a one-time licence that excluded it you are locked to your major version until you pay. VIP Support covers the first year of a one-time licence and then needs extending. AI features are an add-on on the one-time plan and included on the subscription, and eM Client notes that future features depending on third-party services may be limited on one-time plans. The free tier is capped at two accounts and is non-commercial. If a subscription lapses the app drops to offline mode; one-time licences do not expire. The design is Windows-first and cross-platform, so it will not feel Mac-native.", "replaces": [ "Mimestream", "Spark Premium", "Superhuman" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Mimestream", "yearlyUsd": 50, "url": "https://mimestream.com/pricing", "note": "$49.99 per year, or $4.99 per month" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "enpass", "name": "Enpass", "developer": "Enpass Technologies Private Limited", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/enpass", "officialUrl": "https://www.enpass.io/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/enpass-password-manager/id732710998", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "password manager that keeps the vault in your own cloud account", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 99.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free download with in-app purchases. \"Enpass Premium Lifetime\" is $99.99 one-time on the Mac App Store, alongside Enpass Premium at $23.99 for a year, $47.99 for three years, and Enpass Family at $47.99. Enpass's own pricing page blocks automated reads and, by every secondary account, no longer lists a lifetime tier at all — so treat the App Store in-app purchase as the route that is verifiably open today.", "catch": "The lifetime tier is only reliably buyable as an App Store in-app purchase", "caveats": "Enpass appears to have quietly dropped lifetime from its own website, where the longest direct term is now a multi-year plan, so the $99.99 purchase we can actually see is the in-app one — which ties the licence to your Apple Account rather than to an Enpass login. Lifetime is single-user Premium, not Family, so a household still pays for the Family plan. Sync runs on your own cloud account, meaning the storage cost, quota and outages are yours to handle. Business plans are subscription-only, and the client is closed source.", "replaces": [ "1Password", "Dashlane", "LastPass", "NordPass" ], "versus": [ { "name": "1Password Individual", "yearlyUsd": 48, "url": "https://1password.com/pricing/personal", "note": "US$3.99 a month billed annually, the standard rate after the first-year promo" }, { "name": "Dashlane Premium", "yearlyUsd": 65, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dashlane-password-manager/id517914548", "note": "current App Store in-app annual price" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "espanso", "name": "Espanso", "developer": "Federico Terzi and contributors", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/espanso", "officialUrl": "https://espanso.org", "pricingUrl": "https://espanso.org", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "offline text expander whose snippets are plain YAML files", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. The project's site states that Espanso is open source under the GPL-3 licence. Donations are invited and entirely optional; nothing is gated behind them and no paid tier exists.", "catch": "snippets are YAML files you edit by hand, and syncing them between Macs is your job", "caveats": "There is no snippet-management interface, so a large library is a set of text files you maintain yourself, and keeping it in step across machines means using git, iCloud Drive or Dropbox on your own. Form-style fill-in snippets exist but are rougher than the commercial equivalents. Because it is community maintained, breakage after a macOS release can take a few weeks to settle.", "replaces": [ "TextExpander", "Text Blaze" ], "versus": [ { "name": "TextExpander", "yearlyUsd": 60, "url": "https://textexpander.com/pricing", "note": "Pro plan for one user, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "final-cut-pro", "name": "Final Cut Pro", "developer": "Apple", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/final-cut-pro", "officialUrl": "https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "Apple's pro video editor, still sold as a one-time purchase", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 299.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$299.99 one-time on the Mac App Store; Apple's page states \"Final Cut Pro is also available as a one-time purchase for $299.99.\" Apple additionally rents it inside the Apple Creator Studio bundle at $12.99 per month or $129 per year ($2.99 per month or $29.99 per year for students and educators), which also includes Logic Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and Pixelmator Pro. The standalone purchase is the only way to own it outright.", "catch": "Some premium content is Creator Studio subscribers only, and Motion and Compressor cost extra", "caveats": "Apple's own page says \"access to some of the premium content is available only to Apple Creator Studio subscribers\", so the one-time licence no longer covers literally everything in the app. For standalone buyers, Motion and Compressor are separate one-time purchases; they are bundled only with the subscription. There is also no standalone trial any more: Apple retired the 90-day Final Cut Pro trial when Apple Creator Studio launched in January 2026, leaving only a 30-day trial of the subscription. And nothing in writing promises a future major version stays free, though Apple has not charged existing owners since 2011.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Premiere Pro", "Apple Creator Studio" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Premiere Pro", "yearlyUsd": 276, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html", "note": "Adobe's single-app annual plan, billed monthly" }, { "name": "Apple Creator Studio", "yearlyUsd": 129, "url": "https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/", "note": "Apple's own subscription bundle, which also includes Logic Pro and Motion" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "fission", "name": "Fission", "developer": "Rogue Amoeba", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/fission", "officialUrl": "https://rogueamoeba.com/fission/", "pricingUrl": "https://rogueamoeba.com/fission/buy.php", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "trim, split and convert audio files without re-encoding them", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 35, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$35 USD for a Fission license key, which unlocks the app for a single user on one or more Macs. Upgrading from an older major version costs $15 USD. Local taxes may apply at checkout.", "catch": "Major versions are a separate $15 purchase, though new ones come along rarely", "caveats": "The lossless promise applies to formats that support editing in place, chiefly MP3 and AAC; other edits and any format conversion re-encode as usual. The key covers the current major version and a future major is a $15 upgrade, but Fission 2 has been current for years, so that bill is distant. It is deliberately a single-file editor: no multitrack mixing, no MIDI, no plugin chain, no recording setup beyond the basics.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Audition (Creative Cloud)", "Paid online audio converters" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Audition", "yearlyUsd": 276, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html", "note": "single-app plan at US$22.99/mo, annual billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "fork", "name": "Fork", "developer": "Dan Pristupov and Tanya Pristupova", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/fork", "officialUrl": "https://fork.dev", "pricingUrl": "https://fork.dev/", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "fast native git client, one key for three machines", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 59.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$59.99 for a licence key, bought after a free evaluation period with no stated deadline. The licence agreement states the key \"may be used by one user on up to 3 machines at a time on both Mac and Windows operating systems\". Older write-ups quote $49.99, so the price has moved up over the years.", "catch": "Nothing on the site promises free major upgrades, so a paid version 3 is possible", "caveats": "Neither the pricing page nor the licence agreement says anything about updates or future major versions, so the perpetual label here is an inference from silence rather than a stated term — a paid upgrade some years out would not break any promise the developer made. It is a git client and nothing more: no code review, no CI, no issue tracking. There is no Linux build.", "replaces": [ "Tower", "GitKraken Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Tower", "yearlyUsd": 69, "url": "https://www.git-tower.com/pricing", "note": "Basic individual plan, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "forklift", "name": "ForkLift", "developer": "BinaryNights", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/forklift", "officialUrl": "https://binarynights.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://binarynights.com/store", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "dual-pane file manager that also mounts your servers", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 19.95, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Sold as a lifetime licence with a fixed update window. Single user is $19.95 for one year of updates or $34.95 for two; family is $29.95 and $49.95; Small Business is $69.95 and $119.95. Long-time customers get a bonus 100 days of updates when they buy again.", "catch": "Updates stop when your one- or two-year window ends; the version you have keeps running", "caveats": "The update window is the whole story here. You keep, and can keep running indefinitely, the newest version your licence covered — but once the year or two is up, new releases require buying a fresh licence, and BinaryNights adds a 100-day bonus for returning customers rather than a free upgrade path. In practice it behaves like a cheap perpetual licence with optional top-ups. The cloud and server connections use your own accounts and credentials; ForkLift stores nothing on your behalf.", "replaces": [ "CloudMounter subscription", "Mountain Duck update renewals" ], "versus": [ { "name": "CloudMounter", "yearlyUsd": 29, "url": "https://cloudmounter.net/cloud-mounter-purchase.html", "note": "personal one-year subscription for one Mac" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "foxit-pdf-editor-perpetual", "name": "Foxit PDF Editor 14 (Perpetual)", "developer": "Foxit Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/foxit-pdf-editor-perpetual", "officialUrl": "https://www.foxit.com/pdf-editor/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.foxit.com/pdf-editor/", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "Acrobat-class PDF suite you can still buy outright, once", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 209.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$209.99 one-time per user for \"Foxit PDF Editor 14 (Perpetual License)\", a single download that runs on Windows or macOS. The alternatives are a subscription from $10.99/month and PDF Editor+ at $159.99 per user per year. Business licences sell maintenance and support separately once the initial term ends.", "catch": "You own version 14; version 15 is a new purchase, and cloud and AI features are excluded", "caveats": "This buys version 14 and nothing beyond it, so treat version 15 as a future line item. Foxit's page lists the exclusions plainly: the perpetual licence \"does not include AI Assistant, Workspace, Smart Redact, DMS, or cloud features\", all of which are subscriptions on top. The Mac build has historically trailed the Windows build, so check the macOS feature list against the specific things you need rather than assuming parity.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Acrobat Pro subscription", "Nitro PDF subscription" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Acrobat Pro", "yearlyUsd": 240, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing.html", "note": "annual plan prepaid, US$239.88/yr" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "ghostty", "name": "Ghostty", "developer": "Mitchell Hashimoto and contributors", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/ghostty", "officialUrl": "https://ghostty.org", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/ghostty-org/ghostty", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "MIT-licensed terminal with a real SwiftUI Mac app behind it", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and open source under the MIT licence. There is no paid tier and no licence to buy.", "catch": "Support is GitHub issues, and some niche iTerm2 features are still missing", "caveats": "Officially supported on macOS and Linux only; the Windows-compatible parts are library components, not a shippable Windows terminal. It is much younger than iTerm2, so niche features and third-party integrations are still filling in, and most configuration is done in a text file even though a settings GUI exists on macOS. Support means GitHub issues rather than a vendor, so check that the workflow you depend on works before switching wholesale.", "replaces": [ "Paid terminal plans" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "gifox", "name": "Gifox 2", "developer": "Bitwild Ltd", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/gifox", "officialUrl": "https://gifox.app", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gifox-2-gif-recorder-player/id1461845568", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "GIF recorder with a one-time $14.99 Pro unlock", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 14.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free download with \"Gifox 2 Pro\" as a $14.99 one-time in-app purchase, plus a \"Gifox 2 Pro Upgrade\" at $9.99 for Gifox 1 owners. No subscription. Also in Setapp. The developer separately sells founding lifetime licences at gifox.app/lifetime — Backer $150 for one Mac, Patron $300 for two, Benefactor $450 for three — which cover Gifox 2 and 3 and all future core upgrades.", "catch": "The $14.99 unlock buys Gifox 2; a paid Gifox 3 is already named on the developer's site", "caveats": "This is a per-major-version purchase. Gifox 1 owners paid $9.99 to move to Gifox 2, and the developer's lifetime page already advertises \"Gifox 2 & 3\" with \"all future core upgrades\" as the selling point of its $150 to $450 tiers — which are limited in number, non-transferable and non-refundable. So budget for one more payment eventually, or pay a lot up front to avoid it. The free tier caps recordings at 10 seconds and watermarks them. GIF only: no video export, no editing.", "replaces": [ "CleanShot Cloud Pro", "Loom paid plans (for short clips)" ], "versus": [ { "name": "CleanShot Pro", "yearlyUsd": 120, "url": "https://cleanshot.com/pricing", "note": "$10/month billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "gifski", "name": "Gifski", "developer": "Sindre Sorhus", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/gifski", "officialUrl": "https://sindresorhus.com/gifski", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gifski/id1351639930", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "free video-to-GIF converter with unusually good output", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free on the Mac App Store with no in-app purchases and no account. Source is MIT licensed on GitHub.", "catch": "It converts video you already have — recording the screen is another app's job", "caveats": "Gifski is a converter, not a recorder, so you still need something to capture with; the screen recorder built into macOS is fine for that. The current 3.0.6 build requires macOS 26 or later, and older Macs have to stay on an earlier release. Output is GIF only, and large or long clips will still produce big files no matter how good the palette handling is — this is a limitation of the format rather than the app.", "replaces": [ "Paid online GIF converters", "CloudConvert subscriptions" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "glyphs", "name": "Glyphs 4", "developer": "Glyphs GmbH", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/glyphs", "officialUrl": "https://glyphsapp.com", "pricingUrl": "https://glyphsapp.com/buy", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "professional font editor sold by the major version, not the month", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 319, "currency": "EUR", "priceNote": "Glyphs 4 is EUR 319 on the buy page. Discounts are quoted as \"USD/EUR\" figures, so the dollar number tracks the euro one: students 159, teaching staff 199. Glyphs Mini 2 is EUR 49. Volume pricing is 10% off at 5 seats and 20% off at 20, and school labs start under EUR 100 per seat.", "catch": "Major versions are paid again — Glyphs 2 and 3 owners paid 199 to move up to Glyphs 4", "caveats": "This is a paid-upgrade product, not a perpetual licence with free updates forever. The upgrade from Glyphs 2 or 3 to 4 is USD/EUR 199, though anyone who bought Glyphs 3 on or after 1 February 2026 got 4 free. Cross-upgrading from Glyphs Mini costs USD/EUR 269, so Mini is not a cheap way into the full app. Checkout is denominated in euros even where the discounts are written as dollars. Mac only, macOS 12 or later. Glyphs Mini is offered through Setapp; the full Glyphs 4 is not.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "goodtask", "name": "GoodTask", "developer": "haha Interactive", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/goodtask", "officialUrl": "https://goodtaskapp.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/goodtask/id1143437985?mt=12", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "power-user front end for Apple Reminders and Calendar", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 39.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$39.99 one-time on the Mac App Store. The developer states on the official forum: \"You can get one time purchase in both iOS and Mac App Store. There are supporting options but it's optional.\" The iPhone and iPad app is a separate purchase. A free trial is available direct from goodtaskapp.com, with no duration stated. GoodTask is also included in Setapp.", "catch": "The iPhone and iPad app is a separate purchase from the Mac one", "caveats": "iOS and iPadOS are a separate app and a separate purchase. Optional supporter purchases exist alongside the one-time price — nothing is locked behind them, but the listing is not strictly free of in-app purchases. Because GoodTask reads and writes Apple's Reminders and Calendar stores rather than its own database, you inherit their limits and sync reliability is iCloud's to get right. The app is on version 8.x and the developer describes the model as a one-time purchase; nothing in writing rules out a future major version arriving as a separate paid app. It is also on Setapp, so check that before buying if you already subscribe.", "replaces": [ "Todoist Pro", "TickTick Premium", "Structured Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Todoist Pro", "yearlyUsd": 60, "url": "https://www.todoist.com/pricing", "note": "$5 per month, $60 billed yearly" }, { "name": "TickTick Premium", "yearlyUsd": 50, "url": "https://ticktick.com/about/upgrade", "note": "US$49.99 a year, annual billing only" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "grandperspective", "name": "GrandPerspective", "developer": "Erwin Bonsma", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/grandperspective", "officialUrl": "https://grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net/", "pricingUrl": "https://grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net/", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "treemap view of what is actually filling your disk", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free from SourceForge under the GNU GPL. The identical app is $2.99 on the Mac App Store; the developer is explicit that the fee exists to cover his Apple developer membership and other costs, not to unlock anything.", "catch": "", "caveats": "Development is steady but slow, and the interface looks its age beside paid disk tools. Scanning protected locations needs Full Disk Access granted in System Settings, or whole folders read as empty. It shows you what is large and lets you delete it; there is no duplicate finder, no cache cleaning and nothing automated.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "hammerspoon", "name": "Hammerspoon", "developer": "Hammerspoon contributors", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/hammerspoon", "officialUrl": "https://www.hammerspoon.org", "pricingUrl": "https://www.hammerspoon.org", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "scripting your whole Mac in Lua, MIT licensed", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. The project charges nothing and sells nothing; the repository LICENSE file is the MIT licence, copyright 2014-2025. Note that the website itself states neither a price nor a licence, so the MIT claim rests on the repository.", "catch": "there is no GUI at all, so every behaviour you want is something you write in Lua", "caveats": "Configuration is a Lua file at ~/.hammerspoon/init.lua and nothing else, so expect an evening or two with the API docs before the setup feels finished. It is community maintained rather than company backed, which means support is GitHub issues and a macOS release that breaks something is fixed when a volunteer gets to it. Accessibility permissions are required for anything that moves windows.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "handbrake", "name": "HandBrake", "developer": "HandBrake Team", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/handbrake", "officialUrl": "https://handbrake.fr/", "pricingUrl": "https://handbrake.fr/", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "the free open-source transcoder that shrinks any video on a Mac", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. No licence to buy, no paid tier, no account.", "catch": "It will not read the copy protection on a commercial DVD or Blu-ray by itself", "caveats": "HandBrake transcodes and does not edit: cropping and trimming by chapter are the limit. It cannot open encrypted commercial discs on its own. The interface is a wall of encoder settings and the first run is intimidating, though the presets cover most needs without touching them. Download it from handbrake.fr — paid lookalikes and ad-wrapped mirrors of this app have been a persistent problem for years.", "replaces": [ "Wondershare UniConverter", "Cloud video compression services" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "hazel", "name": "Hazel", "developer": "Noodlesoft", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/hazel", "officialUrl": "https://www.noodlesoft.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://store.noodlesoft.com/store", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "rule-based folder automation that files things without you", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 42, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$42 for a single licence, $65 for a family pack covering up to 5 members of a household, and $20 to upgrade from a previous major version. No subscription is offered anywhere on the store.", "catch": "Major versions are a separate $20 upgrade, roughly every few years", "caveats": "The store sells a numbered major version (Hazel 6) alongside a $20 upgrade line, so expect to pay again when the next one ships; the copy you own keeps running either way. Hazel runs as a background helper and needs Full Disk Access plus Automation permissions before it can do anything useful, which is worth knowing before you put it on a managed work Mac.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "homerow", "name": "Homerow", "developer": "Dexter Leng", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/homerow", "officialUrl": "https://www.homerow.app/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.homerow.app/pricing", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "click any button or link on macOS by typing two letters", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$49.99 one-time. The pricing page states \"All future updates included\" and \"Use on all your personal Macs\", with no renewal. Free to try with a reminder every 50 activations, and a student discount is available.", "catch": "Only works as well as an app's accessibility support; some Electron apps expose almost no labels", "caveats": "Homerow reads the screen through the macOS Accessibility API, so apps that draw their own interface in a canvas — some Electron builds, older Java apps, a few design tools — give it little or nothing to label. It needs Accessibility permission granted in System Settings. At $49.99 it is one of the more expensive single-purpose utilities on this site, and whether it pays off depends entirely on how much you already resent the trackpad. The trial has no time limit, only a reminder every 50 activations, so evaluate it properly first.", "replaces": [ "Superkey", "Vimac" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "houdahspot", "name": "HoudahSpot", "developer": "Houdah Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/houdahspot", "officialUrl": "https://www.houdahspot.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.houdah.com/houdahSpot/buy.html", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "the Spotlight controls Apple decided not to show you", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 39, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$39 for a single-user licence, one-time, with a family licence also sold but no price published for it. Upgrade pricing is inconsistent between Houdah's own pages: houdahspot.com quotes $19, while the store and buy pages quote $24. A family upgrade is $39. Every purchase carries a 15-day money-back guarantee.", "catch": "HoudahSpot 7 will be a paid upgrade; a version 6 licence covers 6.x releases only", "caveats": "Licences are tied to a major version: a HoudahSpot 6 licence covers all 6.x releases, and when 7 arrives you choose between paying for the upgrade and staying on 6. Licences bought on or after 1 June 2020 cover both 5 and 6, so the cadence is slow. The bigger functional limit is that it searches through Spotlight's index, so anything Spotlight will not index — some external drives, most network volumes — stays invisible, and a brute-force tool like Find Any File is the complement rather than this. Houdah's pages disagree on the upgrade price, so check at checkout.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "ia-writer", "name": "iA Writer", "developer": "Information Architects GmbH", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/ia-writer", "officialUrl": "https://ia.net/writer", "pricingUrl": "https://ia.net/writer/pricing", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "markdown editor sold once per platform, no subscription offered", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$49.99 one-time for the Mac version, with a 7-day trial and no card required. The developer states that subscriptions are not available for Mac, iPad, iPhone or Windows. Each platform is bought separately at its own price.", "catch": "Each platform is a separate purchase, and major versions may cost extra", "caveats": "Minor updates are free and major updates may be paid, stated plainly by the developer with no timeline attached, so budget for an eventual upgrade fee. Earlier buyers got close to a decade of free updates, which is a good sign but not a promise. Buying the Mac app does not cover the iPhone and iPad app. There is no sync service of its own: you point it at iCloud Drive, Dropbox or a folder of your choosing. Requires macOS 10.15 or later.", "replaces": [ "Ulysses subscription", "Bear Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Ulysses", "yearlyUsd": 40, "url": "https://ulysses.app/pricing/", "note": "$39.99 per year, US pricing" }, { "name": "Bear Pro", "yearlyUsd": 30, "url": "https://bear.app/", "note": "$29.99 per year" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "ice", "name": "Ice", "developer": "Jordan Baird", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/ice", "officialUrl": "https://icemenubar.app/", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/jordanbaird/Ice", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "free GPL menu bar manager, the open alternative to Bartender", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and GPL-3.0 licensed. Download from icemenubar.app or install with `brew install --cask jordanbaird-ice`. The site offers a donation link, not a purchase page, and there is no Pro tier.", "catch": "the repo has not been pushed to in a year and some README features are still unimplemented", "caveats": "Development has visibly stalled: the last push to the GitHub repository was September 2025, roughly a year ago. The README still describes Ice as in active development with features not yet implemented, and marks menu bar item spacing as beta. It requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later, with the author stating there are no plans to support earlier releases. There is no support address behind it, only the issue tracker — if you want someone whose job it is to fix a broken menu bar after an OS update, that is what Bartender's money buys.", "replaces": [ "Bartender Pro", "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Bartender Pro", "yearlyUsd": 20, "url": "https://www.macbartender.com/purchase/", "note": "the paid menu bar manager most Ice users are choosing not to subscribe to" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "iconjar", "name": "IconJar", "developer": "Davey Heuser and Curtis Hard", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/iconjar", "officialUrl": "https://geticonjar.com", "pricingUrl": "https://geticonjar.com/pricing/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "icon library manager with a real buy-once option next to the yearly plan", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 75, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Two options sit side by side on the pricing page: 25 dollars a year, or 75 dollars once. IconJar is also on Setapp at 12 dollars a month. The 14-day trial needs no credit card.", "catch": "The pricing page never states what future major versions the 75 dollar licence covers", "caveats": "The one-off licence is real, but the page is silent on update entitlement, so treat 75 dollars as buying the app as it stands rather than a promise of free major versions. It manages and exports icons, it does not draw them, so a vector editor is still on the bill. macOS only. It is a two-person project, which is worth knowing before standardising a team on it — though it is actively maintained, with 2.11.4 shipping in January 2026.", "replaces": [ "Setapp", "Icon marketplace subscription plans" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "iina", "name": "IINA", "developer": "IINA Project", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/iina", "officialUrl": "https://iina.io/", "pricingUrl": "https://iina.io/", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "mpv-based video player with a native mac front end", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free, and open-sourced under the GPLv3 licence. There is no paid tier, no pro unlock and no account.", "catch": "Volunteer-run, so fixes and releases arrive when contributors have time", "caveats": "Development is volunteer-driven and the gaps between releases can be long, so a regression may sit for a while. Some of mpv's more advanced behaviour still has no interface and needs a config file. There is no media library and no server browsing: for a NAS, Plex or Jellyfin front end with artwork and watch state, this is not the tool.", "replaces": [ "Elmedia Player Pro", "Paid codec-pack players" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "imageoptim", "name": "ImageOptim", "developer": "Kornel Lesiński", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/imageoptim", "officialUrl": "https://imageoptim.com/mac", "pricingUrl": "https://imageoptim.com/mac", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "lossless image compression by drag and drop", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. The developer's page says \"It's Free and Open Source\" and that \"ImageOptim is free, open-source software under terms of the GPL v2 or later\". Donations are optional. The separate ImageOptim API web service is the commercial product.", "catch": "Free covers the Mac app only — server-side compression is the paid ImageOptim API", "caveats": "The free thing is the desktop app. Compressing images on a server or inside a build pipeline means the ImageOptim API, which is a separate paid web service from the same developer. Mac only, with no Windows or Linux build. It is a batch optimiser rather than an editor: no real resizing workflow and no format conversion pipeline, so pair it with something like Retrobatch if you need those. Lossy mode exists but you have to switch it on and eyeball the results yourself.", "replaces": [ "TinyPNG", "ShortPixel", "Kraken.io" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "infuse", "name": "Infuse", "developer": "Firecore", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/infuse", "officialUrl": "https://firecore.com/infuse", "pricingUrl": "https://firecore.com/infuse", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "home video library player with a real lifetime pro unlock", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 99.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "The base app is free. Infuse Pro is sold at $1.99 a month, $16.99 a year, or $99.99 once for lifetime. Against the yearly plan the lifetime unlock pays for itself in about six years; against monthly, in roughly four.", "catch": "The free app is deliberately limited — Dolby Vision, lossless audio and cloud sources are Pro", "caveats": "This is a subscription product with a lifetime tier attached, not a classic perpetual licence, and the free version is cut down on purpose. \"Lifetime\" means the lifetime of the product, not a contract with you. It is sold as an in-app unlock rather than a licence key you download, so it most likely travels with the account you buy it with. Infuse plays files, it does not organise or transcode them, so a messy library stays messy unless you tidy it or run a Plex or Jellyfin server behind it.", "replaces": [ "Plex Pass", "Emby Premiere" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Emby Premiere", "yearlyUsd": 54, "url": "https://emby.media/premiere.html", "note": "Emby's yearly plan; Emby also sells a $119 lifetime" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "inkscape", "name": "Inkscape", "developer": "The Inkscape Project", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/inkscape", "officialUrl": "https://inkscape.org", "pricingUrl": "https://inkscape.org/about/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "SVG-native vector editor with no licence to buy at all", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. No licence, no account, no paid tier. The project's About page describes it as \"a Free and open source vector graphics editor for GNU/Linux, Windows and macOS\", licensed under the GPL. Donations are optional and go through the Software Freedom Conservancy.", "catch": "The macOS build is a GTK port — menus, shortcuts and dialogs don't behave like a Mac app", "caveats": "Inkscape on macOS is a port of a Linux application, and it feels like one: keyboard shortcuts, file dialogs, font handling and trackpad behaviour all differ from what you expect, and older releases needed XQuartz. It can crawl on large or filter-heavy documents. Colour management and CMYK print production are weak next to Affinity Designer or Illustrator. Support is forums and community documentation, and releases are slow because the work is volunteer-driven.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Illustrator", "Adobe Creative Cloud" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Illustrator", "yearlyUsd": 276, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html", "note": "Adobe's single-app annual plan, billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "ishowu-studio-2", "name": "iShowU Studio 2", "developer": "shinywhitebox", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/ishowu-studio-2", "officialUrl": "https://www.shinywhitebox.com", "pricingUrl": "https://store.shinywhitebox.com/buy", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "record and edit in one app, on a genuine perpetual licence", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 79, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "iShowU Studio 2 is $79 USD, perpetual, and the store offers no annual licence for it. The other products on the same page do: iShowU V6, the fast instant recorder, is $89 perpetual or $24 per year, and the SWB Audio App is $38 perpetual or $12 per year. An app bundle of iShowU V6 perpetual plus iShowU Studio 2 is $119. Discounted upgrades exist for owners of earlier iShowU products, priced on separate upgrade pages.", "catch": "$79 covers Studio 2 only — the quicker iShowU V6 recorder is a separate $89 app", "caveats": "The product naming is the main trap. shinywhitebox sells two recorders: Studio 2, which records and edits, and iShowU V6, which starts recording instantly and has no editor. They are separate purchases, and the $119 bundle is the cheaper route if you want both. The store also puts annual buttons next to perpetual ones, but the annual ones belong to V6 and the audio app, not to Studio 2. Their SWB Audio App is a third product, a virtual driver for capturing system sound from anything; check whether your recording setup needs it before assuming $79 is the whole bill. Development is slower than the newer competition.", "replaces": [ "Camtasia", "Loom paid plans", "Descript" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Descript", "yearlyUsd": 288, "url": "https://www.descript.com/pricing", "note": "Creator plan at $24 per person/month, billed annually" }, { "name": "Loom Business", "yearlyUsd": 216, "url": "https://www.loom.com/pricing", "note": "$18 per user/month on monthly billing; annual billing is cheaper but the rate is not published" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "istat-menus", "name": "iStat Menus", "developer": "Bjango", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/istat-menus", "officialUrl": "https://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/", "pricingUrl": "https://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "the long-running Mac system monitor, sold outright rather than rented", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 11.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$11.99 for a single licence, direct from Bjango or on the Mac App Store. The Family Pack covering up to five family members is $14.99, and owners of iStat Menus 6 pay $9.99 to upgrade. Also included with a Setapp membership, which is $14.99/month or $107.88 a year for the Mac plan.", "catch": "Weather is a separate subscription once the six months included with a licence run out", "caveats": "Direct licences include six months of weather; after that the forecast readout needs a subscription, listed on the App Store at $0.99 a month or $4.99 a year. Everything else is yours outright. Bjango charges for major versions — moving from 6 to 7 cost an upgrade fee, and version 8 will almost certainly work the same way — so this is a buy-and-own app with a paid upgrade every few years, not a one-payment-forever one. Fan control and some sensor readings are more limited on Apple silicon than they were on Intel Macs.", "replaces": [ "Setapp", "Sensei" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed annually; $14.99/month if billed monthly" }, { "name": "Sensei", "yearlyUsd": 29, "url": "https://cindori.com/store/sensei", "note": "Cindori's annual Sensei Plan for up to 3 Macs" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "iterm2", "name": "iTerm2", "developer": "George Nachman", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/iterm2", "officialUrl": "https://iterm2.com", "pricingUrl": "https://iterm2.com/", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "the terminal most Mac developers install first, free since 2010", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free, with the source on GitHub under GPL v2. Donations are accepted and nothing is gated behind payment.", "catch": "One maintainer sets the pace, and very high-volume output feels slower than GPU terminals", "caveats": "Development is essentially one person, so fixes and macOS compatibility releases arrive on his schedule rather than a company's. It is heavier than newer GPU-accelerated terminals and can lag when a command floods the screen. The feature surface is large enough that the preferences window takes a while to learn. Requires macOS 10.14 or newer.", "replaces": [ "Paid terminal plans" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "itsycal", "name": "Itsycal", "developer": "Sanjay Madan (Mowglii)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/itsycal", "officialUrl": "https://www.mowglii.com/itsycal/", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/sfsam/Itsycal", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "free menu bar month calendar, MIT licensed", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free, MIT licensed. Download from mowglii.com or install with \"brew install --cask itsycal\". No paid tier and no in-app purchases.", "catch": "Events can be created and deleted but not edited — editing still means a trip to Calendar.app", "caveats": "You can create and delete events but not edit existing ones, so changing a time sends you back to Calendar.app. It is not on the Mac App Store: you install it directly or through Homebrew, and it updates itself via Sparkle. This is a single-developer project, so fixes arrive when they arrive and there is no support contract. Mac only, with no iOS companion.", "replaces": [ "Fantastical Premium", "Dato", "Calendar 366 Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Fantastical (Flexibits Premium)", "yearlyUsd": 57, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fantastical-calendar/id975937182", "note": "Annual Flexibits Premium in-app purchase, $56.99" }, { "name": "Calendar 366 Pro", "yearlyUsd": 20, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/calendar-366-events-tasks/id6502818600", "note": "Yearly in-app purchase, $19.99" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "karabiner-elements", "name": "Karabiner-Elements", "developer": "Takayama Fumihiko", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/karabiner-elements", "officialUrl": "https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/", "pricingUrl": "https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/docs/pricing/", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "public-domain keyboard remapper that works below the app layer", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. The developer's own pricing page states that Karabiner-Elements can be used without any purchase, and offers only voluntary GitHub Sponsors or PayPal support. The repository licence is the Unlicense, a public-domain dedication.", "catch": "anything interesting is a JSON complex modification, and it remaps keyboards only", "caveats": "It installs a DriverKit virtual keyboard extension, which you have to approve in System Settings and which occasionally needs an update right after a new macOS release. The preferences window covers simple swaps; everything beyond that is a \"complex modification\" you import from the community rules list or write by hand in JSON, and there is no visual editor for it. Keyboards only, so mice, trackpads and application automation are out of scope.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "keepassxc", "name": "KeePassXC", "developer": "KeePassXC Team", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/keepassxc", "officialUrl": "https://keepassxc.org/", "pricingUrl": "https://keepassxc.org/", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "offline password manager with no account and no cloud", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free under the GPLv3. No licence, no paid tier, no account and no subscription; donations are optional.", "catch": "No sync of its own, and the iOS app is a separate paid purchase from someone else", "caveats": "You own the sync problem. The database is a file, so getting it onto a second machine means iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Syncthing or a USB stick, and if two devices write to it at once you resolve the conflict yourself. There is no built-in sharing and no web vault. Mobile is outside this project: reading the same database on an iPhone means a third-party KDBX client such as Strongbox or KeePassium, with its own price. The Mac build is Qt rather than native Cocoa and looks it, and browser autofill needs the extension plus the native messaging connection set up once.", "replaces": [ "1Password", "Dashlane", "LastPass", "Bitwarden Premium" ], "versus": [ { "name": "1Password Individual", "yearlyUsd": 48, "url": "https://1password.com/pricing/personal", "note": "standard $3.99 per month with annual billing; new customers get a cheaper promotional first year" }, { "name": "Bitwarden Premium", "yearlyUsd": 20, "url": "https://bitwarden.com/pricing/", "note": "billed annually at $19.80" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "keka", "name": "Keka", "developer": "Aone (aonez)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/keka", "officialUrl": "https://www.keka.io/en/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.keka.io/en/", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "free archiver that creates 7z and zip and extracts almost anything", "licenseModel": "free", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free from keka.io — the direct download is the full app with nothing withheld. The identical build on the Mac App Store costs $6.49, which the developer describes as a way of supporting development rather than a feature unlock. The App Store version also carries optional tip purchases from $0.49 to $49.99, plus PayPal, crypto and GitHub Sponsors links on the site.", "catch": "It creates 7z and zip but only extracts rar, and cannot edit an archive you already have", "caveats": "Keka reads RAR but cannot write it, and there is no way to open an archive, swap one file and re-save — that is what paid tools like BetterZip are for. It is also not open source: the repository at github.com/aonez/Keka publishes no code and no licence file and exists, in its own words, to handle issues and host a wiki. Paying $6.49 on the App Store buys you App Store updates and a tip to the developer, nothing functional.", "replaces": [ "BetterZip", "Archiver", "WinZip for Mac" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "keyboard-maestro", "name": "Keyboard Maestro", "developer": "Stairways Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/keyboard-maestro", "officialUrl": "https://www.keyboardmaestro.com", "pricingUrl": "https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "the heavyweight Mac macro engine, bought outright once", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 36, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$36 plus applicable tax for Keyboard Maestro 11, a one-time purchase that you can keep using indefinitely. An upgrade from any previous version is $25 plus tax. No subscription is offered, and the developer states that major upgrades arrive every couple of years.", "catch": "major versions are a paid upgrade, currently $25, and arrive roughly every couple of years", "caveats": "You own the version you bought and can run it as long as it launches, but staying current means paying again every two years or so, at around 70% of list price. macOS only, with no iOS companion. The app needs broad accessibility and automation permissions, because driving other applications is the entire job. The editor looks its age, and the learning curve is real enough that the first useful macro usually follows an hour in the forum.", "replaces": [ "Zapier", "Text Blaze" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "keycastr", "name": "KeyCastr", "developer": "KeyCastr contributors", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/keycastr", "officialUrl": "https://keycastr.github.io", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/keycastr/keycastr", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "shows every keystroke on screen while you record", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and open source under the BSD 3-Clause licence. No paid tier, no account, donations not required.", "catch": "Needs system-wide Input Monitoring permission, so it can see everything you type", "caveats": "To broadcast keystrokes it has to receive every key event from macOS, which means granting Input Monitoring (Accessibility on older releases) — a permission worth thinking about for a cosmetic overlay, even on an open-source app you can read the source of. It only displays keys: there is no screen recording and no editing, so it sits alongside whatever capture tool you already use. Volunteers maintain it, so fixes arrive when someone has time; the most recent release, v0.11.1, landed in September 2026.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "krita", "name": "Krita", "developer": "Krita Foundation / KDE community", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/krita", "officialUrl": "https://krita.org", "pricingUrl": "https://krita.org/en/download/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "free and open-source digital painting studio for illustrators", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free from krita.org, which states that \"Krita is a free and open source application\" under the \"GNU GPL v3 license\". Paid store builds exist only to fund development, including $12.99 on the Mac App Store; the project says those versions \"get automatic updates\" and that \"the money will support Krita development\".", "catch": "The $12.99 Mac App Store build unlocks nothing extra — it is a donation with auto-updates", "caveats": "Paying on the Mac App Store buys convenience and supports the project; it does not unlock a single feature the free download lacks. Krita is painting-first: it is not a vector illustration, page layout or photo-management tool, and its PSD support is good but not exact. The macOS builds have historically trailed the Windows and Linux ones on performance and on graphics-tablet edge cases, so test your tablet before you commit a deadline to it. Support is community forums, not a helpdesk.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Photoshop", "Adobe Fresco", "Corel Painter" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Photoshop", "yearlyUsd": 264, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html", "note": "Adobe's single-app annual plan, prepaid" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "launchbar", "name": "LaunchBar", "developer": "Objective Development Software GmbH", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/launchbar", "officialUrl": "https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/order.html", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "long-lived keyboard launcher from the Little Snitch developers", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 35, "currency": "EUR", "priceNote": "Priced in EUR, and prices are not shown until the item is in the cart. Single Licence EUR 35.00 (roughly $41 at current rates, an FX estimate rather than a listed USD price), covering one user across multiple computers or multiple users on one computer - not both. Family Licence EUR 59.00 for one household, up to 5 computers, non-commercial use only. Existing licence holders get discounted upgrades. Free to keep using after the 30-day trial, with an occasional prompt to take a short break.", "catch": "Version-locked to LaunchBar 6, current since 2014, and past major upgrades were paid", "caveats": "What you buy is LaunchBar 6, which has been the current major version since 2014 with point releases only, and past major upgrades have been paid - so development is slow and stable rather than fast-moving. Prices are hidden on the order page until you add the item to the cart, and they are set in euros, so the dollar figure is a conversion estimate that drifts. The Family Licence is explicitly non-commercial. There is no iOS companion.", "replaces": [ "Raycast Pro", "Alfred Powerpack" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Raycast Pro", "yearlyUsd": 96, "url": "https://www.raycast.com/pricing", "note": "$10 a month, or $96 on the annual plan" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "libreoffice", "name": "LibreOffice", "developer": "The Document Foundation", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/libreoffice", "officialUrl": "https://www.libreoffice.org/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "free office suite that opens your old files without a login", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free, with the source under the Mozilla Public License v2.0. The download page lists separate macOS builds for Apple Silicon and Intel. No paid edition, no account, no upgrade fee.", "catch": "Complex Word and Excel files can shift on round-trip, especially macros and tracked changes", "caveats": "Fidelity is the real trade. Heavily styled Word files, tracked changes, VBA macros and pivot-table-driven spreadsheets can come back altered after a round-trip, so it is a poor choice if you exchange fussy documents with Microsoft 365 users every day. The interface is functional rather than pleasant, and it does not pretend otherwise. There is no real-time co-editing of the kind Google Docs and Office on the web provide.", "replaces": [ "Microsoft 365 Personal", "Google Workspace Individual" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Microsoft 365 Personal", "yearlyUsd": 100, "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products", "note": "$99.99/year, or $9.99/month billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "little-snitch", "name": "Little Snitch", "developer": "Objective Development Software GmbH", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/little-snitch", "officialUrl": "https://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html", "pricingUrl": "https://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/order.html", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "outbound firewall that asks before any app phones home", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 59, "currency": "EUR", "priceNote": "Priced in euros on Objective Development's own shop, with no USD list price: single licence 59 €, family licence 115 €, multi licence 5× 239 €, multi licence 10× 419 €. Current licences are marked valid for both Little Snitch 6 and Little Snitch 5. The Snitch Bundle, adding Micro Snitch to a single licence, is 61.25 €. What you pay in dollars depends on your card's rate and on VAT.", "catch": "Major versions are a paid upgrade unless your licence was bought after 1 January 2024", "caveats": "The upgrade rule is specific: obdev's help centre says a Little Snitch purchase made after 1 January 2024 already registers version 6, while a version 5 licence bought before that date gets the upgrade \"at a reduced price\". So a licence is perpetual for the version it covers, not forever. The family licence is one household and up to five computers, non-commercial only. The free trial is a demo mode that runs for three hours at a time and can be restarted as often as you like, rather than an unrestricted trial period. Prices are quoted only in euros.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "logic-pro", "name": "Logic Pro", "developer": "Apple", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/logic-pro", "officialUrl": "https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "full pro DAW with a very large bundled sound library", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 199.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$199.99 one-time on the Mac App Store, with no in-app purchases listed. Apple also offers Logic inside the Apple Creator Studio bundle at $12.99 per month or $129 per year ($2.99 per month or $29.99 per year for students and educators), which additionally includes Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and Pixelmator Pro.", "catch": "Mac only, and Logic Pro for iPad is subscription-only rather than part of this purchase", "caveats": "Logic Pro for iPad is not included in the $199.99 Mac purchase and cannot be bought outright at all — Apple's page puts iPad access inside an Apple Creator Studio subscription, so on iPad this is a rental or nothing. The Mac app is Mac only, so there is no project sharing with Windows collaborators, and the full sound library is a multi-gigabyte optional download. There is no standalone free trial any more: Apple retired the 90-day Logic trial when Creator Studio launched in January 2026, leaving only a 30-day trial of the subscription. Third-party plugins and sample libraries are where the ongoing money still goes.", "replaces": [ "Apple Creator Studio", "Adobe Audition", "Splice" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Apple Creator Studio", "yearlyUsd": 129, "url": "https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/", "note": "Apple's own subscription bundle, which also includes Final Cut Pro and MainStage" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "lulu", "name": "LuLu", "developer": "Objective-See Foundation", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/lulu", "officialUrl": "https://objective-see.org/products/lulu.html", "pricingUrl": "https://objective-see.org/products/lulu.html", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "free, open-source outbound firewall from Objective-See", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. No licence to buy and no paid tier; the Objective-See Foundation runs on donations and sponsorships.", "catch": "No commercial support, and rule handling is rougher than the paid alternatives", "caveats": "LuLu covers the core idea and stops short of the conveniences: no traffic map, thinner reporting, and rule editing that takes more clicks than Little Snitch's. Support is GitHub issues and a community, not a company with a mailbox. As with any prompting firewall, the first days are a stream of dialogs while it learns which processes you trust, and a network extension sitting in the path of all your traffic is a real thing to install — the counterweight is that you can read every line of it.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "lunar", "name": "Lunar", "developer": "Alin Panaitiu", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/lunar", "officialUrl": "https://lunar.fyi/", "pricingUrl": "https://lunar.fyi/", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "external monitor brightness on your Mac's own keys, over DDC", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 23, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Lunar Pro is sold on the developer's site as a \"Lifetime license: $23\", a single payment with no renewal, subscription or upgrade fee mentioned anywhere on the page. A free version does hardware brightness control too but is capped at 100 adjustments per day; Pro includes a 14-day trial.", "catch": "whether hardware brightness control works at all depends on your monitor, cable and dock", "caveats": "DDC is fragile in practice. Whether Lunar can move the actual backlight depends on the monitor, the cable, and especially any USB-C hub or dock in the chain — no software fixes a display that ignores DDC. The fallback is gamma dimming, which fades the image rather than the backlight, and ambient adaptation via the built-in camera is a workaround rather than a real light sensor. Install the free build and confirm your monitor responds before paying. Worth knowing that MonitorControl is free and MIT-licensed and covers the core brightness-keys case.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "maccy", "name": "Maccy", "developer": "Alex Rodionov", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/maccy", "officialUrl": "https://maccy.app", "pricingUrl": "https://maccy.app", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "small, fast, MIT-licensed clipboard history for the menu bar", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. The site states that Maccy is an open source application using the MIT licence and that it \"is and will always be free\". The direct download costs nothing; the same app on the US Mac App Store is $9.99 with no in-app purchases, as an optional way to pay the developer.", "catch": "no iOS app and no sync, so the history stays on the one Mac", "caveats": "Deliberately minimal - no iPhone companion, no cross-device sync, no boards or folders for organising clippings, though individual items can be pinned. History is stored locally, which is the privacy story and the missing feature at the same time. It respects the flag password managers set on sensitive copies. Essentially a one-person project, so the MIT licence is your insurance policy. Requires macOS 14 or later.", "replaces": [ "Paste" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Paste", "yearlyUsd": 30, "url": "https://pasteapp.io/pricing", "note": "Personal plan, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "macwhisper", "name": "MacWhisper", "developer": "Good Snooze", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/macwhisper", "officialUrl": "https://macwhisper.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://macwhisper.com/", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "on-device whisper transcription with lifetime updates", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 64, "currency": "EUR", "priceNote": "There is a free tier, described as free forever. MacWhisper Pro is €64 for one licence, paid once, and the page states it includes lifetime updates. Priced in euros, so the dollar total depends on the rate and on VAT. A separate app, \"Whisper Transcription\" on the Mac App Store, sells subscriptions alongside Pro Lifetime unlocks at $89.99 and $99.99 — it is not this purchase.", "catch": "Some optional AI features call out to cloud APIs you pay for separately", "caveats": "Transcription itself is local, but optional extras such as model-assisted cleanup or non-local models call external services, billed to you at the provider's rates. The larger and more accurate Whisper models are multi-gigabyte downloads and want Apple silicon with plenty of RAM. The licence is priced in euros, so VAT and the exchange rate move the final figure. Do not confuse it with \"Whisper Transcription\" on the Mac App Store, a separate listing whose lifetime unlock costs considerably more than the direct €64 licence.", "replaces": [ "Otter.ai", "Descript transcription plans", "Rev per-minute transcription" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Otter.ai Pro", "yearlyUsd": 100, "url": "https://otter.ai/pricing", "note": "Otter Pro at its standard annual rate" }, { "name": "Descript Hobbyist", "yearlyUsd": 192, "url": "https://www.descript.com/pricing", "note": "Descript's cheapest paid individual plan, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "magnet", "name": "Magnet", "developer": "BOOTCODE A.S.", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/magnet", "officialUrl": "https://magnet.crowdcafe.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/magnet/id441258766", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "the $4.99 App Store snapper with no subscription and no in-app purchases", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 4.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$4.99 on the Mac App Store, where the listing's own feature list reads \"No subscription\" and \"No in-app purchases\". Updates arrive free through the App Store and the purchase is covered by Apple Family Sharing like any other App Store app.", "catch": "App Store only, so there is no trial, and updates have slowed to occasional minor fixes", "caveats": "Development has slowed: version 3.0.7 shipped in April 2025 with performance tweaks and minor fixes only. There are no saved multi-window layouts, no display-change automation and little customisation beyond shortcuts and snap zones. Mac App Store only, so there is no direct download and no trial before paying. Free Rectangle does substantially the same job for nothing.", "replaces": [ "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed annually; $14.99/month if billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "marked", "name": "Marked 3", "developer": "Brett Terpstra", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/marked", "officialUrl": "https://markedapp.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://markedapp.com/pricing/", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "markdown preview and export with a permanent unlock option", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 69.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Everything is on introductory pricing right now. Permanent Unlock: $69.99 intro, $89.99 regular. Subscriptions: $2.99 a month intro ($4.99 regular) or $29.99 a year intro ($49.99 regular). \"Marked 3 Pro\" on the Mac App Store is the same app sold as a $69.99 one-time purchase, aimed at enterprise buyers and at Marked 2 owners upgrading without in-app purchase. The older Marked 2 is still sold outright at $14.99. Free trial download available direct.", "catch": "The $69.99 permanent unlock is introductory pricing and returns to $89.99 later", "caveats": "The introductory pricing applies to the subscriptions as much as to the unlock, so compare like with like: $29.99 a year against $69.99 once now, or $49.99 a year against $89.99 once when the intro period ends. Either way the one-time route is cheapest while the intro holds. The unlock is still priced well above the old Marked 2 licence, which is still sold at $14.99 but is not the version being actively developed. Marked previews files, it does not edit them, so you still need an editor. Mac only.", "replaces": [ "Ulysses", "Marked 3 monthly and yearly subscriptions" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Ulysses", "yearlyUsd": 40, "url": "https://ulysses.app/pricing/", "note": "$39.99 a year for the all-in-one writing app people buy instead" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "markedit", "name": "MarkEdit", "developer": "MarkEdit-app", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/markedit", "officialUrl": "https://github.com/MarkEdit-app/MarkEdit", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/MarkEdit-app/MarkEdit", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "MIT-licensed markdown editor that behaves like TextEdit", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free under the MIT licence. Install by downloading MarkEdit.dmg from the GitHub releases page, or with \"brew install --cask markedit\". Not distributed on the Mac App Store.", "catch": "", "caveats": "It edits one file at a time: no sync, no mobile app, no note organiser, no backlinks and no search across a folder. Current builds require macOS 15 or newer, with older tagged releases available for macOS 12 through 14 that will not keep pace. Support is a GitHub issue tracker maintained by its developer, not a company help desk.", "replaces": [ "Typora", "iA Writer", "Bear Pro" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "marsedit", "name": "MarsEdit 5", "developer": "Red Sweater Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/marsedit", "officialUrl": "https://redsweater.com/marsedit/", "pricingUrl": "https://redsweater.com/store/", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "desktop blog editor for WordPress, Ghost and Micro.blog", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 59.95, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Direct from Red Sweater: $59.95 single user, $89.95 family pack. On the Mac App Store the same licence is a $59.99 in-app purchase, with \"Upgrade from MarsEdit 4\" at $29.99 and a free upgrade for recent MarsEdit 4 buyers. A 14-day free trial is a listed product on both routes. Mac App Store licences cannot be used to buy upgrades on the direct store, or the reverse.", "catch": "Major versions are a separate paid upgrade, at about half price for existing owners", "caveats": "Major versions are paid: MarsEdit 4 owners paid $29.99 to move to 5, so budget for something similar when 6 arrives. Where you buy it matters a little, because Mac App Store and direct licences cannot be crossed when upgrade time comes. Mac only, with no iOS app. It is a posting tool, not a site builder - you still need the blog, and some newer platforms need their API switched on or a plugin installed before MarsEdit can connect.", "replaces": [ "Ulysses", "WordPress.com paid plans" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Ulysses", "yearlyUsd": 40, "url": "https://ulysses.app/pricing/", "note": "$39.99 a year; it also publishes to WordPress, Ghost and Micro.blog" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "micro-snitch", "name": "Micro Snitch", "developer": "Objective Development Software GmbH", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/micro-snitch", "officialUrl": "https://www.obdev.at/products/microsnitch/index.html", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/micro-snitch/id972028355", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "menu bar alert whenever the mic or camera switches on", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 3.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$3.99 once on the Mac App Store, with no in-app purchases and no subscription. Objective Development also sells it directly in euros: single licence 4.49 €, multi licence 5× 17 €. The Snitch Bundle, which pairs it with a single Little Snitch licence, is 61.25 €.", "catch": "It reports that the mic or camera turned on — it cannot block anything", "caveats": "This is a notifier, not a control: nothing here stops an app from recording, it only tells you it did. macOS already shows an indicator for the camera, so the part you are really buying is the audio alert and the activity log with app names and timestamps. The Mac App Store copy and the direct download from obdev are separate purchases with separate licences, so pick one. The last release, 1.6.1, dates from September 2023 — the app is finished rather than abandoned, but do not expect new features.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "monitorcontrol", "name": "MonitorControl", "developer": "MonitorControl contributors", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/monitorcontrol", "officialUrl": "https://github.com/MonitorControl/MonitorControl", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/MonitorControl/MonitorControl", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "free MIT brightness, contrast and volume control for external monitors", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free, MIT licensed, with no pro tier and no in-app purchase — the README states the app is \"Completely FREE\". Distributed through GitHub releases and Homebrew.", "catch": "support is a GitHub issue tracker, and each new macOS release needs a matching build", "caveats": "The DDC caveat applies here as to every app in this category: whether hardware brightness control works depends on your monitor, cable and dock, and no software can argue with a display that ignores DDC. It has none of Lunar's ambient-light adaptation or scheduling, and none of BetterDisplay's resolution or EDID features. Version 4.0 needs macOS 10.15 and full functionality wants macOS 11 or later; the project also names a minimum build (4.4.0) for macOS 27, so on a brand-new macOS you may be waiting on a release. There is no support channel other than GitHub issues.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "moom", "name": "Moom", "developer": "Many Tricks", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/moom", "officialUrl": "https://manytricks.com/moom/", "pricingUrl": "https://manytricks.com/moom/", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "grid popup on the green button, plus layouts that follow your displays", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 15, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$15 direct from Many Tricks, which \"includes at least 1 year of updates\" with a licence that is \"valid forever\". Previous owners upgrade for $8, whether they originally bought direct or on the Mac App Store. Current version is Moom 4.6. Free trial available.", "catch": "Major versions are a paid upgrade — Moom 3 to 4 cost owners $8 — and free updates run about a year", "caveats": "The update window is a period of time, not a version: the wording is \"at least 1 year of updates\", after which the licence still works but new builds may cost. The Moom 3 to Moom 4 upgrade was $8, about half list price. Buy from manytricks.com, not the Mac App Store, where the only listing is the older Moom Classic rather than Moom 4. Not on Setapp.", "replaces": [ "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed annually; $14.99/month if billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "nova", "name": "Nova", "developer": "Panic", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/nova", "officialUrl": "https://nova.app", "pricingUrl": "https://nova.app/buy/", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "Panic's native Mac editor, yours to keep if you stop paying", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$99 + tax for a new licence, including one full year of updates and new features. After the first year it renews automatically at $49/year + tax for continued updates; cancel any time and keep the software forever. Upgrading from Coda 1 or 2 costs $79 + tax. 30-day free trial.", "catch": "The $99 covers one year of updates, then it auto-renews at $49/year unless you cancel", "caveats": "The one-time price buys a year of updates, not updates forever. The $49 annual renewal is automatic, so you have to actively cancel it, and cancelling freezes you on the build you have — which for an editor tracking language servers and macOS changes costs more than it would for a simpler utility. macOS only. It is also not a full IDE: no heavyweight refactoring and no debugger comparable to Xcode or a JetBrains product, and the extension library is smaller than what the Electron editors have.", "replaces": [ "Coda", "Cursor Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Cursor Pro", "yearlyUsd": 240, "url": "https://cursor.com/pricing", "note": "Cursor's Individual plan at $20/month; the page shows no cheaper annual figure" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "obs-studio", "name": "OBS Studio", "developer": "OBS Project", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/obs-studio", "officialUrl": "https://obsproject.com", "pricingUrl": "https://obsproject.com", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "free screen recording and live streaming with no limits or watermark", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and open source under the GNU General Public License v2.0. Separate Intel and Apple silicon builds; release 32.2.2 supports macOS 12.0 or newer.", "catch": "No editor and no official support — scenes and macOS audio routing are yours to set up", "caveats": "The learning curve is real: scenes, sources and audio routing are all assembled by hand, and the first half-hour is spent wondering why nothing is where you expect. Capturing system audio on macOS needs a virtual audio device or a plugin, because the OS will not hand it over otherwise. There is no editor at all, so you cut the footage in something else. Support is community forums and a Discord rather than a company, and plugins are third-party code with their own update schedules.", "replaces": [ "Loom paid plans", "Camtasia subscription", "Riverside and StreamYard subscriptions" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Loom Business", "yearlyUsd": 216, "url": "https://www.loom.com/pricing", "note": "$18 per user/month at the monthly rate; annual billing is up to 17% less" }, { "name": "Riverside Pro", "yearlyUsd": 288, "url": "https://riverside.com/pricing", "note": "$24 per month billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "obsidian", "name": "Obsidian", "developer": "Obsidian", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/obsidian", "officialUrl": "https://obsidian.md", "pricingUrl": "https://obsidian.md/pricing", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "local-first markdown vault, free with no feature gates", "licenseModel": "free", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free for personal, commercial and non-profit use, with no sign-up. The paid parts are optional services: Sync at $4 per user per month billed annually, or $5 monthly; Publish at $8 per site per month billed annually, or $10 monthly. A $50 per user per year commercial licence exists but is voluntary support, and a one-time $25 Catalyst licence buys early access builds.", "catch": "Multi-device sync is $48 a year unless you wire up iCloud or git yourself", "caveats": "The app is free but not open source, so this is a company's decision rather than a licence guarantee. Obsidian Sync is billed monthly or annually with no lifetime option; plenty of people skip it and put the vault in iCloud Drive, Dropbox or a git repo instead. The $50 per user per year commercial licence is explicitly optional — Obsidian's own licence page states the app is free for commercial use — so do not budget for it as a requirement.", "replaces": [ "Notion", "Evernote", "Roam Research", "Craft" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "omnifocus-4", "name": "OmniFocus 4", "developer": "The Omni Group", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/omnifocus-4", "officialUrl": "https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/buy", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "heavyweight GTD task manager that still sells a perpetual licence", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 74.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "\"v4 Standard License\" $74.99 and \"v4 Pro License\" $149.99, both one-time and both universal across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro. The alternatives Omni sells are an annual subscription at $99.99 per year (all platforms plus web) and a web-only plan at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. Owners of earlier versions get a discounted upgrade path.", "catch": "The next major version will be a paid upgrade, historically around half list price", "caveats": "The perpetual licence is version-locked. Omni's own support page puts it plainly: same-version updates such as 4.0 to 4.1 are free, but a \"new major version of the application (e.g. OmniFocus 3 to 4) will require a paid upgrade\". OmniFocus for the Web is subscription-only and is not part of a perpetual licence. Custom perspectives and AppleScript automation need the $149.99 Pro tier, which is a lot of money up front for features many people only discover they want later.", "replaces": [ "Todoist Pro", "TickTick Premium", "Asana" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Todoist Pro", "yearlyUsd": 60, "url": "https://www.todoist.com/pricing", "note": "$5 per month, $60 billed yearly" }, { "name": "TickTick Premium", "yearlyUsd": 50, "url": "https://ticktick.com/upgrade", "note": "annual plan only, US$49.99 per year" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "omniplan-4", "name": "OmniPlan 4", "developer": "The Omni Group", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/omniplan-4", "officialUrl": "https://www.omnigroup.com/omniplan/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.omnigroup.com/omniplan/buy", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "gantt-chart project planning with a perpetual v4 licence", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 199.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Perpetual v4 licences read from Omni's buy page: Standard \"$199.99 USD\", Pro \"$399.99 USD\", both universal across Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro and both including \"all 4.x updates\" with upgrade discounts available. The alternative is an annual subscription at \"$199.99 USD per year\", which grants the Pro version. 30-day money-back guarantee.", "catch": "A future OmniPlan 5 is a separate paid upgrade, historically discounted for existing owners", "caveats": "The perpetual licence covers the 4.x line only, so the next major version is a purchase decision again. Multi-user collaboration through a shared server and the more advanced scheduling and analysis features are Pro-only at $399.99, and because the $199.99 annual subscription grants Pro, the honest comparison is $199.99 a year against $399.99 once. There is no Windows or web client, so a mixed-platform team will be trading Microsoft Project files. Development moves slowly, and the price is high for an audience this small.", "replaces": [ "Microsoft Project Plan 3", "Merlin Project", "Smartsheet", "Monday.com" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Merlin Project", "yearlyUsd": 230, "url": "https://www.projectwizards.net/en/store", "note": "Merlin Project for Mac, US$229.99 per year" }, { "name": "OmniPlan Annual Subscription", "yearlyUsd": 200, "url": "https://www.omnigroup.com/omniplan/buy", "note": "Omni's own annual plan, $199.99, which grants the Pro version" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "onyx", "name": "OnyX", "developer": "Titanium Software (Joël Barrière)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/onyx", "officialUrl": "https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html", "pricingUrl": "https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "free maintenance and hidden-settings utility, going since 2003", "licenseModel": "free", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free, donationware. The developer's own line: \"Since 2003, I have devoted considerable time to developing these applications so that all Mac users can use them freely.\" Donations are accepted and optional. There is no paid tier, no store and no account.", "catch": "Each major macOS release needs its own build, and the current one is Apple silicon only", "caveats": "Download the build that matches your macOS version. The site is emphatic about it: \"There's a specific version of OnyX for each major operating system version. Use the correct version, and don't try to use a version intended for an earlier operating system.\" Running the wrong build is the one way this app can do damage. The current 5.1.0 release (September 2026) requires macOS 27 on Apple silicon; older Macs and older systems need the older builds still listed on the page. Several of the maintenance tasks are largely unnecessary on modern macOS, and cache clearing is rarely the fix people hope it is. The interface is functional rather than friendly.", "replaces": [ "CleanMyMac", "Setapp" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "paste", "name": "Paste", "developer": "Paste Team", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/paste", "officialUrl": "https://pasteapp.io", "pricingUrl": "https://pasteapp.io/pricing", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "visual clipboard history with a real lifetime plan", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 89.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "The Lifetime plan is $89.99 paid once, described on the pricing page as \"pay once and use Paste forever, including all future updates\". The subscription alternatives are $3.99 a month billed monthly, or $29.99 a year billed annually (shown on the card as $2.49 a month). Prices are in USD excluding taxes and vary by region. Buying from the website gets you a licence key; the Family plan for up to six people is annual and App Store only, and the Team plan is website only. The 30% student discount applies to the first year of an annual plan, not to Lifetime. Paste for Mac is also included in Setapp.", "catch": "At $89.99 the lifetime plan takes about three years of the annual plan to pay off", "caveats": "$89.99 is roughly three years of the $29.99 annual plan, so it only wins if you stay with Paste that long. Switching from an existing subscription is not instant: you cancel, wait out the current billing period, and then buy Lifetime. Where you buy changes what you get — a website purchase is a licence key, an App Store purchase is tied to that Apple Account, so pick deliberately. Cross-device history depends on the developer's sync service, which means your clipboard leaves the Mac. Family and Team pricing are subscription only, and the student discount does not apply to the Lifetime plan.", "replaces": [ "Raycast Pro", "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Raycast Pro", "yearlyUsd": 96, "url": "https://www.raycast.com/pricing", "note": "Annual plan; Raycast's clipboard history is free, Pro adds cloud sync and a bigger history" }, { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed yearly, before tax; includes Paste for Mac but not the iOS apps" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "pdf-expert", "name": "PDF Expert", "developer": "Readdle", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/pdf-expert", "officialUrl": "https://pdfexpert.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://pdfexpert.com/pricing", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "fast Mac PDF editor with a real one-time licence behind the plans", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 139.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$139.99 one-time for the Lifetime tier, shown as €149.99 on the EU pricing page and listed as the non-consumable \"PDF Expert\" purchase at $139.99 in the US Mac App Store. Weekly (€5.99) and annual (€84.99) plans are the pushed defaults. Readdle promotions and resellers routinely take the one-time price to around $79.99, so the list figure is often well above the street price. 30-day money-back guarantee.", "catch": "Readdle states new features may cost extra, and the licence covers the Mac app only", "caveats": "The Lifetime card on Readdle's own pricing page carries the line \"Additional new features may come at an extra cost\", so the licence buys the app as it stands rather than everything that follows. It is Mac only: the iPhone and iPad apps need the weekly or annual plan. Displayed price and currency change by region and by whatever promotion is running, and the gap between list and actual is large enough that buying on a normal Tuesday is a mistake — check the number in your own currency first.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Acrobat Pro subscription", "Adobe Acrobat Standard subscription" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Acrobat Pro", "yearlyUsd": 240, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing.html", "note": "annual plan prepaid, US$239.88/yr" }, { "name": "Adobe Acrobat Standard", "yearlyUsd": 180, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing.html", "note": "annual plan prepaid, US$179.88/yr" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "pdf-squeezer", "name": "PDF Squeezer", "developer": "Witt Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/pdf-squeezer", "officialUrl": "https://witt-software.com/pdfsqueezer/", "pricingUrl": "https://witt-software.com/pdfsqueezer/", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "drag a fat PDF in, get a small PDF out, for twenty dollars", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 19.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$19.99 one-time, sold direct through Paddle and on the Mac App Store, and also included in a Setapp subscription. A launch promotion for the Windows version currently halves it to $9.99, which is explicitly time-limited, so judge it at $19.99.", "catch": "Compression only: no editing, OCR or signing, and a future major version may be paid", "caveats": "It compresses and nothing else — no editing, no OCR, no signatures — so it is a companion to a PDF editor rather than a replacement for one. The aggressive profiles visibly soften scanned text and photographs, so keep your originals until you have checked the output. As a Mac App Store app it could ship a paid major version one day, though the developer has shipped free updates within each version line so far.", "replaces": [ "Smallpdf subscription", "iLovePDF Premium", "Adobe Acrobat online tools" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "pdfgear", "name": "PDFgear", "developer": "PDFgear Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/pdfgear", "officialUrl": "https://www.pdfgear.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.pdfgear.com/", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "free PDF editor for Mac with no account and no paid tier", "licenseModel": "free", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. The developer's own site states the full toolkit is free with no sign-up and no paid tier, on Mac and Windows, with educational and business features included.", "catch": "Closed source with no stated business model, so nothing guarantees it stays free", "caveats": "It is closed source and free with no business model stated anywhere, so there is no guarantee it stays free or that a future build does not add a paywall — keep a copy of the installer that works for you. The built-in AI chat sends document content to PDFgear's servers, which rules it out for confidential files. And because there is no public source, no community can pick the app up if the company loses interest.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Acrobat Pro", "Smallpdf", "iLovePDF Premium" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Acrobat Pro", "yearlyUsd": 240, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing.html", "note": "US$19.99/month on the annual plan, US$239.88 prepaid for the year" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "permute", "name": "Permute", "developer": "Charlie Monroe Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/permute", "officialUrl": "https://software.charliemonroe.net/permute/", "pricingUrl": "https://software.charliemonroe.net/permute/", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "drag-and-drop media converter with no bitrate dialogs", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 14.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$14.99 for a permanent licence bought directly from the developer — \"one purchase, yours forever\". A Downie 4 plus Permute 4 bundle is $26.99, down from $35. Permute 3, for Intel Macs and macOS 11–15, is the same $14.99 and carries a free, non-expiring upgrade to Permute 4.", "catch": "Permute 4 needs macOS 26 on Apple silicon; older Macs buy Permute 3 instead", "caveats": "Permute 4 requires macOS 26 and an Apple silicon Mac. On Intel, or on macOS 11–15, you buy Permute 3 at the same price; the developer says its free upgrade to Permute 4 does not expire. The 3-to-4 major upgrade being free is a good sign, but nothing contractually guarantees the same for the next major version. It converts, it does not edit: no timeline, no colour work, and unusual or damaged source files can still defeat it where a hand-written ffmpeg pass would not.", "replaces": [ "Wondershare UniConverter", "Movavi Video Converter subscriptions", "Online file-conversion sites" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Wondershare UniConverter", "yearlyUsd": 60, "url": "https://videoconverter.wondershare.com/store/mac-individuals.html", "note": "UniConverter for Mac, yearly plan" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "pika", "name": "Pika", "developer": "Charlie Gleason", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/pika", "officialUrl": "https://superhighfives.com/pika", "pricingUrl": "https://superhighfives.com/pika", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "free colour picker that also checks contrast ratios", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free with no paid tier. Install from the Mac App Store, the GitHub releases page, or with \"brew install --cask pika\". MIT licensed source.", "catch": "Picking and contrast only — no palettes, no measuring, no screenshot tools", "caveats": "Pika does two things and stops: sample a colour, and check a pair of colours against the WCAG contrast thresholds. There is no palette library to organise, no ruler or measuring overlay, and no screenshot or annotation side to it, so designers who want one window for all of that will still want something bigger. Version 1.9.0 requires macOS 14 or later. It is one developer's side project, which has meant steady updates so far but is worth knowing.", "replaces": [ "ColorSlurp Pro subscription" ], "versus": [ { "name": "ColorSlurp Pro", "yearlyUsd": 20, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/colorslurp/id1287239339", "note": "$19.99 per year as an in-app subscription" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "pixelmator-pro", "name": "Pixelmator Pro", "developer": "Apple (originally Pixelmator Team)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/pixelmator-pro", "officialUrl": "https://www.apple.com/pixelmator-pro/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.apple.com/pixelmator-pro/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "mac-native image editor you can still buy outright for $49.99", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$49.99 as a one-time purchase on the Mac App Store. The same app is also offered inside Apple Creator Studio at $12.99 a month or $129 a year after a 30-day trial, with educator and student subscriptions at $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year. The subscription version has exclusive access to the Warp Tool.", "catch": "The one-time build is drifting behind the subscription one, which gets the Warp Tool exclusively", "caveats": "This is the clearest case on the site of a one-time price quietly becoming the lesser tier. Apple's own page says the Warp Tool is exclusive to the subscription version, and the App Store now carries two listings: a paid Pixelmator Pro at $49.99 on version 3.8, and a free-to-download Pixelmator Pro: Edit Images tied to Apple Creator Studio on a later version. The $49.99 licence is real and yours, and the app keeps working, but expect the feature gap to widen. Mac only; the iPhone and iPad editors are separate apps.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Photoshop", "Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan", "Apple Creator Studio" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Photography plan", "yearlyUsd": 240, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography.html", "note": "US$19.99 a month, or US$239.88 prepaid for the year" }, { "name": "Apple Creator Studio", "yearlyUsd": 129, "url": "https://www.apple.com/pixelmator-pro/", "note": "The subscription version of this same app" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "pixelsnap", "name": "PixelSnap 2", "developer": "MTW (Make the Web)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/pixelsnap", "officialUrl": "https://pixelsnap.com", "pricingUrl": "https://pixelsnap.com/buy", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "measure anything on screen, over any app, without opening a design tool", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 39, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "One-time purchase: $39 for 1 Mac, $69 for 2 Macs, $159 for 5 Macs, $309 for 10 Macs, with VAT added where it applies. 20% off for CleanShot X owners, 30% education discount for students writing in from an .edu address, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Also included in a Setapp subscription if you already pay for one.", "catch": "The buy page never says how long updates last, so treat a version 3 as a likely paid upgrade", "caveats": "The one real unknown is the update window: the buy page calls it a one-time purchase but does not say how many years of updates you get, and the app you are buying is already named PixelSnap 2, so budget for the possibility that a major version 3 costs money. It measures and picks colours only — there is no capture, no annotation and no recording, so nearly everyone runs it next to a screenshot tool. Requires macOS 10.13 or later.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "popclip", "name": "PopClip", "developer": "Pilotmoon Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/popclip", "officialUrl": "https://www.popclip.app", "pricingUrl": "https://www.popclip.app/buy", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "pop-up bar of actions on any text you select", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 26, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Two one-time tiers, sold direct as licence keys: for a US buyer the checkout returns Lifetime at $26 and Standard at $12. Standard includes two years of free updates and you then keep the last version you received; Lifetime is described as \"lifetime free updates\" and \"never expires\". Both cover up to five personal Macs with free iCloud sync. The developer prices regionally, so a European session shows euro figures with VAT added, and what you pay may differ from the US numbers. Students can buy a half-price two-year Standard licence, which carries 25% off a later Lifetime upgrade. Teams need a quoted multi-user key. Also included in Setapp.", "catch": "The cheap $12 tier stops getting updates after two years; $26 buys the one that never does", "caveats": "The $12 Standard licence is the same app with a two-year update window — you keep what you have, but a newer version means paying again, so the $26 Lifetime key is the one that matches this site's premise. PopClip left the Mac App Store in 2024 (the last build there was 2023.9), so today the only routes are a direct licence key or a Setapp subscription. Because pricing is set per country, the $26 and $12 figures are what a US checkout returns rather than a universal list price; the developer's own legacy-upgrade page quotes a higher list price, which is worth a glance before you buy. Licences are for personal use only. The free trial is fully functional but starts nagging after 250 actions.", "replaces": [ "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed yearly, before tax; bundles 300+ apps, PopClip among them" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "postico", "name": "Postico 2", "developer": "Egger Apps", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/postico", "officialUrl": "https://eggerapps.at/postico2/", "pricingUrl": "https://eggerapps.at/postico2/buy.html", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "mac-native postgres client with a licence that has no renewal", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 69, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Personal Licence $69 / €62 with VAT included, one user on up to 3 devices. Student Licence $29 / €27 for a single device. Commercial Licence $99 / €90 per device plus VAT, and transferrable. Team Licence $799 / €730 for up to 10 devices. All four are described as perpetual with no recurring costs, and all four are valid for Postico 2.x.", "catch": "The licence covers Postico 2.x only, and Postico 3 will be a paid upgrade as 2 was", "caveats": "Every licence is explicitly \"valid for Postico 2.x\", and Postico 2 was itself a paid upgrade from version 1, so budget for Postico 3 eventually. Work at a company needs the $99 per-device commercial licence rather than the $69 personal one. It speaks Postgres and Postgres-compatible engines only — Redshift, CockroachDB and Greenplum are supported, MySQL and SQLite are not. macOS only, so there is nothing to run on a Windows work machine.", "replaces": [ "JetBrains DataGrip", "Navicat for PostgreSQL" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "presentify", "name": "Presentify", "developer": "Softal Limited", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/presentify", "officialUrl": "https://presentifyapp.com", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/presentify-screen-annotation/id1507246666", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "draw on your live screen and highlight the cursor for $14.99 once", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 14.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$14.99 once on the Mac App Store, with no in-app purchases and Family Sharing for up to six people. Also available through Setapp, direct download and Homebrew. Schools and businesses buying 20 or more copies through Apple School or Business Manager get 50% off.", "catch": "Updates cover the current major version; the app is already at 8, so a paid 9 is possible", "caveats": "The developer's site says \"pay once, use forever\", but nothing promises free major-version upgrades, and Presentify is already on version 8 — so treat this as owning the version you bought. It annotates a live screen and does nothing else: no capture, no recording, no export, so it only makes sense alongside a recorder or a video call. Requires macOS 13 or later, and drawing over other apps means granting screen recording and accessibility permissions.", "replaces": [ "Loom paid plans (for annotated demos)", "Annotation features in subscription presentation tools" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Loom Business", "yearlyUsd": 216, "url": "https://www.loom.com/pricing", "note": "$18 per user/month at the monthly rate; annual billing is up to 17% less" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "proxyman", "name": "Proxyman", "developer": "Proxyman (TablePlus Inc.)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/proxyman", "officialUrl": "https://proxyman.com", "pricingUrl": "https://proxyman.com/pricing", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "https traffic inspector you can buy outright instead of renting", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 89, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Standard $89 for 1 seat, one time, covering macOS, Windows and Linux on one device, with one year of updates. Personal $99, listed down from $178, for 2 seats and including the iOS and Android apps. Team one-time $99 per seat with an optional $79 per seat renewal, minimum 5 seats. A separate Team subscription runs $12 per seat monthly billed yearly, also from 5 seats. The one-time tiers are described as lifetime access with no recurring costs. Also available through a Setapp subscription.", "catch": "One year of updates; after that you keep every Pro feature, but not new releases", "caveats": "The licence does not expire, the update window does: after a year you continue on the version you hold with all Pro features, and newer releases need a renewal. Team pricing, subscription or one-time, starts at 5 seats, so small groups end up buying individual licences. The free tier is feature-limited rather than time-limited, so check the specific things you need — breakpoints, scripting, Map Local — before paying. Decrypting HTTPS means installing and trusting a generated root certificate, which is a decision worth understanding on a machine you share.", "replaces": [ "Requestly", "Charles Proxy upgrade purchases" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Requestly", "yearlyUsd": 120, "url": "https://requestly.com/pricing/", "note": "cheapest paid plan, $10 per user per month billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "radio-silence", "name": "Radio Silence", "developer": "Radio Silence", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/radio-silence", "officialUrl": "https://radiosilenceapp.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://radiosilenceapp.com/", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "a $9 outbound firewall with almost no interface", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 9, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$9 once, quoted on the developer's own site as \"Buy now for only $9\". A free trial build is downloadable, and purchases carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. No subscription and no tiers.", "catch": "No upgrade policy is stated, so treat the $9 as buying the version shipping today", "caveats": "Blocking is per app and nothing finer: no per-domain and no per-port rules, which is the price of having no interface to learn. The site says nothing about what happens at the next major version, so a future paid upgrade cannot be ruled out — at $9 that is a small risk, but it is not the same promise as a stated upgrade policy. Development is slow and quiet, releases are infrequent, and there is no traffic map or rule syncing. macOS 10.15 or newer, Apple silicon and Intel.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "raycast", "name": "Raycast", "developer": "Raycast Technologies Inc.", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/raycast", "officialUrl": "https://www.raycast.com", "pricingUrl": "https://www.raycast.com/pricing", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "free launcher with clipboard history, snippets and window snapping", "licenseModel": "free", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "The Free plan costs $0 and includes the core features - clipboard history, quicklinks, calculator, snippets, window management - plus thousands of extensions. There is no one-time or lifetime option. Paid tiers are subscription only: Pro $10/mo or $96/yr, Pro Plus $20/mo or $192/yr, Pro Max $50/mo or $480/yr. Teams: Free $0, Pro $15/user/mo or $144/user/yr, Plus $25/user/mo, Max $65/user/mo. Enterprise is custom-priced.", "catch": "No one-time option exists, and the free tier keeps clipboard history for only three months", "caveats": "There is no one-time or lifetime purchase at all - if you later want the AI features, cloud sync or team functionality, a subscription is the only route. The free tier is also not unlimited: clipboard history is retained for three months and Raycast Notes is capped at five notes, and the Pro tiers are what lift both. Because you have not bought a licence, you have nothing to fall back on if the free tier is narrowed later, and it is not open source, so you cannot fork it.", "replaces": [ "Alfred Powerpack", "Spotlight" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "reaper", "name": "REAPER", "developer": "Cockos Incorporated", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/reaper", "officialUrl": "https://www.reaper.fm/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.reaper.fm/purchase.php", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "a tiny, DRM-free DAW for $60, with updates through version 8.99", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 60, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "\"$60 : discounted license\" for individual personal use, education, non-profits, and businesses with yearly gross revenue up to $20,000. \"$225 : commercial license\" above that. Both include free upgrades through REAPER version 8.99.", "catch": "The $60 tier stops at $20,000 yearly gross revenue; past that the licence is $225", "caveats": "Cockos ties the discounted price to revenue, not to hobbyist status, so read the purchase page before assuming you qualify. The licence is version-locked in the long run: it covers everything up to 8.99, and REAPER 9 will be a new purchase, which historically has meant one paid upgrade every six or seven years. The bundled instruments and loops amount to almost nothing, so budget for plugins. The stock interface is dense rather than attractive, and the 60-day evaluation is unrestricted and enforced only by the honour system.", "replaces": [ "Pro Tools subscription", "Adobe Audition (Creative Cloud)" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Audition", "yearlyUsd": 276, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html", "note": "single-app plan at US$22.99/mo, annual billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "rectangle", "name": "Rectangle", "developer": "Ryan Hanson", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/rectangle", "officialUrl": "https://rectangleapp.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/rxhanson/Rectangle", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "free, MIT-licensed window snapping with keyboard shortcuts and edge zones", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and MIT licensed. Download from rectangleapp.com or install with \"brew install --cask rectangle\". There is no paid tier of this app: the paid features live in the separate Rectangle Pro.", "catch": "Saved layouts, display-triggered layouts and window throwing are held back for the paid Rectangle Pro", "caveats": "Rectangle handles one window at a time. Custom multi-window layouts, layouts that fire when a display connects, and throwing windows between screens with the mouse are Rectangle Pro features. It drives the macOS Accessibility API, so you must grant Accessibility permission, and a handful of Electron and Java windows resize imprecisely.", "replaces": [ "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed annually; $14.99/month if billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "rectangle-pro", "name": "Rectangle Pro", "developer": "Ryan Hanson", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/rectangle-pro", "officialUrl": "https://rectangleapp.com/pro/", "pricingUrl": "https://rectangleapp.com/pro/", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "$9.99 for saved layouts, display-triggered arrangements and window throwing", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 9.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$9.99 one-time, no subscription. One licence can be active on three Macs at a time. Sold through Paddle, so outside the US you pay the same 9.99 figure in local currency with VAT folded into the headline price rather than added at checkout. Ten-day free trial.", "catch": "No published upgrade policy, so a future Rectangle Pro 2 could be a second purchase", "caveats": "Despite what several roundup articles say, Rectangle Pro is not on Setapp — there is no listing in Setapp's catalogue. The developer has never stated a paid-major-upgrade policy, so a charge for a future major version is not ruled out. Like all apps in this category it depends on the macOS Accessibility API, and some Electron and Java windows resize inconsistently.", "replaces": [ "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed annually; $14.99/month if billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "retrobatch", "name": "Retrobatch", "developer": "Flying Meat Inc.", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/retrobatch", "officialUrl": "https://flyingmeat.com/retrobatch/", "pricingUrl": "https://flyingmeat.com/store/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "node-based batch image processing, bought once", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 29.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Two editions, both one-time: Retrobatch 2 at $29.99 and Retrobatch Pro 2 at $49.99, the latter also sold on the Mac App Store at the same price. Flying Meat's own store sells a Pro 2 upgrade at $19.99 to anyone with a previous Retrobatch registration number, and drops to $39.99 (Pro) or $24.99 (standard) per seat when you buy two or more. There is no subscription, and a 7-day trial is on the site.", "catch": "The nodes worth having are Pro-only, which is $49.99 rather than the $29.99 standard edition", "caveats": "The Pro edition is where the interesting nodes live — machine learning, AppleScript, JavaScript, droplets — while the $29.99 standard edition covers everyday resize, crop and export work with a smaller node set. Flying Meat charges for major versions, though not at full price: Retrobatch 2 was a paid release for version 1 owners with a $19.99 upgrade SKU, so expect a small repeat cost every few years. Requires macOS 12 or later, Mac only, and the node approach takes an afternoon before it clicks.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Creative Cloud", "Adobe Bridge", "TinyPNG Pro" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "medium" }, { "slug": "rightfont", "name": "RightFont", "developer": "RightFont", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/rightfont", "officialUrl": "https://rightfontapp.com", "pricingUrl": "https://rightfontapp.com/pricing", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "font manager that charges once where its rivals charge monthly", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 59, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "59 dollars for a single licence covering one device, sold as a one-time purchase that includes one year of updates and support. A volume licence is 250.75 dollars, down from 295. Extra seats can be added to an existing licence from the License Manager. 30-day money-back guarantee.", "catch": "One Mac per licence, and updates stop after a year unless you pay half price again", "caveats": "The licence covers one device at a time. You can transfer it to a new Mac, but the developer is explicit that \"you will no longer be able to use RightFont on your previous device\", so a desktop and a laptop needs two seats. Updates and support are included for the first year; afterwards the version you own keeps working, and new versions cost 50% of list. Team font sharing rides on your own Dropbox or Google Drive folder rather than a hosted service. Buy from the developer's site: the free Mac App Store build is an old one.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Fonts (via Creative Cloud)", "FontBase Awesome", "Setapp" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "scapple", "name": "Scapple", "developer": "Literature & Latte", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/scapple", "officialUrl": "https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scapple/overview", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scapple/id568020055", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "freeform note canvas with no forced hierarchy", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 20.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$20.99 one-time, verified on the Mac App Store listing. Buying direct from Literature & Latte adds a 30-day trial and a household licence. An educational licence exists in the developer's store but no price renders on that page; the developer describes the educational discount as 12.5%. Windows is a separate licence.", "catch": "A future Scapple 2 would be a separate purchase, as with Scrivener", "caveats": "Same licence terms as Scrivener: one major version, one operating system, so a macOS licence would not cover Windows and a version 2 would be paid. Two catches apply to the App Store copy linked here — there is no 30-day trial through the App Store, and the purchase lives on the Macs signed into your Apple account rather than being the household licence you get buying direct. There is no iPad or iPhone version at all and no sync service. It is deliberately plain: no auto-layout, no styling themes, no presentation export.", "replaces": [ "MindNode", "Milanote", "Miro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "MindNode Plus", "yearlyUsd": 25, "url": "https://mindnode.com/pricing", "note": "$24.99 a year, or $2.99 a month" }, { "name": "Milanote Pro", "yearlyUsd": 120, "url": "https://milanote.com/plans/", "note": "$9.99 per person per month billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "screenflow", "name": "ScreenFlow", "developer": "Telestream", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/screenflow", "officialUrl": "https://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm", "pricingUrl": "https://www.telestream.net/screenflow/store.asp", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "screen recorder with a real multi-track editor attached, bought outright", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 199, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "ScreenFlow 10 is $199 one-time. Two bundles exist: Super Pak at $275, which adds the Stock Media Library, and Super Pak + at $325, which also adds Premium Support. Those two extras are the only subscriptions here — the Stock Media Library is $99 per year with a discounted first year, and Premium Support is $59 per year and includes 25% off future ScreenFlow upgrades. Upgrade pricing exists for owners of versions 4 to 9 but is not published; versions 1 to 3 buy new. Volume discounts for multiple copies on request.", "catch": "Major versions are paid upgrades, and Telestream does not publish the upgrade price", "caveats": "You own the major version you bought. Telestream has charged for every major since version 1 and will not tell you what the next one costs until you ask, which is the weakest part of the deal at this price. The Stock Media Library and Premium Support are annual subscriptions, and the store states that stock-media purchases and renewals are non-refundable, so add them deliberately rather than by picking the bigger bundle button. The store lists support for macOS Sequoia and Sonoma only, and releases are slow, so check compatibility before buying if you have already moved to something newer. The trial is unlimited in time but watermarks exports.", "replaces": [ "Camtasia", "Descript", "Loom paid plans" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Descript", "yearlyUsd": 288, "url": "https://www.descript.com/pricing", "note": "Creator plan at $24 per person/month, billed annually" }, { "name": "Loom Business", "yearlyUsd": 216, "url": "https://www.loom.com/pricing", "note": "$18 per user/month on monthly billing; annual billing is cheaper but the rate is not published" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "scrivener", "name": "Scrivener 3", "developer": "Literature & Latte", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/scrivener", "officialUrl": "https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scrivener-3/id1310686187", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "the long-form writing workhorse, still a perpetual licence", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 59.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$59.99 one-time, verified on the Mac App Store listing. Buying direct from Literature & Latte is reported at the same price and adds a 30-day trial counted in days of actual use plus a household licence; that store page does not render a price to a fetcher, so treat the direct figure as reported. The iPhone and iPad app is a separate $23.99. An educational discount exists, described by the developer as 12.5%.", "catch": "Scrivener 4 will be a new purchase, at a discount for owners of 3", "caveats": "Literature & Latte state it plainly: a licence covers one major version and one operating system. Scrivener 4 will need paying for again, historically at around 45% off for existing owners, and a macOS licence never unlocks the Windows build. Two catches apply specifically to the App Store copy linked here: there is no trial through the App Store, and the purchase is tied to your Apple account rather than being the household licence you get buying direct. Mac-to-iOS sync runs through your own Dropbox, not a Scrivener service.", "replaces": [ "Ulysses", "Dabble", "Novlr", "Final Draft" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Ulysses", "yearlyUsd": 40, "url": "https://ulysses.app/pricing/", "note": "$39.99 a year, or $5.99 a month" }, { "name": "Novlr", "yearlyUsd": 96, "url": "https://www.novlr.org/pricing", "note": "Starter plan at $8/month billed yearly; Studio is $16/month" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "secrets", "name": "Secrets", "developer": "Outer Corner, Unipessoal LDA", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/secrets", "officialUrl": "https://secrets.app/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/secrets-password-manager/id1591056366", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "small apple-only password manager you unlock with a one-time purchase", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 59.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free download that can always read your data. One-time unlocks on the App Store: Editing $59.99, Sharing $39.99, or Editing + Sharing together $79.99, with promotional tiers at $44.99 and $29.99 appearing on the listing. A standalone \"Upgrade\" purchase is listed at $49.99, and subscriptions ($2.99 a month, $29.99 a year) are offered as an alternative. One purchase covers macOS, iOS and iPadOS.", "catch": "Editing and Sharing unlock separately; both together is $79.99, not $59.99", "caveats": "Major versions have been paid upgrades — the $49.99 \"Upgrade\" purchase sitting next to the full unlocks is the tell — so budget for a new major every few years. The honest all-in one-time price is $79.99 if you want sharing, and $59.99 only buys editing. Apple platforms only: no Windows, Android or Linux client and no web vault, so a mixed household is the wrong fit. Sync is iCloud and nothing else. It is also a two-person operation, which cuts both ways.", "replaces": [ "1Password", "Dashlane" ], "versus": [ { "name": "1Password Individual", "yearlyUsd": 48, "url": "https://1password.com/pricing/personal", "note": "US$3.99 a month billed annually, the standard rate after the first-year promo" }, { "name": "Dashlane Premium", "yearlyUsd": 65, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dashlane-password-manager/id517914548", "note": "current App Store in-app annual price" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "shottr", "name": "Shottr", "developer": "Shottr", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/shottr", "officialUrl": "https://shottr.cc", "pricingUrl": "https://shottr.cc/purchase.html", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "a $12 screenshot tool that opens instantly and reads text out of images", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 12, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Basic licence $12, described on the purchase page as \"a single-time purchase, not a subscription\", and required for commercial use. One licence covers one user and up to five computers, and multiple licences can be bought at once. A \"Friends Club\" tier is $30 and adds experimental features and better support; it cannot be upgraded to from Basic. The free download keeps working and starts asking you to buy after 30 days.", "catch": "Screenshots only — there is no video, GIF or screen recording at any price", "caveats": "The free version never expires but begins nagging after 30 days, and a paid licence is required for any commercial use. Shottr does not record video or make GIFs, so anyone who sends short screencasts will still need a second app. It is a very small project with one person behind it, which is why it is cheap and quick to fix but not where you go for a support contract; the developer has also said prices may rise as features land.", "replaces": [ "Snagit", "CleanShot Cloud Pro", "Monosnap Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "CleanShot Pro", "yearlyUsd": 120, "url": "https://cleanshot.com/pricing", "note": "$10 per user/month, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "sketch", "name": "Sketch", "developer": "Sketch B.V.", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/sketch", "officialUrl": "https://www.sketch.com", "pricingUrl": "https://www.sketch.com/pricing/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "the ui design classic, still sold as a mac licence you keep", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 120, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$120 per seat, one-time, for the Mac-only licence, which includes one year of updates and is described on the pricing page as yours to keep, forever. The collaborative Workspace is a separate subscription at $12 per editor per month on the Standard tier, $24 on Professional and $44 on Enterprise, all billed yearly.", "catch": "Updates stop after a year, and the licence buys the Mac app alone with no trial first", "caveats": "Updates are included for twelve months only; after that you keep the version you own and pay again to move forward, which makes this version-locked rather than updates-forever. The licence covers the native app and nothing else: no Workspace, no shareable web links, no real-time collaboration, no iOS mirroring, and Sketch offers no free trial on this tier. Mac only, so handing files to Windows collaborators is awkward. Separately, if you ever run a Workspace subscription and let it lapse, its documents go read-only — that is the subscription's behaviour, not the licence's.", "replaces": [ "Figma Professional", "Sketch Workspace", "Adobe XD" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Figma Professional", "yearlyUsd": 192, "url": "https://www.figma.com/pricing/", "note": "Professional full seat at the $16 a month rate on Figma's pricing page" }, { "name": "Sketch Workspace (Standard)", "yearlyUsd": 144, "url": "https://www.sketch.com/pricing/", "note": "$12 per editor per month, billed yearly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "skim", "name": "Skim", "developer": "Skim project", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/skim", "officialUrl": "https://skim-app.sourceforge.io/", "pricingUrl": "https://skim-app.sourceforge.io/", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "free PDF reader and note-taker built for reading papers", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and open source under a BSD licence, per the SourceForge project page. No paid tier, no donation wall, distributed as a direct download.", "catch": "Reads and annotates only — no page editing, OCR or form filling", "caveats": "Skim reads and marks up PDFs; it will not edit page content, run OCR or handle complex interactive forms, so it is a companion to a PDF editor rather than a replacement for one. Development is volunteer-driven and unhurried, which occasionally means waiting a few weeks after a macOS release. Most annotations are written as standard PDF notes, but some Skim-specific note data lives alongside the file, so export your notes before moving a library between machines or into someone else's hands.", "replaces": [ "Highlights Pro", "Adobe Acrobat Reader Pro" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "soundsource", "name": "SoundSource", "developer": "Rogue Amoeba", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/soundsource", "officialUrl": "https://rogueamoeba.com/soundsource/", "pricingUrl": "https://rogueamoeba.com/soundsource/buy.php", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "per-app volume sliders and audio routing from the menu bar", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 49, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "A SoundSource licence key is \"$49 USD\" on Rogue Amoeba's own store, covering the current major version (SoundSource 6). Upgrades from an earlier major version are paid but discounted — the store lists \"$25 USD\" to move to SoundSource 6 from 5 or 4. A single-user licence covers the current version on as many machines as you personally own; shared or lab machines need one licence each.", "catch": "each major version is a separate purchase — the upgrade to SoundSource 6 costs $25", "caveats": "The licence explicitly covers \"the current version\", and Rogue Amoeba charges roughly half price for each major release, so a future SoundSource 7 will cost again. Per-app volume and effects depend on Rogue Amoeba's audio capture component, which means a permission grant and a restart during setup. It is the most expensive utility of its kind, and if all you want is an equalizer there are much cheaper routes. Not on Setapp — Rogue Amoeba sells direct only.", "replaces": [ "eqMac Pro" ], "versus": [ { "name": "eqMac Pro", "yearlyUsd": 30, "url": "https://eqmac.app/", "note": "eqMac's Pro plan billed yearly; covers the equalizer and app mixer, not full routing" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "spamsieve", "name": "SpamSieve", "developer": "C-Command Software (Michael Tsai)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/spamsieve", "officialUrl": "https://c-command.com/spamsieve/", "pricingUrl": "https://c-command.com/store/", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "bayesian spam filter that bolts onto the mail app you already use", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 39.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$39.99 one-time for a single licence, $63.98 for the \"Family or 2 Users\" licence. C-Command describes its products as one-time purchases and not subscriptions. Upgrade pricing exists: when SpamSieve 3 shipped in September 2023 it was $19.99 for previous owners, and free for anyone who had bought 2.x on or after 1 January 2023. Fully featured 30-day trial.", "catch": "Filtering only happens while your Mac is awake, so your iPhone sees unfiltered mail first", "caveats": "It runs on your Mac and filters mail your Mac has fetched, which means nothing happens while the machine is asleep and nothing is filtered on iPhone unless you set up a training mailbox workflow. It is a plug-in for a mail client, not a mail client: you keep using Apple Mail, Outlook, Postbox, MailMate or Thunderbird and SpamSieve tells it what to move. Major versions are paid upgrades, though the cadence has been unusually slow — 1.0 in 2002, 2.0 in 2005, 3.0 in 2023 — and the version 3 upgrade was roughly half price, or free for recent buyers of 2.x.", "replaces": [ "SaneBox", "Clean Email", "MailWasher" ], "versus": [ { "name": "SaneBox", "yearlyUsd": 65, "url": "https://www.sanebox.com/pricing", "note": "Snack plan, one mailbox, $5.42 a month paid annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "stats", "name": "Stats", "developer": "Serhiy Mytrovtsiy (exelban)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/stats", "officialUrl": "https://github.com/exelban/stats", "pricingUrl": "https://github.com/exelban/stats", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "MIT-licensed system monitor with a module for every menu bar readout", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. MIT licensed, installed from GitHub releases or with Homebrew. No paid tier, no account.", "catch": "Fan control is in legacy mode and, in the README's words, receives no updates or fixes", "caveats": "The fan control module is explicitly unmaintained — the README says it is in legacy mode and gets no updates or fixes — so use TG Pro or Macs Fan Control if custom fan curves are the point. The settings window is a dense list of switches rather than a designed preferences pane, and there is no weather module, no support contract and fewer appearance options than paid rivals.", "replaces": [ "iStat Menus", "Sensei", "Setapp" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Sensei", "yearlyUsd": 29, "url": "https://cindori.com/store/sensei", "note": "Cindori's annual Sensei Plan for up to 3 Macs; also sold as a $59 one-time licence" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "strongbox", "name": "Strongbox", "developer": "Phoebe Code Limited", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/strongbox", "officialUrl": "https://strongboxsafe.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://strongboxsafe.com/pricing/", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "native keepass client for mac and ios with a lifetime licence", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 124.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$124.99 one-time for Strongbox Pro, labelled \"One time purchase\" on the developer's pricing page, next to $2.99/month and $24.99/year for the same Pro feature set. One licence covers all your devices and can be shared with up to six people through Family Sharing. A feature-limited free version exists for non-commercial use. The page notes that your price may vary with your App Store country, so $124.99 is the US figure.", "catch": "Lifetime costs five years of the yearly plan before it starts paying off", "caveats": "At $124.99 against $24.99 a year, the lifetime tier only wins if you stay about five years — which is a real bet on a small developer. It buys the app, not a sync service: you still supply the storage, whether that is iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, WebDAV or SFTP, and you own the consequences if that storage breaks. The free version is non-commercial and missing conveniences, so business use means paying. The code is AGPL on GitHub, but the App Store builds are what the licence is for.", "replaces": [ "1Password", "Dashlane", "LastPass" ], "versus": [ { "name": "1Password Individual", "yearlyUsd": 48, "url": "https://1password.com/pricing/personal", "note": "US$3.99 a month billed annually, the standard rate after the first-year promo" }, { "name": "Dashlane Premium", "yearlyUsd": 65, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dashlane-password-manager/id517914548", "note": "current App Store in-app annual price" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "sublime-merge", "name": "Sublime Merge", "developer": "Sublime HQ", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/sublime-merge", "officialUrl": "https://www.sublimemerge.com", "pricingUrl": "https://sublimehq.com/store/merge", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "git client that shows you the command it just ran", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$99 USD personal licence, a once-off purchase including 3 years of updates; after 3 years an upgrade is required for newer builds. One key covers all your computers and operating systems. Business use is a separate annual licence at $75 per user per year. A bundle with Sublime Text is sold at a discount.", "catch": "Updates stop after three years; your version keeps working but newer builds need a paid upgrade", "caveats": "Three years of updates come with the purchase, then a paid upgrade for anything newer, while the versions you already own keep running. Company use needs the $75-per-user-per-year business licence rather than the personal key. The free evaluation has no time limit but shows a purchase reminder. It is a git client, not a git host integration suite — pull request workflows are thinner here than in the subscription tools.", "replaces": [ "Tower", "GitKraken Pro", "Kaleidoscope" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Tower", "yearlyUsd": 69, "url": "https://www.git-tower.com/pricing", "note": "Tower's entry plan for individuals, billed annually; the European store shows €59" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "sublime-text", "name": "Sublime Text", "developer": "Sublime HQ", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/sublime-text", "officialUrl": "https://www.sublimetext.com", "pricingUrl": "https://sublimehq.com/store/text", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "native code editor with a one-off personal licence", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$99 USD personal licence, a once-off purchase that includes 3 years of updates; after 3 years an upgrade is required for newer builds. One key covers all your computers and operating systems. Business licensing is separate and subscription-only, at $65/seat/year for the first 10 seats scaling down to $50. A Sublime Text + Sublime Merge bundle is sold at a discount.", "catch": "Updates stop after three years; your version keeps working but newer builds need a paid upgrade", "caveats": "Updates are included for 3 years from purchase. After that you keep and can keep using every version the licence covered, but new builds require a paid upgrade. If you use it at a company the personal key does not apply: business licences are sold only as an annual per-seat subscription. Unlicensed use is an unlimited evaluation rather than a timed trial, but it interrupts you with a purchase reminder.", "replaces": [ "Cursor Pro", "JetBrains subscriptions", "GitHub Copilot" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Cursor Pro", "yearlyUsd": 240, "url": "https://cursor.com/pricing", "note": "Cursor's Individual plan at $20/month; the page shows no cheaper annual figure" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "superduper", "name": "SuperDuper!", "developer": "Shirt Pocket", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/superduper", "officialUrl": "https://www.shirt-pocket.com/superduper4.php", "pricingUrl": "https://www.shirt-pocket.com/superduper4.php", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "plain drive-to-drive copying, free for full erase backups", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 43.95, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$43.95, described on the page as \"not a subscription\", licensed per user and usable on all your personal Macs. The unregistered download is free for full erase-and-copy backups.", "catch": "A much older licence pays again for each new major version, discounted at best", "caveats": "Major versions are paid. Shirt Pocket states that \"SuperDuper 4 is free for qualifying recent purchases\" and that other SuperDuper 3 customers who bought after July 31, 2020 get \"an upgrade discount of up to 30%, based on purchase date\" - so an older licence means a discounted upgrade and a much older one means paying again. Local drives only: there is no cloud destination, and like every cloner on Apple silicon it cannot promise a bootable copy of the system volume. Scheduling, Smart Update and unattended copies are the paid features.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "swish", "name": "Swish", "developer": "Christian Renninger (Highly Opinionated)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/swish", "officialUrl": "https://highlyopinionated.co/swish/", "pricingUrl": "https://highlyopinionated.co/swish/", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "two-finger trackpad gestures on the title bar instead of shortcuts", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 16, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$16 one-time. One licence can be active on two Macs at a time, and you unlink a machine before moving the licence. Fourteen-day free trial. Also included in a Setapp membership, which now starts at $14.99/month — the $9.99/mo figure still printed on the developer's own page is out of date.", "catch": "Useless without a trackpad; on a mouse-only Mac almost none of the gestures are reachable", "caveats": "Swish needs a MacBook trackpad or a Magic Trackpad — with a mouse alone, most of the app cannot be operated at all. One licence covers two active machines, tighter than Rectangle Pro's three. The developer has published no upgrade policy, so whether a future major version is a paid upgrade is unknown. It is on Setapp, where it stops working if the membership lapses.", "replaces": [ "Setapp", "BetterTouchTool" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Setapp", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://setapp.com/pricing", "note": "Mac plan billed annually; $14.99/month if billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "syncthing", "name": "Syncthing", "developer": "The Syncthing project", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/syncthing", "officialUrl": "https://syncthing.net/", "pricingUrl": "https://syncthing.net/", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "peer-to-peer folder sync with no cloud, no account and no quota", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. MPL-2.0 open source, no paid tier, no account and no hosted storage to pay for. Kastelo sells commercial support for it separately, which is optional and unrelated to using the software.", "catch": "No official Mac app — you configure it in a browser, and the menu bar wrappers are third-party", "caveats": "There is no native macOS front end: the daemon runs in the background and you configure it through a local web interface, so the menu bar apps people recommend are third-party wrappers. It is sync, not backup — a deletion propagates to every device unless you enable file versioning first. Both devices must be awake at the same time, since there is no server holding a copy in between, and restrictive networks sometimes need port forwarding or a relay, which is slower.", "replaces": [ "Dropbox", "Google Drive", "Resilio Sync", "iCloud Drive" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Dropbox Plus", "yearlyUsd": 120, "url": "https://www.dropbox.com/plans", "note": "2 TB Plus on annual billing; $11.99/month if billed monthly" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "tableplus", "name": "TablePlus", "developer": "TablePlus Inc.", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/tableplus", "officialUrl": "https://tableplus.com", "pricingUrl": "https://tableplus.com/pricing", "category": "developer-tools", "tagline": "one native client for most databases, sold as a perpetual licence", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Basic $99 per licence for 1 device; Standard listed at $198 and discounted to $129 for 2 devices; Team $79 per seat from 3 seats up. Every tier is described as \"Buy once, use forever. Perpetual license (no subscription)\" and includes a bonus one year of updates and support, after which the app keeps working with no limitations or you renew for more updates. Also available through a Setapp subscription.", "catch": "Updates stop after one year unless you renew; the app itself keeps working", "caveats": "The licence is perpetual but the update window is not: one year of updates and support is included, and after that new versions need a renewal. Basic covers a single device, so a desktop-and-laptop setup wants the $129 Standard licence. The free trial is capped at 2 open tabs, 2 windows and 2 advanced filters at a time, which is tight enough that a real evaluation takes patience. It is also on Setapp, so check that list before paying — subscribers already have it.", "replaces": [ "JetBrains DataGrip", "Navicat Premium" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "taskpaper", "name": "TaskPaper", "developer": "Hog Bay Software (Jesse Grosjean)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/taskpaper", "officialUrl": "https://www.taskpaper.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/taskpaper-plain-text-to-dos/id1090940630", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "plain-text to-do lists in a real Mac app", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 24.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$24.99 one-time on the Mac App Store, with no in-app purchases and no subscription products on the listing. taskpaper.com shows only a \"Buy Now\" button with no price, no stated trial length and no published upgrade policy, so the App Store listing is the page to check.", "catch": "No iPhone or iPad app — on mobile you edit the file in someone else's text editor", "caveats": "Mac only. There is no official iOS app, so using your lists on a phone means opening the .taskpaper file in a third-party editor such as Editorial or Taskmator. You are buying TaskPaper 3, and Hog Bay sold TaskPaper 2 and TaskPaper 3 as separate paid apps with no published upgrade policy either way, so a future version 4 is best treated as another purchase rather than a free update. Development is one person doing maintenance rather than new features — 3.9.4 in November 2025 fixed a macOS 26.1 crash. Sync is whatever file service you already use, with no first-party service and no conflict resolution beyond what that service provides.", "replaces": [ "Todoist Pro", "TickTick Premium", "Any.do Premium" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Todoist Pro", "yearlyUsd": 60, "url": "https://www.todoist.com/pricing", "note": "$5 per month, $60 billed yearly" }, { "name": "TickTick Premium", "yearlyUsd": 50, "url": "https://ticktick.com/about/upgrade", "note": "US$49.99 a year, annual billing only" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "textsniper", "name": "TextSniper", "developer": "TextSniper", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/textsniper", "officialUrl": "https://textsniper.app/", "pricingUrl": "https://textsniper.app/", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "grab text out of any image, pdf or video frame on screen", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 7.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "One-time purchase, three tiers sold through two channels. Direct from textsniper.app via Gumroad: $7.99 for 1 Mac, $9.99 for 3 Macs. Mac App Store: $11.99 for an unlimited-devices licence. The 7-day money-back guarantee is a direct-purchase promise; App Store buyers go through Apple's refund process. Also included in Setapp.", "catch": "Major upgrades cost extra, and the 7-day refund covers the direct purchase, not the App Store one", "caveats": "The developer states outright that \"major upgrades and features come at an additional upgrade cost\", so you own what you bought rather than every future release. The $7.99 and $9.99 licences come direct via Gumroad while the $11.99 unlimited licence is a Mac App Store purchase, which means the advertised 7-day money-back guarantee covers the direct tiers only. It captures from what is on screen, one selection at a time, so it is not a batch OCR tool for a folder of scans. Accuracy is Apple's on-device recognition: excellent on printed text, unreliable on messy handwriting.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Acrobat Pro", "Online OCR services" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Acrobat Pro", "yearlyUsd": 240, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing.html", "note": "annual prepaid plan at US$239.88/yr; OCR is a Pro-tier feature, not Standard" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "tg-pro", "name": "TG Pro", "developer": "Tunabelly Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/tg-pro", "officialUrl": "https://www.tunabellysoftware.com/tgpro/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.tunabellysoftware.com/tgpro/", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "every temperature sensor your Mac exposes, plus manual fan control", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 10, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "The product page currently shows $10 labelled \"One-time payment\", marked \"Save 50% - was $20\". Treat $10 as today's price and $20 as the list price the promotion could return to. No subscription is offered. A licence portal lets you view keys and manage Mac activations, but the page does not state how many activations a licence includes.", "catch": "the $10 is a 50%-off promotion on a $20 list price, and no upgrade policy is stated", "caveats": "Fan control only means something on a Mac that has fans — on a passively cooled MacBook Air you get readings and nothing to control. Apple silicon Macs expose fewer sensors and less fan headroom than the Intel machines in the older screenshots, so the panel is thinner than it looks. The site states no major-version upgrade policy at all, so a future paid upgrade is possible rather than ruled out, and it does not say how many Macs one licence activates: check the licence portal before buying for several machines. Overriding a fan curve will make the machine loud, which is the point, but it is on you.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "things-3", "name": "Things 3", "developer": "Cultured Code", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/things-3", "officialUrl": "https://culturedcode.com/things/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/things-3/id904280696", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "calm, opinionated to-do app you buy once per platform", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$49.99 one-time on the Mac App Store, with no in-app purchases and no subscription. iPhone is a separate $9.99 purchase; iPad and Apple Vision Pro are sold separately again. Things Cloud sync is included at no charge. Cultured Code sets the price in US dollars and lets Apple convert it, so your local figure comes from the store.", "catch": "Each platform is a separate purchase — the iPhone app is another $9.99", "caveats": "A Mac plus iPhone plus iPad set costs well over the Mac price, because each is its own app. You own version 3 specifically: Things 2 to 3 shipped as a new paid app in 2017, and 3 has been the current version for years now, so a paid Things 4 at some point is plausible rather than promised. There is no collaboration or list sharing in the app at all — that is a design decision, not a gap they are filling. The trial is downloaded from Cultured Code's site rather than the App Store.", "replaces": [ "Todoist Pro", "TickTick Premium", "Any.do Premium" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Todoist Pro", "yearlyUsd": 60, "url": "https://www.todoist.com/pricing", "note": "$5 per month, $60 billed yearly" }, { "name": "TickTick Premium", "yearlyUsd": 50, "url": "https://ticktick.com/upgrade", "note": "annual plan only, US$49.99 per year" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "thunderbird", "name": "Thunderbird", "developer": "MZLA Technologies (Mozilla)", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/thunderbird", "officialUrl": "https://www.thunderbird.net/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "free mail, calendar and contacts with no tier above it", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free. The site states \"Free forever. Donate to make it better.\" Open source, with a macOS build downloadable directly from thunderbird.net and no paid tier on the desktop client.", "catch": "Nothing to pay, but it is a cross-platform app that never quite feels Mac-native", "caveats": "The interface is cross-platform and does not follow Mac conventions closely — the calendar and address book feel adjacent to the mail client rather than part of it, and keyboard behaviour is its own dialect. Very large mailboxes can get slow, and add-ons sometimes break across major releases. MZLA also links a separate hosted service, \"Thundermail\" at tb.pro, from the homepage; that is a different product with its own terms and no pricing published on thunderbird.net, and it does not change the desktop client being free.", "replaces": [ "Mimestream", "Spark Premium", "Superhuman", "eM Client paid tiers" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Mimestream", "yearlyUsd": 50, "url": "https://mimestream.com/pricing", "note": "Individual plan, $49.99 per year" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "timemator", "name": "Timemator", "developer": "Catforce Studio", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/timemator", "officialUrl": "https://timemator.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://timemator.com/", "category": "email-calendar-tasks", "tagline": "automatic time tracking that runs entirely on your Mac", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 39, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$39 one-time for the Mac app, activating on 2 devices. The iOS app is a separate $7.99 one-time payment — the site states that the Mac and iOS apps are sold separately and that the price may vary by country. Free trial available, and Timemator is also included in Setapp.", "catch": "The iPhone app is a separate $7.99 purchase, and the Mac licence covers two Macs", "caveats": "The developer publishes no upgrade policy, so whether a future major version would be a paid upgrade is simply unknown — assume it might be. The iOS app is a separate purchase, and Mac-to-iOS sync is the thing worth exercising during the trial rather than taking on trust. There are no team features: no shared workspace, no seats, no approvals and no invoicing, only reports and CSV export. The Mac licence activates on two devices. Timemator is included in Setapp, so check that before buying if you already subscribe.", "replaces": [ "Toggl Track", "Harvest", "Timing", "RescueTime Premium" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Toggl Track Starter", "yearlyUsd": 108, "url": "https://toggl.com/track/pricing/", "note": "$9 per user per month on annual billing" }, { "name": "RescueTime Solo", "yearlyUsd": 84, "url": "https://www.rescuetime.com/plans", "note": "$7 a month, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "tinderbox", "name": "Tinderbox", "developer": "Eastgate Systems", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/tinderbox", "officialUrl": "https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.eastgate.com/Tinderbox/Order.html", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "expensive, perpetual, and unmatched for notes that have to do work", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 289, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$289 for a new licence, including a year of free upgrades and support. Moving to a later major version afterwards is $98 from any previous version, or you can keep an optional annual updates plan running at $83 for the first year, cancellable. A five-person household pack is $325 and a ten-user licence is $645. Eastgate runs periodic sales (SummerFest pricing was $217 new and $88 upgrade when this page was last checked), so look before you pay list.", "catch": "A year of upgrades is included, then a new version costs $98 or $83 a year to stay current", "caveats": "The licence is perpetual, but only twelve months of upgrades come with it: after that you either stay on the version you own, pay the $98 upgrade when a release you want ships, or subscribe to the annual updates plan. Sale prices are temporary and should never be treated as the price. The learning curve is real and the tutorials are not optional. Mac only, and the document format is proprietary, though it exports text, HTML and OPML.", "replaces": [ "Notion", "Roam Research", "Obsidian Sync", "Airtable" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Obsidian Sync", "yearlyUsd": 48, "url": "https://obsidian.md/pricing", "note": "Obsidian's sync add-on at $4 per month billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "tinkertool", "name": "TinkerTool", "developer": "Marcel Bresink Software-Systeme", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/tinkertool", "officialUrl": "https://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html", "pricingUrl": "https://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html", "category": "menu-bar-utilities", "tagline": "free GUI for the hidden macOS preferences Apple ships but does not show", "licenseModel": "free", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free, stated on the developer's page as: \"TinkerTool is electronically distributed software. You can download the product free of charge.\" No tiers, no account. TinkerTool System, the administration and maintenance app from the same developer, is a separate licensed product.", "catch": "Only surfaces preferences Apple already ships; the system-level tools are in paid TinkerTool System", "caveats": "TinkerTool cannot add features — it can only switch on preferences Apple already wrote, and Apple quietly drops hidden preferences between releases, so an option you remember may no longer exist. Changes are per-user: they do not apply to other accounts or to the login screen. You need the build that matches your system; 11.71 (September 2026) covers macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 Golden Gate, and earlier systems have their own builds. Disk cleanup, log inspection and privilege repair live in the separately licensed TinkerTool System, whose price is not quoted on this page.", "replaces": [ "Setapp", "CleanMyMac" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "tot", "name": "Tot", "developer": "The Iconfactory", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/tot", "officialUrl": "https://tot.rocks/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tot/id1491071483", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "seven scratch pads in the menu bar, unlocked once", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 19.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free download with one dot available. The in-app purchase \"Tot for macOS\" unlocks all seven for $19.99, once, with no subscription products on the listing at all. The iPhone and iPad app is a separate purchase. Sync runs over your own iCloud account at no extra cost.", "catch": "The iPhone and iPad app is a separate purchase from the Mac unlock", "caveats": "Seven pads, full stop - if you want a growing archive with search across it, this is the wrong tool by design. The Mac and iOS apps are bought separately rather than as one universal purchase. Sync is iCloud-only, so there is no Windows, Android or web access to what you put in it.", "replaces": [ "Drafts Pro", "Bear Pro", "Apple Notes clutter" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Drafts Pro", "yearlyUsd": 20, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/drafts/id1435957248", "note": "$19.99 a year" }, { "name": "Bear Pro", "yearlyUsd": 30, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bear-markdown-notes/id1091189122", "note": "$29.99 a year" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "transmit", "name": "Transmit", "developer": "Panic", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/transmit", "officialUrl": "https://panic.com/transmit/", "pricingUrl": "https://panic.com/transmit/", "category": "files-backup", "tagline": "file transfer to servers and cloud storage, bought once", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 45, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$45 one-time for Transmit 5, stated on Panic's own page as \"Keep it forever for only $45\". No subscription is offered. A free seven-day trial of the full app comes first, and people who bought Transmit 4 after roughly June 2017 were upgraded free.", "catch": "A future Transmit 6 would be a separate purchase, as the jump from 4 to 5 was", "caveats": "What you own is Transmit 5, including its point releases. Panic has charged for major versions before and would be expected to again, so treat this as buying the current app rather than every future one. It is Mac only: the iOS edition of Transmit was discontinued and is not coming back, so an iPhone workflow needs something else. Cloud connections run on your own accounts, and the storage bills stay with those providers.", "replaces": [ "CloudMounter subscription", "Mountain Duck update renewals" ], "versus": [ { "name": "CloudMounter", "yearlyUsd": 29, "url": "https://cloudmounter.net/cloud-mounter-purchase.html", "note": "personal one-year subscription for one Mac" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "typinator", "name": "Typinator", "developer": "Ergonis Software", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/typinator", "officialUrl": "https://www.ergonis.com/products/typinator/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.ergonis.com/en/typinator/pricing/", "category": "automation-launchers", "tagline": "mature text expander that still sells a one-time Basic licence", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Basic is $49.99 as a one-time payment for the current major version, macOS only, single user on up to two devices, private use only, covering minor updates and bug fixes within that major version. The alternatives are subscriptions - Advanced at $29.99 a year (adds iOS and three devices) and Business at $59.99 a year for professional use - plus a custom-priced Enterprise tier. All prices are quoted excluding VAT.", "catch": "Basic buys Typinator 10 only; the next major version is a separate paid upgrade", "caveats": "Basic excludes the iOS app, email support and free major-version upgrades - the comparison table marks all three with a cross - and it is licensed for private, non-commercial use, so any work use needs the $59.99-a-year Business subscription. When version 11 arrives there is a paid upgrade at a reduced price, which is the honest shape of this purchase: one version bought outright, not updates forever. Prices exclude VAT, so EU and UK buyers pay closer to $60. There is no time-limited trial either; without an account the app runs indefinitely in a mode where expansions are restricted. Typinator 10 requires macOS 13 or newer.", "replaces": [ "TextExpander" ], "versus": [ { "name": "TextExpander", "yearlyUsd": 60, "url": "https://textexpander.com/pricing", "note": "Pro plan for one user, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "typora", "name": "Typora", "developer": "Typora", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/typora", "officialUrl": "https://typora.io", "pricingUrl": "https://store.typora.io/", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "live-preview markdown editing for $14.99, three activations", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 14.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$14.99 one-time before tax, for a licence key good for up to 3 device activations. 15-day free trial and a 30-day refund window. The same key works on macOS, Windows and Linux, but each install consumes one of the three activations. Not sold on the Mac App Store.", "catch": "A major version jump like 1.x to 2.x can require paying again", "caveats": "Typora's EULA grants free updates \"unless it is a Major Update\", defined as a change in the major version number, and reserves the right to charge for those, so you own version 1 rather than owning Typora indefinitely. The three activations are counted per install, not per person or per platform: a Mac, a Windows PC and a Linux VM use all three, and a fourth needs a second licence. There is no sync, no mobile app and no note database — it opens and saves files on disk.", "replaces": [ "Ulysses", "Bear Pro", "Notion" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Ulysses", "yearlyUsd": 40, "url": "https://ulysses.app/pricing/", "note": "$39.99 a year, or $5.99 a month" }, { "name": "Bear Pro", "yearlyUsd": 30, "url": "https://bear.app/", "note": "$29.99 a year, or $2.99 a month" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "updf", "name": "UPDF", "developer": "Superace Software Technology", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/updf", "officialUrl": "https://updf.com/", "pricingUrl": "https://updf.com/knowledge/updf-lifetime/", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "one payment, four devices, Mac and phone on the same licence", "licenseModel": "lifetime-tier", "price": 79.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "US$79.99 one-time for UPDF Pro Lifetime, covering four devices across macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, typically two desktop and two mobile. The lifetime plan includes core feature updates and version upgrades at no extra cost, and comes with 2GB of cloud storage against 10GB on the yearly plan. Discounts of $5–10 run more or less permanently.", "catch": "The AI Assistant is a separate US$69/year subscription, not part of the lifetime licence", "caveats": "The AI Assistant is not included: after a seven-day trial it renews at US$69.00/year, and UPDF Sign is billed separately too. The marketing page's opening line claims the lifetime licence unlocks AI, and the same page then contradicts it — read the plan comparison, not the headline. Cloud storage on the lifetime plan is a fixed 2GB allowance. The developer leans hard on countdown timers and expiring banners; the standard price is the one to judge it by.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Acrobat Pro subscription", "Adobe Acrobat Standard subscription", "Smallpdf subscription" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Acrobat Pro", "yearlyUsd": 240, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing.html", "note": "annual plan prepaid, US$239.88/yr" }, { "name": "Adobe Acrobat Standard", "yearlyUsd": 180, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/pricing.html", "note": "annual plan prepaid, US$179.88/yr" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "vectorstyler", "name": "VectorStyler", "developer": "VectorStyler", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/vectorstyler", "officialUrl": "https://www.vectorstyler.com", "pricingUrl": "https://www.vectorstyler.com/", "category": "design-graphics", "tagline": "deep vector illustration app, 95 dollars once with upgrades included", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 95, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "A single licence is 95 dollars as a one-time payment and covers both macOS and Windows. The page lists free upgrades, direct technical support, an extended trial and a 14-day money-back guarantee as included. Free educational licences are available on request for schools, universities, teachers and workshops.", "catch": "One person builds it, so \"lifetime\" means the app's lifetime rather than yours", "caveats": "Support, bug-fix pace and the app's future all rest on what is essentially a one-developer operation. The interface follows neither Illustrator nor Affinity conventions, so there is a genuine learning curve, the documentation is thinner than the commercial alternatives, and the community is small enough that searching for an answer often turns up nothing. The free upgrades promise is stated plainly on the page, which is rare, but it is only as durable as the developer. Trial it properly for the full 42 days before paying.", "replaces": [ "Adobe Illustrator", "Adobe Creative Cloud" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe Illustrator", "yearlyUsd": 264, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/pricing-info.html", "note": "single-app annual plan, prepaid" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "vellum", "name": "Vellum", "developer": "180g", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/vellum", "officialUrl": "https://vellum.pub/", "pricingUrl": "https://vellum.pub/", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "book formatting for indie authors, bought once, books unlimited", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 199.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "One-time purchase with free updates, confirmed on help.vellum.pub. Vellum Press $249.99 (unlimited ebooks plus paperbacks); Vellum Ebooks $199.99 (unlimited ebooks). Upgrading from Ebooks to Press later costs $69.99, with no deadline. Prices exclude tax. Download, build, style and preview for free - you pay only to generate publishable files.", "catch": "Buying Ebooks then upgrading to Press costs $19.99 more in total than buying Press up front", "caveats": "Mac only, and it is a formatter rather than a writing app - you bring finished text. Design control is deliberately limited to Vellum's own styles, so if you want real typographic freedom you want InDesign or Affinity Publisher. The upgrade arithmetic is worth doing before you buy: Ebooks at $199.99 plus the $69.99 upgrade is $269.98 against $249.99 for Press bought outright, though within 30 days of buying Ebooks you can ask support for a price exchange instead. Prices exclude tax.", "replaces": [ "Adobe InDesign", "Book formatting services" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Adobe InDesign", "yearlyUsd": 276, "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/plans.html", "note": "single-app plan at US$22.99/mo on the annual, billed-monthly rate" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "veracrypt", "name": "VeraCrypt", "developer": "IDRIX / VeraCrypt project", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/veracrypt", "officialUrl": "https://veracrypt.io/en/Home.html", "pricingUrl": "https://veracrypt.io/en/Home.html", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "encrypted volumes that open on macOS, Windows and Linux alike", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "No licence fee and no paid tier. The project is funded by donations, and the full source is published alongside every release.", "catch": "Needs macFUSE, a system extension that can lag weeks behind a new macOS release", "caveats": "Installing on macOS requires macFUSE, a kernel-level dependency that has to be allowed as a system extension and that sometimes trails new macOS versions by weeks. For encrypting your Mac's own startup disk, FileVault is the simpler and better-integrated choice; VeraCrypt earns its place when volumes have to open on other operating systems too. The interface is utilitarian, and losing your password or your volume header backup means the data is gone for good.", "replaces": [ "Boxcryptor", "commercial disk-encryption licences" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "wipr-2", "name": "Wipr 2", "developer": "Kaylee Calderolla", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/wipr-2", "officialUrl": "https://kaylees.site/", "pricingUrl": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wipr-2/id1662217862", "category": "privacy-security", "tagline": "set-and-forget safari blocker that costs five dollars once", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 4.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$4.99 one-time on the App Store, a Universal Purchase covering Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The listing also carries the optional Filtr add-on at $4.99 and $24.99 — the recurring, network-level extension of blocking to all apps — plus several one-off and recurring developer tips. None of those are needed for the Safari blocking you are buying.", "catch": "Blocking outside Safari needs the separate, recurring Filtr subscription", "caveats": "The $4.99 buys the Safari content blocker and nothing else. Filtr, which pushes blocking out to every app at the network level, is a separate recurring purchase at $4.99 and $24.99 tiers on the listing. Otherwise this is Safari only, so Chrome and Firefox are untouched. It is deliberately minimal: there is essentially nothing to configure, which is the whole appeal and exactly the wrong trade if you want to write your own rules. Note too that Wipr 1 is a separate App Store product — Wipr 2 was a new paid app, not a free update — and that the developer's site moved to kaylees.site.", "replaces": [ "AdGuard", "Magic Lasso Adblock" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Magic Lasso Adblock Pro", "yearlyUsd": 30, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ad-blocker-magic-lasso/id1198047227", "note": "\"Pro Yearly (macOS)\" in-app purchase" }, { "name": "AdGuard for Safari", "yearlyUsd": 35, "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/adguard-ad-blocker/id1440147259", "note": "annual subscription on the Mac App Store" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "witch", "name": "Witch", "developer": "Many Tricks", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/witch", "officialUrl": "https://manytricks.com/witch/", "pricingUrl": "https://manytricks.com/witch/", "category": "window-management", "tagline": "paid text-list switcher for windows, tabs and apps across spaces", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 14, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$14 direct from Many Tricks, with the licence terms stated on the page as \"Includes at least 1 year of updates. Your license is valid forever.\" Owners of the previous major version can \"Upgrade for just $8!\". Current release is Witch 4.7. Free trial, no subscription of any kind.", "catch": "your licence is valid forever but includes only about a year of updates, and Witch 5 will cost extra", "caveats": "Major version upgrades are paid: the Witch 3 to 4 upgrade was $8, roughly 57% of list, which is a fair guide to what the next one costs. Note the wording too — \"at least 1 year of updates\" is a time window, not the life of the app, even though the licence itself never expires. The free AltTab covers most of the same ground with thumbnails, so what you are buying here is the text-list approach, tab switching and a commercial product with support behind it. Needs Accessibility permission, and requires macOS 10.13 High Sierra or newer.", "replaces": [ "Setapp" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "xnapper", "name": "Xnapper", "developer": "10xCompany, LLC", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/xnapper", "officialUrl": "https://xnapper.com", "pricingUrl": "https://xnapper.com/pricing", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "auto-padded, auto-redacted screenshots for posting in public", "licenseModel": "perpetual-version-locked", "price": 29.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Direct licences, each including one year of updates: Basic $29.99 for 1 Mac, Personal $54.99 for 2 Macs, Standard $79.99 for 3 Macs. Renewal afterwards is 60% of your original purchase price, and the pricing page says that rate holds even if list prices rise. Team is $5 per device per month billed annually. 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. The Mac App Store listing sells things differently: a \"Lifetime\" in-app purchase at $39.99 alongside a $14.99 subscription. The iOS app is bought separately and Mac licence keys do not work on it.", "catch": "One year of updates included; another year costs 60% of what you first paid", "caveats": "After your year of updates runs out the app does not stop: the pricing page states that you can use the last version you have forever and that \"there is no expiration date\". You only pay again for newer builds, at 40% off. Watch the purchase channel, because the two differ: the developer's own site says macOS 10.15 or later with no chip restriction, while the Mac App Store listing requires macOS 11 and an Apple M1 or later, so Intel owners should trial the direct build rather than assume it is ruled out. Every paid tier is listed as watermark-free, which implies the free version marks exports. And the scope is narrow by design: beautifying and redaction, not full annotation and not recording.", "replaces": [ "Snagit", "CleanShot Cloud Pro", "Screely" ], "versus": [ { "name": "CleanShot Pro", "yearlyUsd": 120, "url": "https://cleanshot.com/pricing", "note": "$10 per user/month, billed annually" } ], "onSetapp": true, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "xscope", "name": "xScope", "developer": "The Iconfactory", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/xscope", "officialUrl": "https://xscopeapp.com", "pricingUrl": "https://xscopeapp.com/order", "category": "screenshots-recording", "tagline": "rulers, guides, loupe and mockup overlay floating above every window", "licenseModel": "one-time-paid-upgrades", "price": 49.99, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Single-user licence $49.99, one-time, delivered as a serial number by email. Multi-user packs are volume-discounted rather than flat per seat: 5 users $199.99 (20% off per user), 10 users $349.99 (30% off), 20 users $599.99 (40% off), 30 users $749.99 (50% off), with larger volumes handled by orders@iconfactory.com. Owners of a previous xScope version get 50% off by entering their old registration details. Also sold on the Mac App Store at $49.99, where none of those discounts apply.", "catch": "Major versions are a paid upgrade, historically 50% off if you already own one", "caveats": "The Iconfactory charges for major versions, at half price for existing owners, so this is a purchase plus an occasional fee rather than never paying again. Pick your channel carefully, because the two builds are not equivalent: the Mac App Store copy is sandboxed and by Iconfactory's own account less capable, notably in the Overlay tool, and it cannot accept upgrade codes or volume discounts, so moving between channels means buying again. Requires macOS 12.3 or later. It measures, aligns and inspects; it captures nothing and records nothing. Not on Setapp.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "yate", "name": "Yate", "developer": "2manyrobots", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/yate", "officialUrl": "https://2manyrobots.com/yate/", "pricingUrl": "https://2manyrobots.com/yate/", "category": "media-av", "tagline": "audio tag editor built for libraries with tens of thousands of tracks", "licenseModel": "perpetual", "price": 20, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "$20.00 USD for a perpetual licence. Licences do not expire and all updates are free. A single licence covers two concurrent activations. The full app is downloadable with no feature limits for a 14-day trial.", "catch": "One licence covers two Macs at a time, so a third means deactivating one", "caveats": "Two concurrent activations per licence, which is fine for a laptop and a desktop and awkward for anything more. The interface is dense, and the real power sits in Actions and scripting, which costs you an afternoon before it starts saving you days. It is macOS only. It edits tags and files, so it is neither a player nor a library manager, and it will not fix anything your player caches separately.", "replaces": [], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": true, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "zettlr", "name": "Zettlr", "developer": "Hendrik Erz", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/zettlr", "officialUrl": "https://www.zettlr.com", "pricingUrl": "https://www.zettlr.com", "category": "writing-notes", "tagline": "markdown writing app built around citations and Pandoc", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "Free and open source, funded by donations. No tiers, no accounts, no paid add-ons. The site describes it as \"Free and Open Source software, supported by donations.\"", "catch": "Export beyond HTML needs Pandoc, and PDF needs a LaTeX install on top", "caveats": "Pandoc has to be installed separately for Word and LaTeX export, and PDF output additionally needs a LaTeX distribution — a multi-gigabyte download that Zettlr will not set up for you. It is an Electron app, so it uses more memory than a native editor. There is no official mobile app and no sync service: you point it at iCloud Drive or a git repo yourself. It has one primary maintainer, so support is a volunteer project rather than a company.", "replaces": [ "Ulysses", "Notion", "Scrivener" ], "versus": [], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" }, { "slug": "zotero", "name": "Zotero", "developer": "Digital Scholar", "url": "https://lifetimemac.com/apps/zotero", "officialUrl": "https://www.zotero.org/", "pricingUrl": "https://www.zotero.org/storage", "category": "documents-pdf", "tagline": "free reference manager with a built-in PDF reader", "licenseModel": "open-source", "price": null, "currency": "USD", "priceNote": "The app is free and open source. Only optional hosted sync storage costs money: 300 MB free, 2 GB for $20/year, 6 GB for $60/year, unlimited for $120/year — or point sync at your own WebDAV server and pay nothing.", "catch": "The app is free forever, but only 300 MB of sync storage is; a PDF library outgrows that fast", "caveats": "The free sync allowance is 300 MB, which a few hundred annotated PDFs will pass in a term — after that you either pay for storage or move sync to your own WebDAV server, which is free but fiddlier to set up. Shared group libraries bill against the owner's quota, so whoever created the group pays for everyone's files. There is an official iOS app, but no official Android client.", "replaces": [ "Papers", "Paperpile", "Mendeley paid storage", "EndNote" ], "versus": [ { "name": "Papers", "yearlyUsd": 95, "url": "https://about.readcube.com/pricing/", "note": "Papers Essentials, $95 per user per year; academics take 40% off" } ], "onSetapp": false, "freeTrial": false, "verifiedAt": "2026-09-22", "confidence": "high" } ] }