Categories
Every app is filed under one category, by the job it does.
Window management & desktop control
14 appsTiling, snapping, spaces and multi-monitor control. The category where paying once still feels normal.
Developer & terminal tools
15 appsEditors, terminals, git clients, database GUIs and API clients that never learned to charge you monthly.
Writing, notes & markdown
14 appsLong-form writing apps, markdown editors and note systems. Your words shouldn't be held hostage by a lapsed card.
Design, graphics & illustration
15 appsVector and raster editors, UI tools, icon and colour utilities. The main escape route from Creative Cloud.
Video, audio & media
14 appsEditors, transcoders, players and tag managers. Perpetual licences survive here better than almost anywhere.
Files, disk & backup
14 appsFile managers, duplicate finders, disk visualisers, archivers and clone-your-whole-drive backup tools.
Menu bar & system utilities
12 appsSmall, sharp tools that live in the menu bar and fix one thing about macOS properly.
Email, calendar & tasks
15 appsThe hardest category to buy outright. These are the holdouts that still sell you the app instead of renting it.
Screenshots, recording & annotation
15 appsScreenshot tools, screen recorders, GIF makers and annotation apps that don't watermark you into a plan.
Privacy, security & networking
13 appsFirewalls, network monitors, encryption and password tools. Read the caveats here more carefully than anywhere else.
Documents, PDF & office
13 appsPDF editors, OCR, ebook tools and reference managers — the quiet alternative to per-seat document subscriptions.
Launchers, clipboard & automation
12 appsLaunchers, clipboard managers, text expanders and macro engines. Buy the keystrokes, keep the keystrokes.