Video, audio & media
Editors, transcoders, players and tag managers. Perpetual licences survive here better than almost anywhere.
Category: Media
- Design, graphics & illustration15
- Developer & terminal tools15
- Documents, PDF & office13
- Email, calendar & tasks15
- Files, disk & backup14
- Launchers, clipboard & automation12
- Menu bar & system utilities12
- Privacy, security & networking13
- Screenshots, recording & annotation15
- Video, audio & media14
- Window management & desktop control14
- Writing, notes & markdown14
Licence
- PerpetualUpdates included, forever35
- This versionThe next major is a new purchase47
- Paid upgradesMajor versions cost again25
- Lifetime tierA one-time plan of a subscription app14
- FreewareNothing to buy9
- Open sourceNothing to buy; source published36
Each mark reads left to right: this major version, the next, the one after. Filled is included, half is a paid upgrade, hollow is bought again.
Price
11 apps priced in £ or € sit outside these bands, because we don’t convert currencies.
 Audio HijackRogue Amoeba | $69This version | Major versions are a separate purchase — the jump from 3 to 4 cost $29 |
 Bitwig StudioBitwig GmbH | €99Paid upgrades | The Grid, the reason most people buy Bitwig, is only in the EUR 399 Pro edition |
 DaVinci Resolve StudioBlackmagic Design | $295Perpetual | The free version already covers most 8-bit UHD work — check you actually need Studio |
 DownieCharlie Monroe Software | $19.99Perpetual | Which sites work depends on constant updates; a redesign can break one for a while |
 Final Cut ProApple | $299.99Perpetual | Some premium content is Creator Studio subscribers only, and Motion and Compressor cost extra |
 FissionRogue Amoeba | $35This version | Major versions are a separate $15 purchase, though new ones come along rarely |
 HandBrakeHandBrake Team | FreeOpen source | It will not read the copy protection on a commercial DVD or Blu-ray by itself |
 IINAIINA Project | FreeOpen source | Volunteer-run, so fixes and releases arrive when contributors have time |
 InfuseFirecore | $99.99Lifetime tier | The free app is deliberately limited — Dolby Vision, lossless audio and cloud sources are Pro |
 Logic ProApple | $199.99Perpetual | Mac only, and Logic Pro for iPad is subscription-only rather than part of this purchase |
 MacWhisperGood Snooze | €64Perpetual | Some optional AI features call out to cloud APIs you pay for separately |
 PermuteCharlie Monroe Software | $14.99Perpetual | Permute 4 needs macOS 26 on Apple silicon; older Macs buy Permute 3 instead |
 REAPERCockos Incorporated | $60This version | The $60 tier stops at $20,000 yearly gross revenue; past that the licence is $225 |
 Yate2manyrobots | $20Perpetual | One licence covers two Macs at a time, so a third means deactivating one |