Own it, pay for major upgrades
One payment, and the developer charges for major versions on a stated cadence.
| Licence type | App | Price | Licence | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 2DoGuided Ways Technologies (Fahad Gilani) | $49.99 | Paid upgrades | Updates stop eighteen months after purchase unless you pay a discounted renewal | |
 A Better Finder Renamepublicspace.net | €29.95 | Paid upgrades | The default licence stops before version 13 unless you pay more for the Forever tier | |
 Acorn 8Flying Meat Inc. | $29.99 | Paid upgrades | Each major version is a fresh $29.99 purchase, not a discounted upgrade | |
 Arq BackupHaystack Software | $59.99 | Paid upgrades | Updates stop after one year unless you pay $25 a year; your version keeps working | |
 BartenderSurtees Studios | $24.99 | Paid upgrades | $24.99 buys Bartender 7 only; version 8 is a paid upgrade and Pro features are yearly | |
 BBEditBare Bones Software | $59.99 | Paid upgrades | Major versions are paid upgrades, currently $29.99 to $39.99 every couple of years | |
 Beyond Compare 5Scooter Software | $35 | Paid upgrades | Three-way merge is Pro only, so the $35 Standard edition will not serve as a git merge tool | |
 BikeHog Bay Software | $30 | Paid upgrades | Only the direct licence is perpetual; the Mac App Store version is a subscription that stops working | |
 Bitwig StudioBitwig GmbH | €99 | Paid upgrades | The Grid, the reason most people buy Bitwig, is only in the EUR 399 Pro edition | |
| BookendsSonny Software | $74.99 | Paid upgrades | Updates stop after two years unless you pay $49.99 for another window; the app keeps working | |
 BusyCalBusyMac | $49.99 | Paid upgrades | The licence never expires but includes only 18 months of updates | |
| CharlesXK72 Ltd (Karl von Randow) | $50 | Paid upgrades | The next major version costs 40% of what you paid; your licence stops before it | |
| Default Folder XSt. Clair Software | $39.95 | Paid upgrades | Major versions are a paid upgrade, $9.95 to $19.95, roughly every five to seven years | |
 DEVONthink 4DEVONtechnologies | $99 | Paid upgrades | Updates stop after a year unless you pay to extend; the version you have keeps working forever | |
 Glyphs 4Glyphs GmbH | €319 | Paid upgrades | Major versions are paid again — Glyphs 2 and 3 owners paid 199 to move up to Glyphs 4 | |
 iStat MenusBjango | $11.99 | Paid upgrades | Weather is a separate subscription once the six months included with a licence run out | |
 Keyboard MaestroStairways Software | $36 | Paid upgrades | major versions are a paid upgrade, currently $25, and arrive roughly every couple of years | |
 MarsEdit 5Red Sweater Software | $59.95 | Paid upgrades | Major versions are a separate paid upgrade, at about half price for existing owners | |
 RetrobatchFlying Meat Inc. | $29.99 | Paid upgrades | The nodes worth having are Pro-only, which is $49.99 rather than the $29.99 standard edition | |
 RightFontRightFont | $59 | Paid upgrades | One Mac per licence, and updates stop after a year unless you pay half price again | |
 ScreenFlowTelestream | $199 | Paid upgrades | Major versions are paid upgrades, and Telestream does not publish the upgrade price | |
 SecretsOuter Corner, Unipessoal LDA | $59.99 | Paid upgrades | Editing and Sharing unlock separately; both together is $79.99, not $59.99 | |
 SoundSourceRogue Amoeba | $49 | Paid upgrades | each major version is a separate purchase — the upgrade to SoundSource 6 costs $25 | |
 TinderboxEastgate Systems | $289 | Paid upgrades | A year of upgrades is included, then a new version costs $98 or $83 a year to stay current | |
 xScopeThe Iconfactory | $49.99 | Paid upgrades | Major versions are a paid upgrade, historically 50% off if you already own one |