$30 to $60
The usual price of a serious indie Mac app, paid once.
Category
- 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: $30 to $60
11 apps priced in £ or € sit outside these bands, because we don’t convert currencies.
| $30Paid upgrades | Only the direct licence is perpetual; the Mac App Store version is a subscription that stops working | |
| $32Perpetual | The cheap $12 tier stops getting updates after two years; $26 buys the one that never does | |
| $34.99Lifetime tier | The one-time unlock covers today's features plus one year of new ones, not everything after that | |
| $35Paid upgrades | Three-way merge is Pro only, so the $35 Standard edition will not serve as a git merge tool | |
| $35This version | Updates stop after one year unless you renew at $19; the version you own keeps working | |
| $35Perpetual | The free tier is deliberately basic — the actions worth having sit behind the $35 Pro licence | |
| $35This version | Major versions are a separate $15 purchase, though new ones come along rarely | |
| $36Paid upgrades | Major versions are a paid upgrade, currently $25, and arrive roughly every couple of years | |
| $39This version | HoudahSpot 7 will be a paid upgrade; a version 6 licence covers 6.x releases only | |
| $39Perpetual | The buy page never says how long updates last, so treat a version 3 as a likely paid upgrade | |
| $39Perpetual | No free trial — you pay first and rely on the 30-day refund if it turns out not to be for you | |
| $39Perpetual | The iPhone app is a separate $7.99 purchase, and the Mac licence covers two Macs | |
| $39.95Paid upgrades | Major versions are a paid upgrade, $9.95 to $19.95, roughly every five to seven years | |
| $39.99Lifetime tier | Lifetime lasts as long as the company keeps shipping blocklist updates | |
| $39.99Perpetual | The iPhone and iPad app is a separate purchase from the Mac one | |
| $39.99This version | Filtering only happens while your Mac is awake, so your iPhone sees unfiltered mail first | |
| $42This version | Major versions are a separate $20 upgrade, roughly every few years | |
| $43.95This version | A much older licence pays again for each new major version, discounted at best | |
| $45This version | A future Transmit 6 would be a separate purchase, as the jump from 4 to 5 was | |
| $49Paid upgrades | Each major version is a separate purchase — the upgrade to SoundSource 6 costs $25 | |
| $49.99Paid upgrades | Updates stop eighteen months after purchase unless you pay a discounted renewal | |
| $49.99Paid upgrades | The licence never expires but includes only 18 months of updates | |
| $49.99Lifetime tier | The $49.99 unlock is an in-app purchase, and separate iOS-only unlocks are sold alongside it | |
| $49.99This version | CCC 8 will be a paid upgrade, discounted for existing owners | |
| $49.99Perpetual | Syncing to another Mac properly wants ChronoAgent, a separate $19.99 purchase | |
| $49.99Perpetual | Only works as well as an app's accessibility support; some Electron apps expose almost no labels | |
| $49.99This version | Each platform is a separate purchase, and major versions may cost extra | |
| $49.99Perpetual | The one-time build is drifting behind the subscription one, which gets the Warp Tool exclusively | |
| $49.99This version | Each platform is a separate purchase — the iPhone app is another $9.99 | |
| $49.99This version | Basic buys Typinator 10 only; the next major version is a separate paid upgrade | |
| $49.99Paid upgrades | Major versions are a paid upgrade, historically 50% off if you already own one | |
| $50Paid upgrades | The next major version costs 40% of what you paid; your licence stops before it | |
| $59Paid upgrades | One Mac per licence, and updates stop after a year unless you pay half price again | |
| $59.95Paid upgrades | Major versions are a separate paid upgrade, at about half price for existing owners | |
| $59.99Paid upgrades | Updates stop after one year unless you pay $25 a year; your version keeps working | |
| $59.99Paid upgrades | Major versions are paid upgrades, currently $29.99 to $39.99 every couple of years | |
| $59.99Perpetual | Nothing on the site promises free major upgrades, so a paid version 3 is possible | |
| $59.99This version | Scrivener 4 will be a new purchase, at a discount for owners of 3 | |
| $59.99Paid upgrades | Editing and Sharing unlock separately; both together is $79.99, not $59.99 |