$30 to $60, bought outright
The usual price of a serious indie Mac app, paid once.
| Licence type | App | Price | Licence | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1Blocker1Blocker LLC | $39.99 | Lifetime tier | Lifetime lasts as long as the company keeps shipping blocklist updates | |
 2DoGuided Ways Technologies (Fahad Gilani) | $49.99 | Paid upgrades | Updates stop eighteen months after purchase unless you pay a discounted renewal | |
 AgendaMomenta B.V. | $34.99 | Lifetime tier | The one-time unlock covers today's features plus one year of new ones, not everything after that | |
 Arq BackupHaystack Software | $59.99 | Paid upgrades | Updates stop after one year unless you pay $25 a year; your version keeps working | |
 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 | |
 BusyCalBusyMac | $49.99 | Paid upgrades | The licence never expires but includes only 18 months of updates | |
 Calendar 366Dominik Stoisits | $49.99 | Lifetime tier | The $49.99 unlock is an in-app purchase, and separate iOS-only unlocks are sold alongside it | |
 Carbon Copy ClonerBombich Software | $49.99 | This version | CCC 8 will be a paid upgrade, discounted for existing owners | |
| CharlesXK72 Ltd (Karl von Randow) | $50 | Paid upgrades | The next major version costs 40% of what you paid; your licence stops before it | |
 ChronoSyncEcon Technologies | $49.99 | Perpetual | Syncing to another Mac properly wants ChronoAgent, a separate $19.99 purchase | |
 CleanShot XMTW (Make the Web) | $35 | This version | Updates stop after one year unless you renew at $19; the version you own keeps working | |
| 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 | |
 DropzoneAptonic | $35 | Perpetual | The free tier is deliberately basic — the actions worth having sit behind the $35 Pro licence | |
 FissionRogue Amoeba | $35 | This version | Major versions are a separate $15 purchase, though new ones come along rarely | |
 ForkDan Pristupov and Tanya Pristupova | $59.99 | Perpetual | Nothing on the site promises free major upgrades, so a paid version 3 is possible | |
 GoodTaskhaha Interactive | $39.99 | Perpetual | The iPhone and iPad app is a separate purchase from the Mac one | |
| HazelNoodlesoft | $42 | This version | Major versions are a separate $20 upgrade, roughly every few years | |
 HomerowDexter Leng | $49.99 | Perpetual | Only works as well as an app's accessibility support; some Electron apps expose almost no labels | |
 HoudahSpotHoudah Software | $39 | This version | HoudahSpot 7 will be a paid upgrade; a version 6 licence covers 6.x releases only | |
 iA WriterInformation Architects GmbH | $49.99 | This version | Each platform is a separate purchase, and major versions may cost extra | |
 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 | |
 Pixelmator ProApple (originally Pixelmator Team) | $49.99 | Perpetual | The one-time build is drifting behind the subscription one, which gets the Warp Tool exclusively | |
| PixelSnap 2MTW (Make the Web) | $39 | Perpetual | The buy page never says how long updates last, so treat a version 3 as a likely paid upgrade | |
 RightFontRightFont | $59 | Paid upgrades | One Mac per licence, and updates stop after a year unless you pay half price again | |
 Scrivener 3Literature & Latte | $59.99 | This version | Scrivener 4 will be a new purchase, at a discount for owners of 3 | |
 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 | |
 SpamSieveC-Command Software (Michael Tsai) | $39.99 | This version | Filtering only happens while your Mac is awake, so your iPhone sees unfiltered mail first | |
 SuperDuper!Shirt Pocket | $43.95 | This version | A much older licence pays again for each new major version, discounted at best | |
 Things 3Cultured Code | $49.99 | This version | Each platform is a separate purchase — the iPhone app is another $9.99 | |
 TimematorCatforce Studio | $39 | Perpetual | The iPhone app is a separate $7.99 purchase, and the Mac licence covers two Macs | |
 TransmitPanic | $45 | This version | A future Transmit 6 would be a separate purchase, as the jump from 4 to 5 was | |
 TypinatorErgonis Software | $49.99 | This version | Basic buys Typinator 10 only; the next major version is a separate paid upgrade | |
 xScopeThe Iconfactory | $49.99 | Paid upgrades | Major versions are a paid upgrade, historically 50% off if you already own one |