The subscription craze for utility apps as mentioned in the post is especially frustrating. I'm not talking about apps that need to maintain a infrastructure, but just normal apps that really should not be subscription based.
I get it, monthly subscription is a constant flow of money which makes things more predictable (and more profitable), but these things add up for the user.
Here are some apps on my phone that changed to a subscription model
- Timepage: Really nice calendar from Moleskine
- Day One: A journaling app
- Ulysses: Mentioned in the article
- Spendee: Budgeting app
Some other subscription apps:
- Moleskine actions: A todo list from Moleskine
- Carrot weather: Really cool weather app that already costs a steep $5 (for a weather app), but still has a in-app subscription for extra stuff (arguably not needed but still)
- CamScanner: Usable on free tier, but watermarks scanned PDFs. Why does this need a monthly subscription? Bought ScanBot for $5 instead.
- Bear: Note taking app
There is absolutely no reason why a calendar or a journaling app should have a monthly subscription.
I am glad that I went in early on apps like Day One and Timepage and got a lifetime subscription out of it, but if it wasn't for this, these apps would have been off my phone already.
It's odd that I am starting to get happy when a new major version of an app (like OmniFocus) gets announced and it's just a one time price instead of a subscription.
I get it, monthly subscription is a constant flow of money which makes things more predictable (and more profitable), but these things add up for the user.
Here are some apps on my phone that changed to a subscription model
- Timepage: Really nice calendar from Moleskine
- Day One: A journaling app
- Ulysses: Mentioned in the article
- Spendee: Budgeting app
Some other subscription apps:
- Moleskine actions: A todo list from Moleskine
- Carrot weather: Really cool weather app that already costs a steep $5 (for a weather app), but still has a in-app subscription for extra stuff (arguably not needed but still)
- CamScanner: Usable on free tier, but watermarks scanned PDFs. Why does this need a monthly subscription? Bought ScanBot for $5 instead.
- Bear: Note taking app
There is absolutely no reason why a calendar or a journaling app should have a monthly subscription.
I am glad that I went in early on apps like Day One and Timepage and got a lifetime subscription out of it, but if it wasn't for this, these apps would have been off my phone already.
It's odd that I am starting to get happy when a new major version of an app (like OmniFocus) gets announced and it's just a one time price instead of a subscription.