Mac App Subscription Service 'Setapp' Offers Beta Invites

Setapp, a subscription app service from MacPaw, is entering a beta testing phase today to get ready for an upcoming public launch. Setapp plans to make more than 48 popular Mac apps available to Mac users for a flat monthly fee, with plans to add new apps as the service grows.

Setapp will cost $9.99 per month, giving users access to Mac apps like RapidWeaver, Ulysses, iStat Menus, Blogo, CodeRunner, Marked 2, and more, but during the beta testing period, access will be free.

Beta invites will be limited to selected developers and Mac users, including MacRumors readers. Anyone who wants to give Setapp a try before its public launch can visit the following link: Setapp Beta for MacRumors.

MacRumors has 500 Setapp beta invites, so all readers who want to test the service to see how it works should be able to give it a go. Once the 500 invites expire, users will be able to enter their email address to be invited to the beta in the future. Make sure to use the link above if you want to try Setapp -- non MacRumors readers will be added to a waiting list instead of given instant access.

MacPaw's goal with Setapp is to become the Netflix of Mac apps, giving developers and customers an alternative to the Mac App Store. Setapp will pay 70 percent of revenue to developers, while taking a 30 percent cut, but its model also provides developers with a continuous monthly revenue stream that could prove to be more appealing than the Mac App Store.

Setapp includes continual updates, so users who pay subscription fees to access apps will not need to pay separately for future apps, nor will they need to make in-app purchases to access full app functionality. Setapp content, installed through a main Setapp app, will also work offline when no internet connection is available.

Following the beta testing period, Setapp will cost $9.99 per month, but a free one-month trial will be included.

Tag: Setapp

Top Rated Comments

maflynn

89 months ago

So will we be able to keep using the apps, if we cancel the subscription, i.e., keep using RapidWeaver?

Seems like just a variation of software subscription that many of us hate.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

OldSchoolMacGuy

Why would you pay a monthly fee for a pile of apps that are included in those name your own price bundles every month?

Vast majority of these apps are going to go unused.

Seems everyone is getting in on the subscription craze as it's far more profitable for them.

humanresources

What... the... heck... it only works in a Setapp folder, not only that but when you open an app a pop up box shows up before you even enter the app AND THEN you have to wait for it to load the app open. Then there is the unnecessary download icons and the fact that it's only in a sandboxed location and it takes up the side of your dock and your finder just to use them... nope. Deal breaker.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Sheza

Monthly app subscription only has one winner...The creator.

What if people are pausing or even stopping the service no more apps for them ?

The clue is in the first line of the article: 'subscription app service'. You have in fact both answered your own questions with the question. Its incredibly plain to see that access to the apps will stop once you stop paying the subscription. That is how a subscription works.

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