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New Mac App Subscription Service 'Setapp' Offers 60 Mac Apps for $9.99 Per Month

Wednesday January 25, 2017 4:00 am PST by Juli Clover
Following a beta testing period of more than a month, Mac app subscription service Setapp today officially launched to the public, making a collection of Mac apps available to users for a low monthly fee.

Priced at $9.99 per month, Setapp is designed to be an alternative to the Mac App Store. Through the Setapp service, more than 60 apps across a wide range of categories are available to customers. Access to apps is unlimited and includes all updates and in-app purchase content.


Setapp offers many popular Mac titles like RapidWeaver, CleanMyMac, Ulysses, Blogo, CodeRunner, Pixa, Focused, iMazing, Marked, Screens, Pagico, iStat Menus, and more.The team behind Setapp hopes that once the concept catches on with developers, the service will be able to offer somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 apps.
"If you want to get the most out of your Mac, you need great software and if you're like most Mac users, you're probably always on the lookout for new stuff that helps you get more done during your day without wasting too much time or money," said Oleksandr Kosovan, founder and CEO of MacPaw and its Setapp division. "Setapp is the ultimate 'unstore' option that gives you unlimited access to lots of great software without the anxiety of non-refundable, expensive purchases."
To use Setapp, customers install the Setapp app, which creates a folder in Finder on the Mac. The folder includes a library of apps, which users can install and use as long as a Setapp subscription is active.

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Using one of the Setapp apps does require a subscription, so access is revoked if a subscription is canceled. An online connection is required for updates, but all software can be used offline.

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For developers, Setapp aims to provide a steady stream of revenue. The company offers 70 percent of the total revenue generated by their apps, which is based on which applications customers use during a billing cycle. Two-thirds of the remaining 30 percent is also given to developers as part of a partner fee based on the value of each subscriber brought to the platform.

Setapp can be downloaded from the Setapp website for free starting today.

Tag: Setapp
[ 158 comments ]


Top Rated Comments

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arnoz
23 months ago
The subscription economy model is going too far.
Rating: 26 Votes
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Swordylove
23 months ago
*spots 'CleanMyMac'*
*completely loses all interest*
Rating: 20 Votes
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CristianM
23 months ago
Wouldn't it make more sense to buy the apps you want for a year's worth of this subscription and own them forever? I get it for platforms like Spotify that have millions of songs available and they have you covered with pretty much everything but this is just 60 apps and they'll never get the likes of Adobe or Microsoft to sign up.
Rating: 12 Votes
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slingshott
23 months ago
Seems like a lot of money considering most apps will go unused. Maybe once the library grows it'll make more sense.
Rating: 11 Votes
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clukas
23 months ago
Not 100% sure about the long term value. $9.99 per month = $119.88 p.a. Lets say average lifespan of a Macbook pro is 5 years and you'll use some of the software for the entire lifespan thats $599.40 for apps you don't get to keep when you stop paying. For that you could probably just buy the apps you want & pay for the upgrades and save money.
Rating: 10 Votes
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RightMACatU
23 months ago
Rent Setapp
Rent Office
Rent VPN software
Rent "insert other apps here"
Rent your music
Rent additional space on icloud
Rent additional space on Protonmail
Rent your iPhone
What's next, rent a dongle for your MacBookPro? :confused:
Rating: 10 Votes
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maflynn
23 months ago
Awful idea and one I hope fails because if not, the flood gates will open up. I hate the subscription model, and while I have a couple, there's no way I'm willing to embrace it any further.
Rating: 9 Votes
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threesixty360
23 months ago
What people fail to understand is that when you buy software you are kind of buying a product that sits on a moving platform. And as that platform moves new work has to be done to keep it working. OS updates happen almost monthly nowadays compared to years ago when windows to a few years to go from 1st release to services pack 1.

So buying a fixed product in the software world doesn't exist anymore and therefore it's kind of hard to charge a one time fee for what is in reality and ever changing code base. You either charge up front for all the future hours you might have to put into the app, charge a fixed price and hope new users coming on board pay for the man hours needed in the future, or just charge a subscription.

I think subscription reflects how software is made nowadays. It kind of makes sense.
Rating: 8 Votes
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Macneck
23 months ago
It doesn't sound bad, but I fear that in a few years time we'll have to pay monthly fees even for breathing. Well, at least most of us are disgustingly rich! :)...o_O...:(
Rating: 8 Votes
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StevieD100
23 months ago
So, how many $9.99/Month subscriptions do you have?
How many are really worth it?
How many can you do without?

My reason for asking is that everything seems to be $9.99/month subscription these days. There is only so many of them that you can afford.
TBH, I have not found one that I can justify apart from Adobe CS (Photoshop + Lightroom only)
Rating: 8 Votes

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