Drafts 5 Joins The App Subscriptions Black Hole
Like I had always stated I am open to paying for good apps especially apps I use constantly.
What I am not a fan of are app subscriptions.
That being said I have been paying a subscription for a couple of apps. And yet another of my favorites app is also moving to a subscription and is starting to feel a bit overwhelming.
The popular note-taking app Draft will be moving to a subscription model starting with version 5. At $20 a year I think is a bit pricey.
My current app subscriptions.
- Newton Mail - Email App $49.99/yr
- Evernote 69.99/yr
- Ulysses $39.99/yr
- Bear $14.99/yr
- VSCO $19.99/yr
- Adobe Photography $99.99/yr
- Dropbox $99/yr
- Google Drive $99/yr
- TextExpander $24.99/yr
- 1Password $34.99/yr
- DayOne $24.99/yr
- Grammarly $69.99/yr
I am probably forgetting some but that will just give you an idea of how expensive these subscriptions are becoming. And that's not counting services like Apple Music, Netflix, YouTube Red, Hulu, SS etc.
Do I see value in app subscriptions?
Yes and no. Some app subscriptions definitely offer value. Like the Adobe Photography plan I remember paying $150 and $700+ every couple of years for Lightroom and Photoshop so at $120 a year they are a steal. Newton Mail offers me the piece of mind with my emails so it’s worth it for me.
Now the ones I really see it as overpriced at the current yearly price are Ulysses and TextExpander for the rate of updates on this app and the mature nature of them I don’t think a subscription is really worth it.
Will I switch out of them? Ulysses, I am pretty sure I will keep using it for the time been but I keep looking around for an alternative. But TextExpander I am definitely dropping as soon as the subscription expires. Definitely no value on it. The app still buggy and I don’t see a deference from the when the app was a stand-alone purchase.
And Drafts 5?
I don’t know yet I guess at least a year to see if it’s worth renewing
App developers really need to analyze if their apps are really subscriptions worthy.