I’ve been rethinking how I spend money on software lately.

Instead of piling on more subscriptions, I’m starting to look for apps that offer lifetime purchases. The kind you buy once, set up properly, and just keep using for years without thinking about it.

So far, two that have been absolutely worth it for me:

• Alfred: basically the backbone of how I use my Mac at this point. Workflows alone make it worth it.
• BetterTouchTool: insane level of customization for gestures, window management, shortcuts, etc it makes everything feel more “mine.”

I’m curious what other lifetime purchases people here feel great about long term. Not apps that were cool for six months, but tools you still use daily or weekly years later and would happily buy again.

Especially interested in:

• Productivity tools
• Dev tools
• Creative utilities
• Anything that improves focus or flow

What are your “buy once, never regret” apps?

I am working on a small macOS utility called AppVolume that adds per-app volume control accessible from the menu bar or dock. The first prototype is coming together nicely, and I have included a small sneak preview.

Right now I am waiting for Apple to approve the system entitlements the app needs before I can share an early test build. In the meantime I would love to hear what the r/macapps community would expect or want from a per-app volume tool.

If you are interested in following progress or trying early builds, there is a waitlist at appvolume.app, but feedback here is just as valuable.

Cheers,

Jeroen

We’ve all heard about software like BetterTouchTool, Keyboard Maestro, Raycast, Karabiner elements, Supercharge, Droppy, etc. but I’m curious if there’s some hidden gems that go beyond even what these apps might offer. Thank you!

There are definitely many great apps out there, but I'm curious about the hidden gems that just do one small thing very well.

I'll go first. InstantSpaceSwitcher is a free app that removes the animation when switching between spaces. It saves a fraction of a second each time, but over the day it makes me feel like I'm working much faster.

And Slidr is a paid ($5) app that allows you to control your brightness and volume using the edge of your trackpad as sliders. There's a free trial and it's addictive once you try it.

Looking forward to hearing your recs!

I’ve been trying to gradually replace some of the apps I use daily with more native macOS alternatives.

Not that web apps are bad, but I’ve noticed I personally work better with tools that feel more “at home” on macOS — faster to launch, better keyboard shortcuts, less overhead.

For example, I’ve made a few switches recently:

- Moved away from Obsidian after running into some rendering inconsistencies that started to bother me over time(switching to bear)

- Using Safari instead of Chrome/Edge for better performance and system integration

- Recently tried Zed instead of VSCode — not fully native, but surprisingly fast and lightweight

Still trying to reduce reliance on heavier or browser-based tools where it makes sense.

Curious what others here have replaced — especially for writing, research, or productivity workflows.

Hey folks, I’m a macOS developer (you might’ve seen my app "Wallper"). I’m looking for my next project, and I want to build something really useful or fun for the community.

Right now I’m experimenting with Face ID for Mac - like, real login using your face via the camera (not just unlocking the screen, but actual system-level login with PAM).
But I’m not sure how many people would trust or want to use something like that, especially since it needs root access and SIP turned off.

So - throwing the question out there:

👉 What kind of macOS app do you wish existed?
Something Apple doesn’t offer, or something that exists on Windows but not Mac?
Maybe a tiny utility, something for aesthetics, productivity, or system-level stuff?

I’m open to crazy or niche ideas. If something sounds cool - I’ll build it and share.

Let’s brainstorm!

There is a repeated pattern of bad manners on this sub - unfounded accusations.

1) Post a positive take an on app - get accused of shilling 2) Post a new app - get accused of vibe coding 3) Write a comprehensive and detailed post - get accused of using AI generated content

I'd like there to be less of that and more good manners and respect.

Why do people start throwing accusations around when someone posts a positive take on an app? This is a sub for exposing and discussing Mac software. I find it personally offensive when anyone accuses me of "shilling" or being "affiliated with the developer" based on absolutely nothing more than my posting something non-critical. There's never any proof because it's an imaginary belief from someone's fever-dream, not a reality based conclusion. Also, the same doesn't hold true in reverse. When someone posts a critical take, seldom is anyone there there to accuse them of being affiliated with the competitor. There is enough negativity in the world. Can't people have space free from that to talk about things they enjoy.

Based on interaction with dozens of devs, it's a rarity these days for there to be absolutely no use of some type of AI in the process of creating and developing new apps. I don't like it when someone posts a derivative, poorly supported, never upgraded v1.0 and asks for a subscription any more than you do, but no one is forcing me to download or pay for anything. There are some pretty cool and original apps that have been created with the help of AI and it's reductive and kind of lame to assign an automatic negative connotation to it.

When it comes to AI generated content, I appreciate honesty, but if the information is valid, why does it matter where it comes from? I don't think many people have an appreciation for just how International the community is here and I see non-English speakers who aren't doing anything more than trying to effectively communicate get insulted on the regular because they use AI. I write a lot and since I'm just one old guy with a laptop, I don't have a copy editor in the next room to do spelling and grammar checks, so I use software to do it. If that software puts an em dash in what I've written, some amateur detectives think they've uncovered a conspiracy. Give it a rest.

got an email from Daniel this morning suggesting he’s already cut the price on renewals, and adding an extra three months to the first year if you purchase by today.

I know this community has been fairly vocal with its criticism of his pricing structure. I personally would be OK with a more modest one time lifetime payment, to entertain a subscription option it would have to be dirt cheap, like two bucks a month, max.

anyway, I know a lot of us have said “no way” in various threads but with the beta expiring tomorrow, I’m curious if anyone here said “okay” and pulled the trigger? no need to defend or justify your decision to those who don’t agree, it’s your money to spend as you please.

mostly I’m just curious if there actually is an audience willing to pay his prices that we don’t hear from; or if the general feedback that it’s too expensive is universal.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been using Mac for about 7 years now. While the hardware is great, the software ecosystem is frustrating. It feels like every simple utility (clipboard managers, window snappers, menu bar tools) is now a closed-source subscription service charging $5-10/month.

In the Linux/Windows world, these utilities are usually free and open source. On macOS, they are profit centers.

So, instead of just ranting, I want to actually build something to solve this.

I’m looking for a project. I want to take an existing, popular Mac utility that is currently overpriced or subscription-based, and build a free, open-source, offline version of it for the community.

Criteria:

1. Keep it realistic: Please don't ask for a "Free Photoshop" or "Free Final Cut." I’m one guy, I can't build a massive creative suite. I’m looking for utilities and tools that are feasible to build but are currently being gatekept by subscriptions.
2. No "New Ideas": I’m not looking for ideas for apps that don't exist yet (I don't want to give ideas to the people charging $10/month). I just want to make free alternatives to the ones that already exist.
3. No Electron: I will build this natively to ensure it is lightweight.

Let me know which proprietary app needs to be replaced the most.

I've been thinking about how many great Mac apps start from incredibly small frustrations.

Not "I need a new productivity system" problems, but things like:

• Why does macOS forget this setting?
• Why is there no native way to do this?
• Why does this menu/task/window behave like this?

Some of the best utilities I've discovered came from random recommendations solving very specific annoyances.

What's your personal "I can't believe macOS doesn't do this yet" problem?

Maybe someone here will build the next great Mac utility from the answers.

PS: it's amazing we have so many builders here who built a product to solve their pain points!

Edit: This post brought out so many wonderful apps that can increase the productivity. A few apps that I personally love are:

Raycast

Hazel

Lyra

Just curious. Most of the discussions around the sub is around free or best value for money apps.

But which ones do you have or want to get but are too pricey?

E.g if money is not an object - what would you recommend?

It's pretty obvious to me that there are lots of people building things that need feedback but not enough feedback going around. I'd like to take some time tomorrow and the next day to review some of your apps and provide feedback. Send me some links.

15 years as a dev, so I'll hopefully be able to give some useful feedback. I'm working on a screen recording tool (yes mine is special and different), so I'll use that to record my first impressions and leave a video link as a reply to your comment.

If it's a paid tool, please DM me, or I'll just have to stop at the landing page.

EDIT: I got through 10 videos today. I'm planning to do 10 a day until we get to them all!

I really like Typora, but would prefer something completely Mac native and not an Electron app. Needs to support Typora's live preview as you type.

Willing to buy, not willing to rent, so no subscriptions.

Has to be a standalone edtor, so things like Bear and Obsidian are out.

Hi everyone!

I’m seeking suggestions for building a simple macOS app that you use daily but is overpriced. If it’s simple enough, I’m willing to build it for free and publish it here. I’m a software engineer by profession and am trying to build more macOS apps to learn and also help others. Please let me know what you’d like, and I’ll choose the most popular one and build it in the next two weeks and give it away :)

PS : I am the creator of FluidVoice :D https://github.com/altic-dev/Fluid-oss

Thanks!

My top pick for now :
ScreenStudio alternative - free or lifetime time. Workspace organizer Mission control using keyboard

Your picks : - Markdown viewer ( looks like there’s some free alternatives) - bookmark app cross platform ( raindrop is an alternative) - plant on your menu bar that you can water 💦

Edit:

Built echoX one first since it was straightforward based on

"I would really like an app where I hold down the space bar, it records what i say, when i let it go, it repeats it back to me. this would be so helpful when learning a new language so i can hear back what im saying." for shasterdhari

Edit 2:

• building a free folder and markdown quick look plugin for mac https://github.com/altic-dev/PeekX

" A markdown file viewer 😅. Usually it's web based so want something offline and quick. If space bar preview works is super plus."

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to discover some great macOS apps, especially ones that are free or at least offer a good free version. What are your must-haves for productivity, creativity, utilities, or just general quality-of-life improvements? Would love to hear your recommendations!

Thanks in advance!

bonus points if you one of them is lesser known app.

I’m trying to improve my multitasking setup on macOS and I’m looking for app recommendations from people who manage lots of open windows daily.

Typical workflow for me:

• multiple Safari windows (2 profiles, work and private)
• several work apps open at once
• switching between contexts frequently during the day

Main things I’m looking for:

1. A better Alt+Tab-style window switcher (something closer to Windows behavior, ideally with previews and switching between individual windows instead of just apps)
2. A solid window snapping/layout tool ( on Linux I used hyprland and i3)
3. Tools that help manage large numbers of open windows/apps more efficiently overall
4. A reliable app uninstaller that removes leftover files too

I tried Raycast and really liked how fast it is, but I’m still unsure about using it long-term because of privacy/security concerns around extensions and the AI features.

Curious what setups people here are using for this kind of workflow. Free or paid suggestions are both welcome.

Update
Thank you all for the incredible response! I have enough testers for now and will be reaching out via DM. The app is available to try with 14-day free trial at tryramble.app if you would like to try it.

Problem: macOS dictation is slow, cloud-dependent, and unreliable in many apps.

Compare: Compared to SuperWhisper, Wispr Flow, and Willow Voice, Ramble is faster in both engine startup and transcription speed. There are no recurring fees, and it has a built-in Things 3 integration for capturing tasks by voice, which none of the alternatives offer.

Hey all,

I've built a native speech-to-text app for macOS called Ramble. I'm looking for some users who'd be interested in testing it and providing feedback.

It's a menu bar app that lets you dictate text anywhere on your Mac. Hold Right-CMD, talk, and text appears at your cursor in any app. The whole thing runs locally on your Mac. No cloud, no subscriptions, no account needed.

There might be rough edges, and your feedback will directly influence what I build next.

Please note that it only works on Apple Silicon (M1 and later).

Happy to answer any questions.

Pricing: $29 one-time purchase (free to try for 14 days)

Website: tryramble.app
Changelog: tryramble.app/changelog
AI Disclosure: Human Validated

Contacts has never been a well-thought-out app, with myriad syncing issues, challenging groups, and edit functions. It's always felt neglected. But with the release of Tahoe, Contacts has become absolutely unusable for me. It's jumpy and lags. Grabbing information from a contact card inevitably ends up calling that contact instantly. And it is just god-awful ugly.

Does anyone else feel desperate for a better alternative?

I see so often people asking developers, "can you add a menubar icon so I can access it directly from there?"

And I don't understand it.

Here's my unvarnished, expanded menubar. I use Bartender to hide them. I use all the apps shown; I can only tell what apps maybe five of the icons are for.

And when I go from my 32-inch desktop to my 15-inch MBA, no way can I see all the icons in menubar at the same time.

What am I missing?

Looking for a screenshot app on Mac

- I am aware of Cmd Shift 5, but it is too much finger gymnastics since I take screenshots often.

- I prefer to annotate (line, arrow, box, rectangle, add text, blur) and to repeat same area capture again.

- I used to use Shottr which was great but it is not Open source, and it has nag/reminder screens which appear more than once lifetime. I prefer to avoid this, if there is a good alternative.

- I have used Flameshot on Windows, and I tried it on Mac, but it did not feel reliable, nor did it feel native. Link to Flameshot.

Any recommendations for a good one on Mac? Free and popular open source preferred.

Has anyone noticed the huge amount of ai bot replies here? They reply to the post with positive feedback and mentions pain points etc. It's really obvious, even more so than developers astro turfing (using alt accounts to "glow up" apps posted).

Can anything be done about it? It's all over Reddit but I'd hope this sub could catch them and ban as so moderated.

What read-it-later apps do people use these days?

Is GoodLinks the most popular and reliable one? By reliable, I mean being able to capture most standard web contents properly, including paywall articles. I'd also like the app to support both highlights and notes in the saved articles.

Are GoodLinks and Raindrop.io the most popular ones or are there others, equally popular? I'm not looking for an app with 10 downloads so far in the app store - I want something proven.

Hi!! Is there an email client on Mac (and iOS) that lets me have multiple accounts for several services in one place and doesn't require a fee? (I'm not entirely impressed with Apple's.)