One-time purchase Mac apps: what you really get

On Quits, Mac apps are paid for once. There’s no renewal to remember and no subscription to cancel in time: you buy the app, use it as long as you like and get every update for free. Here’s what that means in practice, what it costs, and how it differs from a subscription.

What “one-time purchase” means

A one-time purchase means you pay once. For an app, though, it can mean different things: sometimes it covers only the version you buy and the next major version is paid again, sometimes it lasts as long as the developer keeps the product alive. That’s why on Quits the terms are written down in the House Rules, and they hold for every app:

1. Pay once, never a subscription.
2. One price unlocks the whole app: no features sold on the side.
3. The app you buy is yours for good.
4. One license covers 5 active Macs, the Macs where you opened the app in the last 90 days.
5. You have 30 days to change your mind, with a full refund.
6. Every update is free, forever.
7. No ads, no tracking, nothing sold, in the apps.
8. No passwords: you sign in with an email link or code, or Apple or Google when available.

Subscription or one-time purchase: what changes

With a subscription you pay for as long as you use the software, and when you stop paying you usually stop using it too. With a purchase you pay at the start, and that’s it. Which one suits you depends on how many apps you use and for how long: someone who tries dozens of apps a month needs something different from someone who uses the same 3 utilities every day.

An example with public numbers. Setapp, the subscription catalog of Mac apps by MacPaw, costs $14.99 a month or $107.88 a year for its Mac plan, plus tax. It counts more than 300 Mac, iOS and web apps, and if you cancel, the apps stay installed but can’t be used. Since 3 March 2026, Setapp also sells some single apps, once or by subscription, to use with the Setapp app and account. The whole comparison, with when each one is the better deal, is in Setapp alternative: Mac apps you pay for once.

Sources: Setapp Support, Subscription plans, Cancel subscription and setapp.com, checked 6 October 2026; 9to5Mac, 3 March 2026. The comparison is about how you pay, not about the apps: Setapp’s catalog is much bigger than ours. Setapp is a trademark of MacPaw.

The Mac apps on Quits

They’re utilities, and each one does 1 thing:

• Tone, 9.99: a volume for every app, with its own mute and its own audio output. How a volume for each app works.
• Revs, 9.99: CPU, memory, disk, network, temperature and battery in the menu bar, with fan control. CPU temperature and fans.
• Eighty, 9.99: a charge limit for your MacBook’s battery, from 80% to 100%, and lower if you ask. Limiting your battery’s charge.
• QuickMD, 9.99: a Markdown note in 2 keystrokes, saved as a file. Creating a Markdown file.
• Scrap, 9.99: everything you copy, on a shelf you search as you type.
• Vigil, 9.99: keeps your Mac awake from the menu bar, even with the lid closed.
• Stow, 9.99: tucks menu bar icons away until you need them.
• Squish, 9.99: makes images and videos smaller as soon as they arrive, in the same format.
• Unwind, 9.99: finds what coding with AI agents leaves behind, and clears what you choose.
• Dusk, 9.99: dims everything behind your front window, with adjustable darkness and app exclusions.
• Onda, 9.99: saves video links as video or audio files, with quality choices, playlists and a queue.
• Freshen, 9.99: checks for app updates from their sources and verifies downloads before replacing an app.
• Twofold, 9.99: finds duplicate and look-alike photos in folders or Photos, and removes only the ones you choose.
• Orario, 9.99: puts your next event in the menu bar, with a Join button and reminders before meetings.
• Pausa, 9.99: reminds you to look into the distance, waiting for a pause in typing and keeping quiet during calls.

Prices are in US dollars, plus tax. All 15 cost 149.85, once. Until 9 November 2026 every app costs 4.99, the launch price, and all 15 cost 74.85. More apps come out as they’re ready.

What it costs, and how to try an app

Every app has a fixed price, written on its page. Where tax applies, the payment page adds it before you pay. You pay the price once, and it’s the same whatever else you own.

There’s no trial to download. Every app’s page has a Demo that runs in your browser and shows you how it works, with nothing to install. If the app turns out not to be for you after you buy it, you have 30 days for a full refund.

After you pay, the app activates once: your browser opens, you sign in and you’re sent back to the app, with no key to copy. From then on it works offline too.

Where to start

Pick the app you need, try the Demo on its page and, if it’s right for you, get it. You pay once, and we’re quits.

See the apps on Quits, or read the House Rules first.