Is Setapp Worth the Cost? An In-Depth Subscription Analysis

Over the past few years, Setapp has made a great name for itself. These days, it doesn’t even need the tagline Netflix for Mac apps.

At first glance, most people find Setapp great. You pay around $10 a month and get access to 250+ apps. But are these apps worth the money you pay every month?

We thought we would do an in-depth subscription analysis of Setapp. Hopefully, these insights will help you make the right choice.

What Is Setapp?

Setapp is a subscription service that provides you access to over 250 macOS, iOS, and web-based apps. The service from MacPaw has been around for over five years now, and it is a more affordable option than paying for apps individually. Setapp also advertises itself as a great way to find useful apps for Mac and iPhone. The company has an app marketplace for iOS devices in the EU region.

In this analysis, we shall look at what the Setapp subscription offers to global Mac users. The idea is to check whether the benefits of Setapp can outweigh the amount you are paying. Let’s start with the basics of pricing plans.

Pricing Structure

Setapp has what we call a straightforward pricing structure. The pricing structure of Setapp for personal use is as follows:

• Mac: This plan costs $9.99 per month and lets you use the Setapp subscription on 1 Mac.
• Mac + iOS: This dual plan, costing $12.49, lets you access Setapp from 1 Mac and 4 iOS devices.
• Power User: The third plan from Setapp costs $14.99 and includes 4 Macs and 4 iOS devices.

You can save further if you choose to pay annually, bringing the cost of the base plan to $8.99. So, if you are looking for an easy way to access over 200 apps on your Mac, you can pay as little as $8.99.

Benefits of Setapp

Let’s now look at the core benefits of Setapp.

The App Collection

As we said before, Setapp offers you access to over 250 apps from different categories, including productivity tools, utilities, media, development, etc. Within Setapp, you can find five categories: Optimize, Work, Create, Develop, and Solve with AI.

Some popular apps you can find in the Setapp bundle are Bartender, Folx, CleanMyMac, Ulysses, CleanShot X, Permute, BetterTouchTool, iStat Menus, Mockuuups Studio, CameraBag Pro, Superwhisper, MindNode, AdLock, Numi, and Superwhisper. We must clarify that the app collection is not permanent but dynamic.

We should appreciate the rich app collection you get from Setapp. You can check out our detailed Setapp review to learn more about this collection.

Cost Savings

Subscribing to a Setapp plan is considered more cost-effective than purchasing applications individually. We will take the case of an app like CleanShot X, for instance. Purchasing the app will set you back at $29, but you don’t get upgrades beyond a year.

With Setapp, however, you can expect regular updates while paying $10 per month or less. Setapp does this while offering 200+ other apps in the bundle. So, we are talking about some decent savings here.

AI Apps and Credits

You also get a good collection of AI-powered applications that you can use without configuring personal APIs or other technical aspects. Some great options include Elephas, PDF Pals, MurmurType, Keep It Shot, etc. Do keep in mind that you need AI credits to use most of these apps.

App Discovery and Curation

Setapp also helps you in finding the right apps for your macOS and iOS devices. As we said earlier, the many categories on Setapp will help you choose what can help you the best. It also advertises itself as an App Store alternative.

Additional Convenience

In addition to offering access to apps, Setapp can take care of updates as well. It ensures that all your installed apps are up-to-date at all times. Installing apps from Setapp is also pretty straightforward once you have set up the service on your Mac.

However, there are some drawbacks as well.

Potential Drawbacks

Here are some major potential drawbacks of Setapp.

1. You Don’t Own Apps

The biggest concern people have is that you don’t own any of the applications. As soon as you stop paying the monthly subscription fee, you lose access to these applications as well. So, spending almost $120 a year doesn’t appeal to many, given that this access is contingent upon regular payments.

2. Dynamic Collection

We mentioned that Setapp keeps a dynamic bundle of apps. On the one hand, you can expect more apps to be available in the bundle. On the other hand, any of these apps may leave the Setapp platform if there are conflicts between Setapp and developers. There have been multiple instances of such removals as well.

3. Annual Costs and Value

Another problem is how much users end up spending annually. Even when you go for an annual payment, the yearly cost of Setapp is $108, which can be a bit. If you use only a few, say 5 or 10, apps from the Setapp bundle, paying $108 per year may be of lesser value than purchasing these apps individually.

In addition to this, Setapp also becomes the single point of entry for all apps on your Mac. Issues with Setapp can prevent you from accessing all these apps.

User Testimonials and Reviews

Let’s summarize what user testimonials and reviews say.

Despite its drawbacks, Setapp seems to be popular among users. People who want to get as many apps as they can for money tend to like Setapp and its value. For them, Setapp is also a great way to take care of all apps. Many also believe that paying close to $110 per year for Setapp is more affordable than purchasing or subscribing to apps individually.

However, if you look at subreddits like r/MacApps, you can find multiple complaints against the subscription model and the quality of apps. Users also feel that MacPaw (the developer behind Setapp) takes advantage of the service to push its apps. There are also complaints that app developers release suboptimal versions of their apps through Setapp.

Is Setapp Worth the Cost?

Here’s what we think after looking at Setapp from different perspectives.

Setapp is worth the cost if you use at least 50% of the apps in the collection. You may also be interested in boosting productivity or exploring macOS/iOS. In this case, paying a monthly charge of $10 for the Setapp bundle is more economical than purchasing or subscribing to individual apps. Setapp has a great collection, for that matter, as well. We say this despite the drawbacks of the subscription model in general.

However, if you think you need fewer than 10 apps from the collection, you are better off going for individual purchases or subscriptions. In that case, you may want to check the apps you want and their cost. A typical comparison between these prices will tell you whether Setapp is great for you.