Dan Counsell:
I don’t usually write articles like this, but every so often something comes along that changes, or shifts the way things are done. Setapp from MacPaw is that something. I believe it has the potential to change the Mac app market in a big way, for better or worse.
So, what is Setapp? Basically at its heart, Setapp is a Mac app subscription service. Very much like Netflix, but for apps. The twist here is that it’s based on quality, not quantity. For a fixed monthly fee you get access to over 60 Mac apps. Sounds pretty good, right? Let’s dig a little deeper and find out.
The author is a developer himself (Product Designer and Founder of Realmac Software), so his thoughts on this subscription-based service are from a different perspective.
Some great apps in there; but, the last thing I want is another subscription service. I would rather just buy the software and update / upgrade it as needed.
I’m a little on the fence on this one. Some I have already, none of the apps I really need but three or four I would like to have but just doesn’t justify the price. I could probably buy those for 1 yrs subscription. I am trying to come up with some app suggestions for them that would make it more enticing for me.
I tried it briefly – loved the idea, and even gave them a credit card # to start billing me when the free month ran out. There are some apps in there that I might not use regularly enough to justify the individual purchase prices, but $10/month is a pretty good deal given the number of apps, the growing list of included apps, and the elimination of upgrade prices.
Then the bugs set in- some of the apps would stop functioning without warning, and the SetApp app itself would stop launching. Complete removal/reinstallation didn’t solve the problem. The same errors struck both my MacBook, running the current OS release, and my experimental iMac running the latest public beta.
So, it seems a bit undercooked at present. I’d be willing to try it again a few months down the line, but can live without it for now.
Any chance you’re using MacUpdate Desktop on your Macs? There’s an ongoing compatibility issue between Setapp and MUD (on the MacUpdate side), and we expect the fix to be available in the upcoming MUD update, but in the meantime please contact us at support@setapp.com for a solution. Thanks!
Yes, thanks for the tip. Glad to hear that this may be resolved soon.
Unfortunately I have the same issue. SetApp Support was very helpful in trying to resolve it; however, even after following their recommendations to the letter, couldn’t get Setapp to function. I really enjoyed exploring the apps when it was working, and I’ll wait until they come up with a version that plays nice with MUD.