“If you want to avoid cable-like prices for streaming TV, the best way is to aggressively cycle through different subscriptions. A new app called StreamWolf makes that process simpler.
StreamWolf provides an overview of all your streaming subscriptions, shows you the total cost, and lets you cancel (or reactivate) individual services with just a button tap. It also offers some watchlist features so you can plan what to pay for at any given time.
The app is still a work in progress, but it shows promise and offers some utility even in its early stages. It’s the kind of service that streaming platforms like Roku and Fire TV ought to provide themselves, but won’t.”
Yep. While I don’t really like subs…I understand the revenue stream they provide for devs. My main one is the Adobe photography plan…and at 130 a year it’s cheaper than annual upgrade price anyway…and theirs is a reason Adobe dominates the photo post processing. Griping about this is an exercise in futility IMO.
Except in Adobe’s case at least that is simply incorrect. Lightroom and Photoshop continue to get updates and increased capabilities…and even as an advanced amateur photographer I easily see the benefits.
I used to think this too, but I’ve observed that some developers (Ulysses, in particular) seem to constantly add minor (and ill-designed, again, Ulysses) features so they can gain attention and make subscribers feel like they’re getting value.
Quick run of the numbers makes plain to me what I suspected: most of my costs are for accessibility-related software (screen reader, Aira, Sero …) most of which is simply not likely ever to feature in most people’s subscriptions. I suspect this makes me an outlier and you’re not interested in these costs, even when they are in fact voluntary and paid through Apple’s storefront.
Just shy of 3k a year. I’ll have to see what I can shave off but a lot of it is used. Retirement looming (whatever that means, whole other discussion…) but definitely looking at cutting some of this back.
A guaranteed way to lose me as a customer is to go subscription. 1Password lost me as a customer when their greed implemented a subscription only policy. Even my local newspaper lost me as a subscriber when I asked to renew from a print subscription to a digital one. They would not let me pay the annual subscription via check or cash demanding I put a credit/debit card on file. I was willing to use PayPal, but they refused (plus their representative was a very sarcastic a-hole).
I do subscribe to the online edition of the newspaper where I lived from 1989 to 2021.
Also, a monthly periodical I subscribed to is going from print to digital, so I’m not renewing my 40+ year subscription.
All else being equal, I prefer permanent licenses over subscriptions. At a bare minimum, with subscription software, you should have the ability to open, view, and print existing documents after a subscription expires. All that said, the only question that really matters to me is “Does the value justify the cost?” If a subscription delivers fair value, then I have no problem with it. Of course, it is important to monitor one’s list of subscriptions.
Sorry, but the instructions are way too complicated. I’ll just mention that I subscribe to Apple Music and iCloud+ (2 TB) and the multi-device AppleCare+ to cover my iPhone, MBP, and iPad Pro. I do not subscribe to AppleTV or other paid-for Apple services. I subscribe to Netflix, but no other streaming service. I subscribe to Amazon Prime. No cable. But I have home fiber network service. And iPhone cellular service of course. I have a legacy G Suite account and recently added 1 TB of Google Cloud for just $4/month. And I subscribe monthly to Talkatone for a U.S. VoIP number. I guess this and that add up. But I am not following all the very detailed rules of what to include and what to exclude so it’s hard to give a total.
I did not include my largest subscription cost, which is Spectrum internet service because I also use that for business. Same with my phone, also mixed use. Since I work freelance, most of my costs are mixed. I’ve tried to break out the subs that are not tied primarily to business.
I know one subscription I will never cancel duhhhh TidBits!! The subscription that keeps on giving!! Thanks to a great leader, Adam, and to so may wise and giving people. You folks have saved my bacon more times that I can count and I am so grateful. Thank you all.
My credit card seems to be broken once a year or so, which is a great way to see what I’m subscribed to. I send Apple and TidBits money. The first rather unhappily, but, I’m not as good at backing up as I should be, the second very happily, as it is always interesting, even tho often beyond me, or, at least, not applicable.
My most expensive subscription (which I included in my survey response) is $82.33 per month with tax for the daily local newspaper. That’s an increase of $30 from a year ago. I also pay $99.99 per year for Parallels so I can run a High Sierra virtual machine on my Intel iMac to use my critical 32-bit SuperCard app.