Buy Once Software: Apps With No Subscription

Things is a polished to-do app for Apple devices. You buy each version once: the Mac app, the iPhone app (which includes the Apple Watch app) and the iPad app are separate purchases. There is no subscription, and Things Cloud sync between your devices is free.

It is the classic buy-once answer to Todoist. If you need Windows or Android too, our list of Todoist alternatives covers cross-platform options.

Microsoft still sells Office as a one-time purchase. Office Home 2024 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for one PC or Mac. It does not include Outlook, the 1 TB OneDrive storage or future major versions.

Microsoft's comparison page listed it at $179.99 on the day we checked. It launched at $149.99. Office Home & Business 2024 adds Outlook and the right to use it for business, at $249.99.

eM Client is a full desktop mail, calendar, contacts and tasks app. The Lifetime Personal licence is $29.95 for one person on up to 3 devices, and the pricing page lists "Lifetime Upgrades". The mobile apps are free. A free tier handles 2 accounts.

Scrivener is built for novels, theses and scripts. You write in small sections and rearrange them freely. Each licence covers one platform. Owning one desktop version gets you the other for $37.95. Minor updates are free, and the developer says paid major upgrades are always more than two years apart. There is a 30-day free trial.

iA Writer is a clean Markdown editor with a focus mode and good export. It is one-time on Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad. The developer says subscriptions are not offered on those platforms. Android is sold through Google Play with subscriptions, so check the Play listing if you are on Android.

Affinity used to be three one-time apps (Photo, Designer and Publisher). After Canva bought Serif, it became one free app that covers pixel editing, vector design and page layout. There is no watermark, no time limit and no feature cap. The only paid part is Canva's AI tools inside Affinity, which need a Canva premium plan.

It runs on Windows and Mac. An iPad version is in progress with no date, and the old V2 iPad apps cannot open the new files.

Pixelmator Pro is a fast, Mac-native image editor with layers, RAW editing and good AI tools. Apple now owns it. It is still $49.99 one-time on the Mac App Store, but since January 2026 it is also part of Apple Creator Studio ($12.99 a month or $129 a year), and some new features are only for subscribers. The one-time version still covers everyday editing.

PhotoLab is the most common one-time answer to Lightroom Classic, known for its noise reduction and lens corrections. The Elite licence activates on 3 computers, Mac or PC. You keep version 10 for good and decide later whether version 11 is worth the upgrade price.

Resolve is a full editing, colour, audio and effects suite. The free version is already very capable. Studio adds higher resolutions, more GPU acceleration, noise reduction and AI tools for $295.

Blackmagic has never charged for a Studio update, and version 21 was free for existing owners. There is no written promise, and at NAB 2026 Blackmagic's CEO said larger future updates could carry a charge. Even so, it is the best value here.

Final Cut Pro is still $299.99 one-time on the Mac App Store, and Apple says its pro apps remain available that way. Like Pixelmator Pro, it is also in Apple Creator Studio, and newer AI features such as Transcript Search and Visual Search need the subscription. Logic Pro follows the same model at $199.99 one-time.

PDF-XChange Editor edits text, fills and signs forms, runs OCR and comments on PDFs. The licence never expires. It includes 1 year of updates, and you can add 2 years for $15.50 or 3 years for $23.25 at purchase. If updates lapse, the version you have keeps working.

Alfred is a keyboard launcher. The free app finds files and apps. The Powerpack adds workflows, clipboard history, snippets and more. Alfred only sells in British pounds. Both licences currently include the free upgrade to Alfred 6, and both are for personal use.

BetterTouchTool lets you create custom trackpad gestures, keyboard shortcuts, window snapping and Touch Bar or menu bar actions. For $10 more, the lifetime licence is the obvious choice. It covers every Mac you personally own.

If snapping windows to halves and quarters is all you want, Magnet does just that for $4.99 on the Mac App Store.

CleanShot X handles screenshots, scrolling captures, screen recording, annotation and quick sharing. The Basic plan is a one-time $35 with 1 year of updates and 1 GB of cloud storage. After a year, you can keep using your version or renew updates for $19.

Total Commander is a two-pane file manager that has been around since the 1990s. It is sold in euros. Updates have always been free, and the developer says they remain free "until further notice". One licence covers one person on as many computers as they like.

Directory Opus is the other big Windows option. Its licence is perpetual with 1 year of updates, but its price did not load for us, so check its site for the current AUD price.

ForkLift is a two-pane Finder replacement that also connects to remote servers and cloud storage. The single licence is $19.95 with 1 year of updates, or $34.95 with 2 years. The family licence covers every Mac in a household.

If you mostly move files to servers and cloud storage, Panic's Transmit 5 is a one-time $45.

Carbon Copy Cloner makes scheduled, versioned backups and bootable-style copies of your Mac. One Personal and Household licence covers every Mac at home. Major versions are paid upgrades with a discount for owners.

SuperDuper is the simpler choice. Full erase-and-copy backups are free on macOS 14 and later. The paid licence adds scheduling and Smart Update, which copies only what changed.

Arq backs up your files, encrypted, to storage you choose: an external drive, a NAS, Backblaze B2, S3 and others. You pay for the app once per computer and pay your storage provider separately. It is the best one-time option on Windows now that Macrium and Acronis are subscription only.

Sublime Text is still one of the fastest editors around. A personal licence is $99 once and covers every computer and operating system you use. Updates are included for 3 years. After that your version keeps working, and a paid upgrade gets you the newer builds. The business licence is a yearly subscription.

Sublime Merge is a fast Git client from the same team, with the same licence terms. It handles large repos well and shows exactly which Git commands it runs.

Beyond Compare compares and syncs files, folders, and even FTP sites and archives. The licence is per user on any number of computers. Pro adds three-way merge.

Infuse plays almost any video file from your network, Plex, Jellyfin or cloud storage, with good subtitles and Apple TV support. Lifetime equals about six years of the yearly plan.

A lifetime option still exists, but it is now $749.99. That is more than 10 years of the yearly plan. Plex also added a 5-year plan at $249.99. Unless you are sure you will use Plex for a decade, the free Jellyfin server is worth a look first.

Tasker automates almost anything on Android: change settings by location, time or app, react to notifications, build your own widgets. It is a one-time $4.49 on Google Play in the US. The developer also offers a 7-day trial build.

Poweramp is a local music player with a strong equalizer and wide format support. The main app runs as a full 15-day trial. The Full Version Unlocker was $19.99 on the US Play Store when we checked, which is higher than it used to be. Prices vary by country.

Strongbox is a polished Apple app for KeePass databases. Your vault is a file you control and can sync with storage you choose. The lifetime licence covers all your devices.

On Windows, Mac and Linux, KeePassXC reads the same database format and is free and open source. On Android, KeePassDX is free too. Together they make a complete password setup with no subscription. If you prefer a hosted service, Bitwarden Premium is $19.80 a year.