Ukrainian startup MacPaw is rolling out a service that provides Mac users with a kit of popular paid-for macOS apps for a monthly fee.
The new service, called Setapp, works as an intermediary between Mac users and app developers. It has handpicked a collection of the 61 top-rated apps, and provides unlimited access to them for $10 a month.
The individual prices of the apps included in the kit vary from $3 to $110. The company says the number of apps included might be increased to 300, although the monthly fee will remain the same.
“Setapp is the ultimate ‘unstore’ option, which gives you unlimited access to lots of great software without the anxiety of non-refundable, expensive purchases,” said Oleksandr Kosovan, the CEO of MacPaw and its Setapp division. “Each app included in the Setapp service is specially selected, based on usability, quality and great user experience.”
The apps are picked from a range of categories: video, photography, graphic design, business, personal productivity and finance. They include RapidWeaver, Ulysses, CleanMyMac, iMazing, Shimo, WiFi Explorer, MoneyWiz, Polarr, Disk Drill, iStat Menus, XMind.
This is how it works: Setapp creates a folder that’s available via the Finder on a Mac. Inside the folder there appears a directory-like library of apps, including descriptions and screenshots. Users can click each to install and use as long as their subscription is valid.
The internet is only needed to download the apps and update them. Updates are free.
A screenshot shows the macOS apps inside a Setapp folder installed on a Mac.
One Setapp account can work on two Macs.
Setapp could be particularly useful for testing out apps that don’t come with a trial version, but are expensive.
Of each user fee, 70 percent is shared among the developers of the applications that are used by a particular customer. Another 20 percent of the monthly fee goes to the partner that brought in the customer. MacPaw keeps the remaining 10 percent for itself.
Setapp has been under development for more than a year, and its beta version has been tested by 35,000 users. “Setapp is like Netflix for Mac apps,” said Chuiyuan Meng, a software engineer from NOTES17, who was among the first to test out the app.
Setapp is the ninth macOS app developed by MacPaw, which has existed since 2009 and has attracted 5 million users worldwide.
Kyiv Post staff writer Denys Krasnikov can be reached at [email protected].
