Subscription Fatigue: Why One-Time Purchase Software is Making a Comeback

$10 here, $15 there, $20 somewhere else. Before you know it, you're spending $300/month on software subscriptions. The backlash against subscription-everything is real, and one-time purchase software is making a comeback.

The Subscription Creep Problem

A typical developer or knowledge worker might pay for:

• Cloud storage ($10/month)
• Password manager ($5/month)
• Note-taking app ($10/month)
• Email client ($8/month)
• Grammar checker ($15/month)
• Screen recording ($15/month)
• Transcription service ($10/month)
• Design tools ($20/month)

That's almost $100/month—$1,200/year—for tools that used to be one-time purchases. And that's before your Adobe, Microsoft, or JetBrains subscriptions.

Why Everything Went Subscription

From a business perspective, subscriptions make sense:

• Predictable recurring revenue
• Higher lifetime customer value
• Easier to get VC funding with MRR metrics
• Lower barrier to entry (vs. large upfront cost)

But what's good for the business isn't always good for the customer.

The Problems with Subscriptions

You Never Own Anything

Cancel your subscription and your software stops working. Years of payments, nothing to show for it. It's like renting your tools instead of owning them.

Prices Always Go Up

Started at $5/month? Give it two years. Software companies regularly increase prices, knowing switching costs keep you locked in.

The Mental Overhead

Every month, you're reminded of the cost. Every year, you question if you're getting value. Subscription management is now its own task.

Zombie Subscriptions

Studies show the average person pays for subscriptions they forgot about or rarely use. Companies literally bank on you not canceling.

The One-Time Purchase Renaissance

Users are pushing back, and indie developers are listening. There's a growing movement of "buy once, own forever" software:

• Raycast: Free core, one-time Pro purchase
• CleanShot X: One-time purchase for screenshot tool
• Pixelmator Pro: One-time purchase image editor
• Sotto: One-time $29 for voice dictation
• Tot: One-time purchase for quick notes

The Math Over Time

Let's compare a $10/month subscription vs. a $29 one-time purchase over 3 years:

By month 3, the one-time purchase has paid for itself. Everything after that is pure savings.

When Subscriptions Make Sense

To be fair, some software genuinely needs ongoing revenue:

• Cloud services with server costs (storage, sync)
• Continuously updated databases (security, legal)
• Team collaboration tools with infrastructure
• Services with API/bandwidth costs

But a voice dictation app that runs locally on your Mac? A screenshot tool? A note-taking app? These don't need monthly fees—they need them for business model, not technical, reasons.

Vote With Your Wallet

Every purchase is a vote for the kind of software industry you want. When you choose one-time purchase software, you're telling developers that sustainable businesses don't require subscription lock-in.