this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2023
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I don’t think that counts as subscription free
The subscription is entirely optional
Edit: i mean that you can use it perfectly well without one, all you’ll see is a banner ad at the bottom. It’s how ive been using it for years now
That’s a positive aspect of subscriptions. If you don’t need any of the subscription stuff you get a well support app and don’t have to pay anything
I’ve been using it for years now and I have never subscribed to anything (and it appears fully functional, at least I never needed any feature I couldn’t use). So, even if a subscription is possible, I still count it as subscription-free.
Yeah its a yearly subscription 😔
Although to be fair that’s quite cheap compared to others. Castro costs at least 18 bucks and fantastical is at looks it up 70 bucks per year :O
I was a Fantastical advocate until it went to subscription model. At the time I was working in a medical office with one of my tasks being scheduling. I heard a lot of people complaining about the stock calendar and I’d often bring up Fantastical and even gave a quick example if time allowed.
Once the subscription model took over I went right back to Apple Calendar.
I‘m still using fantastical, as some of the new premium features stayed unlocked for previous customers, but not heavily. And I really do think subscriptions are fine, but in no way can I justify 70 bucks per year for that and I don’t want to.
Totally understandable, it’s a great app. Nice to know they gave a little extra to existing customers.
Some subscriptions are fine, I’m not against them completely, but the as you said the cost of this one is steep. For my use it’s not worth it but to some others it might be.
There is exactly one valid reason for a subscription to an app (not content), and it's because your usage has to be reliant on a server with meaningful upkeep costs.
That does not include "your device could easily do this but we're forcing it to the cloud". Any other reason makes you a bad person.
I felt exactly the same. After the switch, I went to BusyCal which is a one time purchase. Worse than fantasical but better than the stock Apple Calendar.
Calendar 366 is a very good Fantastical replacement. One time payment
@Teal @fer0n I never found not only the taste of the application, but the justification of payment. For some reason it didn't catch me when I tried it.
Podcast republic cost $4 one time (for ad removal) and has cross platform support with iOS android and web.
I‘m happily paying for Castro, I love that app.
Ah sorry I misread your post as castero having a yearly subscription (sry my bad) 😞
All good, I appreciate the tip :) I’m just not looking to replace it with anything.
I looked through my apps, and there’s quite a few that I’m paying subscriptions for. Castro, Spotify, (Audible, Netflix, Disney if you want to count these), Google Photos, Carrot, Ivory, Timery, YNAB, and Unread. Recently got rid of prime to see how that feels like. I know that’s not in the spirit of this post, but I’m happy to pay some of these, knowing it’ll help keep them around and get new features.
Many many apps I used to love and use have died, most likely because of the missing revenue stream and subscriptions definitely help to keep that from happening.
I got it when it was still a one time purchase and I'm able to restore it when I buy a new phone. Very pleased with it as a one-off but would never subscribe.
Only to remove a small ad. And as it’s a podcast player, you listen, and don’t really see the Ad ever.
There’s more features such as playback settings if I remember correctly