Setapp Review: Is the best Mac App Subscription Service?

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When we use computers, in most cases, we use applications installed on the computer. Be it business activities, technical activities, or recreational activities; we utilize different computer applications in carrying out these activities. Thus, you can imagine how wonderful it will be to have a suite where you can get any application you need on your computer.

Setapp is an example of such a suite. Setapp is a subscription-based service for Mac users where they can download any application they need. In this Setapp review, I will show you the advantages and disadvantages of Setapp.

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links that I receive a small commission for at no cost to you. You can read my full affiliate disclaimer in the footer.

Setapp Reviews Overview

Setapp-Dashboard

Setapp Key Summary

Developer:MacPaw
Website:setapp.com
System Requirements:El Capitan 10.11 (minimum)
Sierra 10.12 and later (recommended; required to install iOS apps)
Disk Space:500 MB
Compatible with macOS Big Sur:Yes
Pricing:Starting at $9.99
Support:24/7 Live chat/Email
Coupons:Get 20% Off
Refund Policy:14-day money back guarantee

Setapp Pros & Cons

Pros

  • More than 200+ human-selected apps
  • No internal payments, No ads
  • No Additional Fees for Upgrades
  • No Large Up-Front Software Costs
  • The app has a favorable pricing pattern
  • It has an impressive user interface
  • It handles all the installation process
  • All apps are human-selected
  • Support iPhone and iPad

Cons

  • It’s a subscription service
  • Not every app is included

What Is Setapp?

Setapp is a solution from MacPaw, the company behind popular Mac cleaner, CleanMyMac X.

Setapp is an application that provides Mac users with an extensive library of computer applications. On Setapp, Mac users can easily search for, download, and use any application they need.

Apart from being an extensive app library, there is more to Setapp. Setapp allows developers to market their apps for Mac users. The application provides a platform for developers so that they can sell their apps to numerous Mac users.

Setapp Review: Innovative Features

Setapp didn’t just become a popular choice among Mac users. The application possesses some remarkable features that made it stand out among its counterparts. These features range from easy usage to affordability. In this section, we will examine these features, showing how users can benefit from them.

Best Mac App Subscription Service

With Setapp, you need not worry about paying or subscribing to your apps individually. Setapp helps you handle this. All you need to do is pay through Setapp, and it will handle the subscription for all the apps on your Mac computer.

Setapp-Subscription

This feature is a very impressive one as it helps you save stress. You also don’t have to worry about upgrades to the application on your computer. Setapp handles that too.

Wide catalog of applications

There are a lot of applications compatible with a Mac computer. As of the last count, there are over 210 apps available for Mac computers on Setapp. This number means that mac users can access over 100 applications on Setapp.

Setapp-All-Apps

These applications include business apps, creativity, productivity, developer’s tools, and many more. There is hardly a type of application that you wouldn’t find on Setapp. Here are the most popular apps on Setapp:

  • CleanMyMac X: the famous macOS system junk cleaner
  • Ulysses:the best writing tool for Mac
  • Downie: powerful audio and video downloader for Mac, supports 1000+ websites
  • Gemini: duplicate file finder and cleaner for macOS
  • iStat Menus: the best system monitoring tool for Apple computers
  • MarginNote: super good reading notes software
  • X-Mind: excellent mind mapping tool
  • CleanShot X: great screenshot and recording tool for Apple computers
  • PullTube: superb YouTube video downloader
  • Disk Drill: mac computer file recovery and cleanup software
  • One Switch: macOS system toolbox
  • Ad Guard: a good ad blocker
  • IM+: internet live chat tool aggregator
  • MindNode: a nice and beautiful mind mapping tool
  • 2Do: a simple and useful to-do list processing tool
  • Permute: mac audio and video format conversion tool
  • Bartender: mac menu bar icon hiding tool
  • Flume: beautiful and useful Instagram client for Apple
  • BetterZip: powerful compression software that supports compressed file viewing
  • Boom 3D: a sound enhancement tool, a must for listening to music on your computer
  • Archiver: a full-featured file decompression tool

Moreover, there are concerted efforts by the makers of Setapp to increase the number of apps on the platform. When Setapp started, there were about 40 apps available on it. The number of applications grew over time, and efforts are still ongoing to keep increasing the applications on Setapp.

All apps are human-selected

Choosing an application for your Mac computer from the Mac App store can be annoyingly frustrating. Why? Because there are over two million apps available on the store. That means that you have to wade through hordes of apps to choose the best one.

Moreover, there are no demos where you can test these apps before download or purchase. Thus, you may go through a lot of stress to search and choose an app just to find out that the app doesn’t have the features you need. However, Setapp seeks to eliminate this frustration.

According to the CEO, Setapp aims at being the suite for the best 300 Mac apps. Thus, the developers at Setapp pick the best applications under each category and subject them to certain tests before adding them to the Setapp catalog.

Thus, you can rest assured that professionals select the apps on Setapps after confirming their suitability and adequacy for each category.

Setapp team strictly follows “Setapp Review Guidelines,” applications that violate the following regulations will not be available on Setapp:

  • Paid features and app components;
  • Built-in stores and in-app purchases;
  • Advertising, promotional, or direct marketing functionality;
  • Incorrect diagnostic or other inaccurate device data;
  • Improper or wrong information about the app itself;
  • References or commentary about a religious, cultural or ethnic group that are defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited or likely to expose the targeted group to harm or violence;
  • Pornographic material or user-generated content that is frequently pornographic.

Other than that, there are more rules and standards to filter out the best apps for users. All in all, the Setapp team tries their best to pick the best software for your needs.

Support iPhone and iPad

Recently, Setapp introduced a system to access the mobile version of the apps on your Mac computer on your iPhone or iPad. This feature ensures that you can use these apps wherever you go, as long as you have either your computer or phones with you.

Setapp-iOS

You don’t need to download Setapp on your iPhone or iPad (there is no mobile version to download). What you do is to select your preferred applications, and Setapp will activate the iOS version for your iPhone or iPad.

Easy to use

Another feature that you will enjoy on Setapp is its easy usability. The application is easy to use with its simplified and enticing interface. The interface makes it easy to search through and access the application that you wish to install.

Another element of its easy usability is the fact that it helps to save storage space. By using Setapp for Mac, you save more space than if you download these apps individually. As a result, it is easy to download as many apps as possible on Setapp without having to worry about your storage space.

Support Family Plan

Setapp allows you and your family members to use as many apps as you want on your Mac computers while sharing one plan. This is made possible through the Setapp Family Plan. The family plan allows you to pay less for more.

Through the Family plan, you use Setapp for three Mac computers while paying $19.99 per month. If you want to opt for a year plan, you pay $239.88 for the yearly plan. However, you should know that the family members added to the plan cannot add Setapp on another Mac computer apart from the one registered in the plan.

No Large Up-Front Software Costs

With Setapp, you escape the huge financial commitment involved in getting pieces of software on your computer. If you are to buy the applications outrightly, you will have to spend a lot of money. However, with Setapp, all you need to do is subscribe every month.

With a token of $8.99 every month, you can access a lot of applications on your Mac computer, courtesy of Setapp for Mac. Regardless of the number of apps added to your catalog, the subscription price remains the same.

No Additional Fees for Upgrades

Users of computer applications love upgrades. Upgrades mean that you get new and better features on your applications. However, these upgrades cost money, and it is usually costly.

Setapp ensures that you can enjoy your upgraded apps without worrying about upgrade fees. You need not worry about paying for upgrades as Setapp upgrades your apps at zeros costs.

No internal payments, No ads

You can bid goodbye to in-app purchases, and advertisements as applications downloaded on Setapp are rid of these annoying features. Once you download your apps in Setapp, open and continue using them with no worries about in-app purchases.

Setapp Customer Support

Setapp offers a good help center to help customers to fix their problems. In the help center, Setapp listed all problems that customers may encounter like setup guide, subscription problems, and more. As you know, MacPaw software is very popular around the world, Setapp is no exception. So Setapp help center supports the following three languages:

  • English
  • Deutsch
  • Français
SetApp-Help-Center

If you can’t find an effective way to solve your problem, you can submit your questions via email or ticket. The Setapp support team will respond to you within 24 hours, it’s very friendly and professional based on my real experience.

Setapp Pricing Plan

As we mentioned above, Setapp is a subscription-based service. It does provide a completely free 7-day trial, you can enjoy more than 200+ apps in Setapp. If you really have a good experience with Setapp, you can decide to subscribe to it.

Setapp provides premium plans for personal, family, and business.

Personal & Family

Setapp-Personal-Plan
MonthlyAnnualFamily
Pricing$9.99/mo$8.99/mo$19.99/mo
Simultaneous devices122
Premium supportYesYesYes
14-day money back guaranteeYesYesYes
Get It NowGet 20% Off NowGet 10% Off Now

The personal plan has two payment cycles, $9.99 monthly and $107.88 annually. You can get a 10% discount with the 12-month plan. However, the monthly plan allows you to use Setapp on up to 2 devices, and the annual plan only supports one. If you want to add more Mac or iOS devices, you need to pay extra $2.49 per month. And you can add up to 3 devices.

If you want to share Setapp with your families or friends, you can choose the family plan,  $19.99 monthly and $179.88 annually. This option allows you to use Setapp on up to 5 devices. The family main account can be used on 2 devices, and it can invite other three sub-account to join this plan.

Business

Setapp-Business-Plan
MonthlyAnnual
Pricing$15.00/mo$13.50/mo
Simultaneous devices44
Premium supportYesYes
14-day money back guaranteeYesYes
Get It NowGet 10% Off Now

Setapp has launched the business plan with a monthly and annual cycle, $15 monthly and $162 annually. Similarly, you can save 10% with an annual plan. And the good news is that Setapp provides a 14-day free trial for business plans.

The business plan allows four teammates to use it, and the main account can invite more teammates to join this plan. There is no invitation limit, but you need to pay $7.99 per month for adding every teammate.

Payment & Refund Policy

Currently, Setapp accepts Amex, Discover, JCB, Maestro, MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal. And Bank transfers are only available for teams. 

If you can’t get satisfied with Setapp, you have the right to apply for a refund via ticket. But before starting, there are some conditions below are fulfilled:

  • You didn’t install or use any application from the Setapp suite.
  • You’ve canceled your subscription before the first renewal date, no later than 30 days after the end of your trial period.

In addition, you can cancel your subscription temporarily, and you still can use the applications until the next billing period. If you want to use Setapp again, you can always login your account and renew the subscription.

Keep in mind that Setapp will give you a 14-day grace period. In this period, you can still use Setapp, even if you forget to renew your subscription or have the billing issues. If you have fixed the billing issues and renewed successfully during the grace period, you only need to pay the regular fee. If not, you will need to pay your regular fee, plus 14-day of grace (including device subscription, if any), plus taxes while reactivating your account.

Setapp FAQs

What is Setapp Mac?

Setapp Mac is a subscription-based service that provides Mac users with an extensive library of computer applications. On Setapp, Mac users can easily search for, download, and use any application they need for a subscription fee payable monthly or annually.

Is Setapp Safe?

Setapp is safe for your Mac computers. Both the platform and the apps downloaded through the platform are safe. I made this discovery when I ran a scan on some of the apps I downloaded through Setapp.

Is Setapp Free?

Setapp is not free. The platform is a subscription-based service that provides you with numerous apps that would cost around $2000 individually. You can access these apps by paying a subscription fee of $9.99 (for a one-time subscription) or $8.99 (for an annual subscription) per month for an individual plan.

With this individual plan, you can use Setapp with two different Mac computers. There is also a family plan where you and your family members can use Setapp on three Mac computers for a single subscription. A 7-day trial version is also available for people who want to test and see if the platform is for them.

How safe are apps on Setapp?

The apps installed through Setapp are safe as the developers at Setapp checked them for any virus before adding them to the Setapp catalog.

How to uninstall Setapp?

Uninstalling Setapp is very easy. Open the app and go to Help. Under the Help menu, you will find the ‘Uninstall App’ option. Click on the option, and Setapp will get uninstalled. You will also not be able to use the apps installed through the platform.

Setapp Alternatives

Setapp is not the only platform that allows you to manage applications on your Mac computers. There are other applications and platforms that allow you to do this. In the section of Setapp review, we will examine the differences between Setapp and how these alternatives fare when compared to Setapp.

Setapp VS Mac App Store

Mac App Store is the official application store for Mac computers. While the store has some similarities with Setapp for Mac, there are also clear differences between them. These differences establish the superiority of one over the other.

Mac App Store is a store for applications and not a subscription-based platform. This means that you buy applications or download for free (for the free ones) on the Mac App Store. This is different from Setapp, where you subscribe every month or year for your apps.

Also, there are lots of applications on the Mac App Store. While this means that you get lots of options, it also means that you’d have to spend a lot of time before you get the ideal application for you.

Setapp VS Microsoft subscriptions

Microsoft is a giant in the tech industry with its own fair share of digital solutions and applications. While Microsoft doesn’t really run a subscription-based service, some of its apps are based on a subscription basis.

This means that you have to subscribe to these apps before you use them. The only glitch about this arrangement is that it doesn’t give you options like Setapp and Mac App Store does. Hence, you must be sure that the app is perfect for you before you use them. Also, the subscription fees for apps on this platform are usually on the high side.

Setapp VS Adobe Bundles

Adobe Bundles is another means of getting Mac apps at a cheaper rate. Just as it works with Microsoft Subscriptions, you get some important applications on your Mac computer from Adobe. 

These applications are primarily from Adobe such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe XD and many more. You get these apps on your Mac computers on a subscription basis.

While Adobe Bundles is an excellent way of getting Adobe apps, there are some inadequacies with its use. The apps available on the platform are fewer than those available on Setapp for Mac.  

Also, the apps on the Adobe bundles are mainly creative apps, business solutions and PDF signatures, which is restrictive in a way. 

Conclusion

Setapp Review Summary

Chris Wu

Effectiveness
Price
Easy of use
Support

Summary

Setapp is an amazing platform for Mac users. The platform helps Mac users find ideal applications for their computers.
It also helps developers put their works out there for people to use. The subscription-based service provides a cheaper means of accessing different applications for Mac computers. 

4.7

If you have used Setapp, please share your honest review (good or bad).

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