Setapp

What is Setapp?

Setapp is a service granting you access to many apps and tools for Mac and iOS for a single monthly fee. When you subscribe, you get unlimited access to all of the 200+ apps included in the service and their upgrades. Some apps are available on iOS or Mac, and others run on both platforms. 

The service provides a convenient and cost-effective means of accessing tools you rely on for your work and those you might only need occasionally. 

What we love about Setapp.

The growth of subscription apps and the sheer number of tasks we need apps to complete cause many of us problems. 

We might only need to complete some tasks rarely, so taking out a subscription to a dedicated app is not cost-effective. Unfortunately, whereas in the past, we might have an old piece of software, outdated but serviceable, lapsed subscriptions don't leave us with working apps.

Deciding which apps we need is difficult as we wrestle with competing apps' prices, feature sets, and quality.

Setapp helps with all of this. 

The list of apps included is substantial and varied. 

Do you want to resize a collection of photos efficiently but not research and pay for the appropriate software, as you'll only do this rarely? Setapp has the Photobulk app. 

Do you want to edit a PDF? Setapp has Nitro PDF tools.

Do you want to create animated teaching resources? Setapp has the well-regarded and popular Hype animation app.

And so on. More than two hundred and thirty apps cover a diverse array of categories— creativity, task management, security, and more. The apps cover almost every task you might wish to do on your Mac or iOS device.

The apps aren't shovelware, either. Granted, they aren't the big hitters like the Adobe suite, but many of the apps are well-known alternatives to those. Each app in Setapp might not be monolithic and able to do everything, but the smaller, more focused apps in Setapp are easier to learn and complete the most common tasks.

The list of apps in Setapp is hand curated.

Setapp is unlike the wild west of your device's app store. It is more like the Educational App Store's app libraries in that every app is hand-picked. The curators do not want to drag down the overall reputation of their selection by including bad apples, so you can be assured that the app you are learning and using is an excellent example of its type.

We love that Setapp solves problems. It helps you build up a high-quality and compelling collection of apps to get your job done or help your kids complete schoolwork. Each app is there, ready and waiting, to solve your specific problems or complete the tasks you didn't expect to have. 

Is Setapp easy to use?

If you have a Mac and iOS subscription to Setapp, the most convenient and easiest way to administer it all is via Setapp installed on your Mac. If you have chosen the iOS-only subscription, you administer it via the Setapp website.

In both cases, managing your devices and apps is a relatively straightforward process. The Setapp website has some clear illustrated guides for everyday tasks.

How will students benefit?

Kids like to experiment and use different software to produce projects and other demonstrations of their learning. Access to the many productivity and creativity apps included in Setapp will reduce the chances of their ideas exceeding their resources.

They'll be broadening their IT experience, learning new concepts, and keeping interested in their current projects.

How will parents benefit?

If you're a Mac and iOS-using household Setapp could be cost-saving. If you and your kids have a few subscriptions to productivity apps or need to invest in buying a few outright, you could consolidate them using Setapp.

Not all of the apps you use might be available, but there could be equivalents and the inconvenience of learning new ones would be strongly compensated by the many additional apps you all can use.

How will teachers benefit?

Teachers often need to perform a task they haven't done before. The focussed nature of many apps available through Setapp makes learning how to complete the task easy, and their number gives subscribers an excellent chance of finding an app that does what they need. 

Whether it is bulk processing class photos at the end of the school year, producing vibrant lesson resources, or keeping the Macs running efficiently, teachers will find many of the tools relevant to their job. 

We'd recommend that any teacher that regularly uses a Mac takes the time to try the Setapp free trial. You might not know that you need some of the software or realise that it could make your life easier. Browse through the list and think about how it might save planning time or enhance your efficiency.

What can Setapp improve on?

The Setapp service does what it needs to do and does it well. With two hundred and thirty apps, it offers a well-packed library, but obviously, more would be an improvement.

The only reason this could be considered a dealbreaker is if the service does not offer any solution for the apps you need. We'd imagine that if this applies to you, your requirements are fairly specialised, so you should check the available apps carefully as part of the free trial.

How much does Setapp cost?

Setapp's subscription rates are determined by how you use the service. The lowest tier is just for use on a single Mac, the middle tier for use on a Mac and multiple iOS devices, and the highest tier covers multiple Macs and iOS devices.

You can use a seven-day free trial to appraise the service.

Is Setapp safe to use?

Setapp declares that it logs that the apps within its service are being used but does not record who is using them or how. Each individual app will also have a privacy policy that you should check.

Parents and teachers should ensure that any of the apps available through Setapp that they make available to kids are suitable for that age group.

Overall rating of the app.

Setapp enhances Macs and iOS devices hugely by giving subscribers tools to do almost everything they might need a Mac or iOS device to complete. There's an excellent chance that a subscriber to Setapp will find an app to do what they want. 

Take a look at the list of apps available, see if any could replace the ones you are already paying for, then take out a trial to Setapp and see if its alternatives, plus all of the others, make better financial and productive sense. You'll likely be surprised at how much you get for your subscription to this five-star rated service for your Apple devices.