App Recap: Buddy, MindNode, and Study Bunny

[MacRumors]

In this week's App Recap, we've highlighted finance app "Buddy," productivity app "MindNode," and productivity app "Study Bunny" as three apps that are worth checking out.

Apps to Check Out

• Buddy - Easy Budgeting (iOS, Subscription) - Buddy is an app that can help users set up a budget and keep track of expenses. The app's overview page provides a clear breakdown of all expenses over a month against an income value. Users can break up spending budgets into various categories to track how much spending occurs in each, and all transaction data can be conveniently exported in a CSV file. The app is free to download, and users can subscribe to the app's premium plan to create an unlimited number of budgets and categories, share transactions and budgeting data with others, export transactions, and more. Buddy's premium plan is available in monthly, quarterly, and yearly subscription options priced at $4.99, $11.99, and $34.99 respectively.
• MindNode - Mind Map (iOS & Mac, Subscription) - MindNode is an app that can be used to capture all aspects of an idea in a simple manner. The app allows several forms of content to be added on a branch of the map including text, drawings, links, and more. To help organize an idea, users can easily tag, detach, connect, reconnect, and move branches around the map. Maps can also be converted into an indented list in just a tap, which is a great way to see an outlined, high-level view of an idea. Although the app is free to download, certain features like Themes, Visual Tags, and Focus Mode are limited to subscribers of MindNode Plus, which is available in both monthly and yearly options priced at $2.49 and $19.99 respectively. There's also a two week trial available for new subscribers.
• Study Bunny: Focus Timer (iOS, Free) - Study Bunny can help users focus through a timer that tracks both work and break minutes. Upon completing a period of work, coins are obtained that can be used to purchase in-app content like sounds, custom backgrounds, and more. If the work timer is paused for more than seven minutes, however, coins will be lost, so users are incentivized to continue working. Additionally, the app tracks the length of study periods and displays daily work totals in weekly and monthly charts within the analytics menu. Study Bunny also lets users create flashcards and to-do lists to further help bolster productivity.

Are you using a great new app we've missed? Let us know in the comments and we'll check it out for next week's App Recap. Are you a developer of a unique app you'd like us to consider? Send us a message through our tip line at the top of the page and we'll check it out.

Article Link: App Recap: Buddy, MindNode, and Study Bunny

 

[jchap]

MindNode's on Setapp as well. If you're using other apps in the Setapp package for iOS, it might be more cost-effective to go for the Setapp license, rather than the full MindNode-only subscription.

That said, you can do quite a lot with MindNode without the subscription. I wish the developer didn't switch to a subscription-only model—I don't use it enough to make it worthwhile to splurge on a subscription. It was pretty pricey back in the day when you could only buy a one-time license, though.

 

[PlayUltimate]

I still have the previous version of MindApp on iOS. Works well enough to avoid the subscription version.

 

[keithdoc]

I've been a MindNode user for a LONG time. It is an incredibly useful app for organizing ideas/ mapping out processes and project planning. Nice that it works across devices. If you are a visual organizer it is awesome.

It's been a while since I've purchased it (before subscriptions) but I remember being a bit frustrated by additional pricing for iOS and MacOS.

 

[santaliqueur]

I wish the developer didn't switch to a subscription-only model—I don't use it enough to make it worthwhile to splurge on a subscription. It was pretty pricey back in the day when you could only buy a one-time license, though.

So as a casual user, you'd prefer to spend more on a one-time license rather than occasionally starting and stopping a subscription? I don't get this logic. Would you rather purchase a car if you only needed one a few times a year?

Subscription is *much* cheaper if you don't use it often. People are against subscriptions without realizing the benefits they provide.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

I mostly read these App Recap articles for the laugh. Subs for every dinky little app these days SMH.

 

[jchap]

So as a casual user, you'd prefer to spend more on a one-time license rather than occasionally starting and stopping a subscription? I don't get this logic. Would you rather purchase a car if you only needed one a few times a year?

Subscription is *much* cheaper if you don't use it often. People are against subscriptions without realizing the benefits they provide.

The "occasionally starting and stopping" is actually the part that's difficult with many subscription titles, and with the subscription model in particular.

If the subscription app offers a monthly purchase model without requiring a yearly subscription and lump sum payment, then that makes more sense for the occasional user from a financial perspective, like you said.

However, not all apps and platforms make it easy to simply subscribe for a month and then simply cancel the subscription. Generally, the user has to make sure that they have canceled their subscription and physically go through the cancellation process (granted, it's usually not too hard, but it does take a few minutes of your time). By their nature, most subscription app platforms might notify you at the end of your subscription, but more likely than not they will just silently tack another month onto the end of your existing subscription until you "cry uncle." The user might be notified of the additional month, or they might not, depending on the platform and their settings.

Also, for users who only occasionally need to use an app (like once every two or three months, for instance), usually they find when they've booted up the app (right when they need it!) that they need to go through the laborious process of renewing their subscription. It isn't that convenient for users to have to subscribe, cancel, subscribe and then cancel every time they need to use that app for just a few minutes or an hour every once in a while.

Ideally, what you said makes sense. Practically speaking, though, it's a lot more troublesome than just "buying" a license for the app outright. If it was downright simple to automatically continue your subscription once you started an app and then have it auto-cancelled it when you're not using it, the subscription model in this case would be more practical.

 

[santaliqueur]

If the subscription app offers a monthly purchase model without requiring a yearly subscription and lump sum payment, then that makes more sense for the occasional user from a financial perspective, like you said.

What software requires you to pay in such a manner? I prefer software subscriptions and I have a lot of them and I've never heard of such a payment structure. It sounds like you're describing a gym membership. Can you provide any examples of applications?

However, not all apps and platforms make it easy to simply subscribe for a month and then simply cancel the subscription. Generally, the user has to make sure that they have canceled their subscription and physically go through the cancellation process (granted, it's usually not too hard, but it does take a few minutes of your time). By their nature, most subscription app platforms might notify you at the end of your subscription, but more likely than not they will just silently tack another month onto the end of your existing subscription until you "cry uncle." The user might be notified of the additional month, or they might not, depending on the platform and their settings.

Also, for users who only occasionally need to use an app (like once every two or three months, for instance), usually they find when they've booted up the app (right when they need it!) that they need to go through the laborious process of renewing their subscription. It isn't that convenient for users to have to subscribe, cancel, subscribe and then cancel every time they need to use that app for just a few minutes or an hour every once in a while.

You're using a lot of words to describe really simple processes, and it's not nearly as hard as you make it sound like. The process to renew a subscription is NEVER simple, it is always "laborious"? Any developer who wants their subscription model to succeed will do exactly the opposite of what you describe. They will make a subscription easy to stop and easy to start.

I get you prefer not to subscribe and that's fine, just say you don't want to. We all have preferences. I'm just not going to pretend any of the slanted arguments you present against subscriptions reflect reality because you are pulling the truth in the direction you want it to be. There are plenty of reasons to like/dislike subscriptions, but you don't talk about how many apps require the double-dipped payment structure you spoke about, you only say that some use it and some don't. I'd be interested in seeing examples of that. I bet it's going to be companies that aren't very successful.

 

[jchap]

I get you prefer not to subscribe and that's fine, just say you don't want to. We all have preferences.

Actually, you're putting words in my mouth. I never said that I prefer not to subscribe. I subscribe to plenty of software. I don't hate the model.

Let's see... Adobe Creative Cloud (a yearly lump-sum payment for a month-to-month subscription), Microsoft 365, Setapp... and that doesn't even include the services I subscribe to, such as Amazon Prime (which is a yearly payment).

You also put words in my mouth when you paraphrased me: "The process to renew a subscription is NEVER simple, it is always "laborious"? ---> I didn't say that. What I said was that it's not always easy to subscribe and then simply cancel, subscribe and then simply cancel at your leisure. Ideally it should be, but not all software vendors make it so, at least in my experience.

Anyway, I wasn't looking for an argument, and I don't think I have all the answers, and mine is just one opinion. I suppose I should pull up some examples of which apps I feel have seemed more troublesome than others to use on an "on-demand" basis, but I've never really examined the matter closely—it's mostly a subjective impression, based on experience. Perhaps you might like to help "dispel my slanted arguments" by presenting the facts that you find about subscription app renewal and cancellation, with some convincing examples and research?

(Oh, and should I once again say it? I never said that I prefer not to subscribe.)