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Had to register just for this. There has been no problems for me with Google Calendar sync (personal and work). Personally I love this service for managing couple of personal calendars and two work calendars from different companies.
I enjoy Calendars 5 -- no sub -- multiple calendars. AND it shows the events in the day boxes unlike most calendars that just have dots lol
 
The magnitude of this discount might speak to disappointing retention, perhaps? Fantastical is a great calendar, talked up by many tech-tastemakers, but it was wrecked by the misguided subscription plan. I was “burned” by the change. Yes, you keep getting the FC2 features but it‘s like the app is abandonware without subscription. I switched to Cal 5 and stock cal. Not as good, but no account and no giant bill. After almost a year there was a discount on subscription. Great! But when it ran out I went back to Cal 5 an iOS.

Now if my worked used this, it might make sense for bus. users but they left behind most of their individual users. Halide camera switched to sub model last year, at only $12/yr. For $50 you get a perpetual license. I get that devs have to eat, but this is a crazy price for a calendar.
 
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Bought v2 for iOS and Mac. 2 months later they changed everything to subscription only. They won't see a single cent from me.
Why a simple frontend to Apple calendar needs a sub is beyond my understanding. For their features? I don't need no tiny weather icons in my calendar. One of the worst moves of this subscription gold rush.
 
How about big fat NO? Never ever trust this company anymore. The discount is a bait, naturally. $10 this year, and then $40/year moving forward.

THAT IS, OF COURSE, IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO INCREASE THEIR PRICES. I mean, we've seen that before with 2.0. Let them rot.
 
IMO the new Openings feature is worth the price of admission - it's like having Calendly built into the app.
This.

I used Fantastical on a paid sub and decided that while it is a really nice piece of software didn't really work for me at $40/year - even as a business expense. It's a nice product but I was going to let my subscription lapse.

Then came the new openings feature. It has saved me a TON of time since they implemented it and I can have clients just schedule a time anytime they want. I was never able to use Calendly because I have several corporate calendars from clients that don't allow external access. With Fantastical, this is all handled on device. I immediately re-subbed at full price because it pays for itself.
 
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I enjoy Calendars 5 -- no sub -- multiple calendars. AND it shows the events in the day boxes unlike most calendars that just have dots lol
They don't seem to have a macOS app. Also the events list and new openings and proposals features have been really useful for me in Fantastical. Otherwise Calendars 5 looks like a good pick!
 
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$10 now, $40 next year, and the next.

So, you want to pay $90 for it? 3yTCO?
Yes please!

If it ended up being $30 pa over the next 3 years, that would be a terrific deal for me for a great trio of apps that I use literally everyday.

I was trying to work out what I've paid Fantastical in total since 2012 - it's hard to remember exactly, as I bought a lot of things on sale, but having looked through my purchase history, here's my best guess:
  • Mac - I think I paid about $15 for version 1 in 2013 (it was on offer), then I paid the full price $40 in 2015 for version 2.
  • iOS/iPadOS - I also bought the 'companion apps that were then sold separately. I think I paid $3 for version 1 on iPhone, then $5 + $10 for the iPad and iPhone apps for version 2. (it might have been less - there were definitely some special offers, but I don't recall the details)
  • Since 3.0 came out, I've been happy to use the function that lets me keep access to the version 3 features for a bit, and now I've taken advantage of the new subscription offer ($10 per year)
So all told, in the period of late 2012 to early 2023, I have paid about $83 for just over 10 years of usage. Something like $0.70 a month. Honestly, given how useful the app is for me, I could have paid 3-5 times as much and it would have been good value. If $40 a year is the new norm for richly featured, well made, frequently updated apps across 3 platforms (I don't use the Apple Watch), that seems fair to me.

I realise that for others with different needs, it won't be worth it. Some people have fairly limited calendaring needs, or don't use 3 different platforms. Some people are allergic to subscriptions (this always seemed silly to me, but different strokes for different folks). This is all fine! It's good to have different options at different price points (including the free, adequate stock app).
 
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Is it possible to buy a year, then immediately cancel the sub so that it doesn't repeat?
Yes, and you will have full access to all of the features until your first year is over. I recommend to do this for people who don't want to pay the full price, because it's easy to forget that you were subscribed to this service after a few months
 
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Y’all, devs have to eat. If you can’t afford a subscription, then don’t buy it. Those of us who use it daily, and understand that devs can’t live on one-time sales alone, are cool with it
Sure devs have to eat as well. They can just develop something new and fancy and sell it as an upgrade so they can buy food.

But with a subscription they can (theoretically) keep charging for the same stuff month after month without doing anything else than the initial work.

Basically it’s just loading the risk on the consumers.

In the old days they were running the risk - would the next big release sell or not?

Now the consumer holds the risk: will I get something for my money next month?
 
Y’all, devs have to eat. If you can’t afford a subscription, then don’t buy it. Those of us who use it daily, and understand that devs can’t live on one-time sales alone, are cool with it

Devs do have to eat, but I am not running a charity. They also need to make a product that the public views as worth the price of admission. Judging by the size of this discount it seems like they may not be having an easy time with their model.

Subscription models for something like this really do not work. What it does is force a developer to have to make new features for the sake of justifying the subscription cost. When you are talking about a calendar app, there really is not a whole lot they can do to justify paying for it forever.
 
Subscription models for something like this really do not work. What it does is force a developer to have to make new features for the sake of justifying the subscription cost. When you are talking about a calendar app, there really is not a whole lot they can do to justify paying for it forever.

Well, fantastical has so far been quite prompt in supporting the latest features on iOS. In that regard, it’s like paying for a new version of the app every September across all my Apple devices.

Which is a lot more than can be said for apps made by larger companies like Google and Facebook.
 
Obligatory post reminding that flexibits pulled a bait and switch on fanatical users. Some purchased fantastical on 3 platforms and then lost functionality when it went subscription. They'll never get another dollar from me.
Ditto. They got me on their iPad & iPhone apps…lost trust.
 
I would never trust the developers, despite their good quality apps. They shamed people who did not pay their 40$ subscriptions after buying their individual apps. Last December, they were promoting a 50% off and now 75%.

Other than “openings”, there’s hardly any difference between the previous version and this. Just marketing gimmicks for them to justify their greed.

It’s a matter of time before we get competition catching up. I know developers need to make money, but this one’s needs to go under for their misdeeds. Never buying anything from them again!
 
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