MacRumors Exclusive: Get 50% Off Your First Year of Flexibits Premium for Fantastical and Cardhop

[MacRumors]

MacRumors and Flexibits have partnered up this week, offering our readers a chance to take 50 percent off their first year of Flexibits Premium, which includes popular apps Fantastical and Cardhop. This offer will run through December 31 on the Flexibits website, and the subscription supports apps across macOS, iOS, and iPadOS.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Flexibits. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

The offer can be found by visiting Flexibits.com and clicking on the "MacRumors Exclusive Offer" banner at the top of every page. With this deal, you will get 50 percent off your first year of Flexibits Premium, and it can be used on either Individual Plans or on Family Plans.

Flexibits Premium Subscription (1st Year) (50% OFF)​

Fantastical is a calendar app that can sync across apps for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Similarly, Cardhop can sync across Apple devices and provides a more in-depth contact management platform.

We also have another exclusive app deal running this month, which takes 50% off your first year of 1Password Families. Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Article Link: MacRumors Exclusive: Get 50% Off Your First Year of Flexibits Premium for Fantastical and Cardhop

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Not bad. Thank you MR for the discount.

 

[masterell]

£40/year for a calendar app. Same price as Office 365 for families. Even at 50% off, this is still an extortionate amount for a calendar app.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

I will never, ever pay a subscription for a calendar app. If this means I eventually have to default to Apple Calendar app then so be it.

A nice big middle finger ? to this idea. I’d rather they charge $0.99 every time they update significantly, or whatever amount they deem fair.

Subscription doesn’t belong on a calendar app, and I’ll take that with me to the grave.

For now I use Fantastical after having paid once, years ago, and I’ll continue to until they remove that ability.

Edit: and maybe the middle finger is rude, and so maybe I take that back, but at the same time, I can’t help but see this as greed.

Release Fantastical 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, and charge then, once, but if you can’t figure out how to do that, I’m sorry but maybe develop other apps too if you need the cash flow, rather than expect passive income.

We ALL want passive income, app developers are not some holy grail of people that deserve it for all the hard work they do.

Many of us work very, very, hard, and will never see passive income from our efforts without savvy investing.

 

[mashdots]

I get that the apps are cool and have a neat design but I cannot see the justification of paying $40 a year for these. It's like paying membership fees for access to apps that are slightly cooler than what come stock on every mac, iphone, and ipad.

Subscription doesn’t belong on a calendar app, and I’ll take that with me to the grave.

[...]

We ALL want passive income, app developers are not some holy grail of people that deserve it for all the hard work they do.

As a software engineer, I agree. Remember the days when you'd buy a perpetual license? And then they'd come out with a version with the upgrades worth paying for? i'd be on board for that. But a subscription for a calendar / contacts application is not a good model for a business. Sorry.

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

Was about to go and use the discount but it's telling me it's for new customers only, even though I've never previously paid for Fantastical. I have had a trial so I'm guessing that's the issue; either way, a bit weird to limit the offer to people who've never even taken a trial version of the app before.

 

[Abazigal]

I like that fantastical is available on all my Apple devices. Shame this offer wasn’t around last year, but I see myself sticking with it for the neat term.

 

[iamdmann]

After their bait and switch to subscription after selling Fantastical on multiple platforms this company is dead to me. The pricing is outrageous as well. This is not Notability where they went subscription at a reasonable price and (eventually) kept all features for existing users. This is in the app hall of shame along with 'Deliveries' and PDF Expert. Never.

 

[Razeus]

I tried to do subscriptions, but after adding everything up and realizing what I'm getting, the Apple default app is all I need. I just need to keep track of appointments. That's not worth $40 a year. I mean all they are selling is the way it looks. It looks great, but not $40 a great, especially when I have seen no new features or updates in the year that I subscribed.

For subscription apps, I expect the app to be perfect. No bugs. No glitches. This is a non-negotiable.

 

[masterell]

I tried to do subscriptions, but after adding everything up and realizing what I'm getting, the Apple default app is all I need. I just need to keep track of appointments. That's not worth $40 a year. I mean all they are selling is the way it looks. It looks great, but not $40 a great, especially when I have seen no new features or updates in the year that I subscribed.

For subscription apps, I expect the app to be perfect. No bugs. No glitches. This is a non-negotiable.

See, this is the situation for me. It's a pretty app (they're still bragging about an Apple Design award they got in 2016 on their website) - but equally - I just need a calendar to keep track of appointments - nothing fancy. Pro users get access to custom calendars (which one can freely download from any website free anyway) and weather info in their calendar. Plus collaboration tools which a the majority of potential users wouldn't use. Big deal.

Is this worth £40 a year? Not a chance

 

[dumastudetto]

This is a great deal.

Premium apps like Fantastical are why smart and sophisticated people choose iPhone over Android. The experience you get with Fantastical is easily worth the annual subscription.

 

[Spidder]

Are people actually paying $40 a year for a friggin calender?

The experience you get with Fantastical is easily worth the annual subscription.

No. Just no.

 

[foobarbaz]

£40/year for a calendar app. Same price as Office 365 for families. Even at 50% off, this is still an extortionate amount for a calendar app.

It's way too much for my (personal) use. But I fail to see where the extortion comes into play.

It's not a necessity. Why are people angry that a premium product exists? If it's not worth it (to you), just use something else. There is a free one built-in. And plenty of similar mid-tier products exists (e.g. Calendar 366 II).

 

[CopyChief]

I have been a Fantastical user for many years. Note I said "user." I even purchased the upgrade to their apps a couple of years ago, before the subscription nonsense. I still use the now-somewhat-crippled app because I prefer the design, but I simply can't justify a subscription. I did opt-in to a trial a few months ago, and then forgot to cancel for one month – and because I did that, I can't use this 50% off even if I wanted to. Ridiculous.

 

[iDento]

This is the best looking calendar app and you get what you pay for… And if the stock Calendar app is enough for you, good for you.

- I want to see reminders and events in the today view.
- I want calendar sets.
- I want natural language entries.

40$ is nothing.

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

This is the best looking calendar app and you get what you pay for… And if the stock Calendar app is enough for you, good for you.

- I want to see reminders and events in the today view.
- I want calendar sets.
- I want natural language entries.

40$ is nothing.

No, it’s not nothing. And it’s not just $40. It’s $40 every year for as long as you want to keep using the app. If you can afford/justify that and earn enough money to dismiss $40 as “nothing” then good for you, but at least have some self-awareness about it.

 

[Spocky]

No, it’s not nothing. And it’s not just $40. It’s $40 every year for as long as you want to keep using the app. If you can afford/justify that and earn enough money to dismiss $40 as “nothing” then good for you, but at least have some self-awareness about it.

Here here! $40 a year for a calendar app, ooft!

 

[Smoothie]

Flexibits lost me as a customer when they moved to an expensive subscription model for a calendar. When compared to other subscriptions which offer so much more, like Microsoft 365, it’s not worth it at all. Flexibits justifies the price by periodically releasing updates that add features that a lot of users don’t even want. It just adds to the bloat of the app. I still use Fantastical on my iMac, but I haven’t updated it to the subscription version and it still works. I’ve replaced the app on my iPhone and iPad with a calendar that offers a reasonable non-subscription purchase price.

 

[benedetti]

Renting a contacts app ? ?‍♂️?‍♀️

 

[Apple_Robert]

I was a user before the subscription fiasco. I decided not to renew and have been using Apple Calendar. It's not as nice but, it works.

 

[ericg301]

it's worth every penny

 

[Spocky]

it's worth every penny

40 quid for an app that has a pokey wee badge on it that shows the date. Get real.

 

[LogicalApex]

I had purchased their whole suite on pretty much all my devices as I had liked the app and it wasn’t a subscription. Then they pulled the rug out from under me and has never rectified that. I’m pissed and I’m sure many others are as well as evidenced by this thread alone.

They could have saved themselves a whole lot of pain by leaving the old paid apps alone and making migration to this model entirely optional. But I’m sure there bean counters worried they’d see a lower conversion rate as a result.

I’m out though...

I can’t possibly justify spending $40/y on an app that gives me a pretty view into my calendar I host on my own servers. They aren’t providing me anything that justifies recurring charges.

They seem to be trying to add value with their own scheduling and coordination features, but those aren’t features I need. Apple calendar already supports sending invites ??‍♂️.

For those who are in favor of this shift to a subscription… It has been over a year now. What features have they added over the last year that make you feel this subscription was worth it and continues to be worth It? As they are a business and not a charity case so there needs to be worthy features added regularly to justify jumping aboard a subscription train.

 

[joshwenke]

I paid for the "lifetime" Fantastical before they had a subscription model. Then they added the subscriptions and ruined my app. Back to the regular Apple calendar, and I don't miss Fantastical one bit.

 

[kuwxman]

I'm a daily Fantastical user, but never signed up for the subscription nonsense. So nowadays I get to use a "limited" version. Can't really say there is anything missing I would need.

Saying that, I was intrigued by 50% off for one year. Started going through the process. Went to their website. No price shown. Dug around for my Flexibits login info and signed in. No price shown. I got allll the way to the 'Start Free Trial NOW' button and STILL no price was shown. I'm out. If you can't be up front about what the cost is, here's my middle finger right back at the middle finger you gave to your customers.

So, it is a nice offer, but I'll keep using my limited version that was paid for years ago.