NO SUBSCRIPTIONS
Buy Once, Use Forever: 8 Indie Apps With No Subscription
How many subscriptions are you paying for right now? If you're like most people, the answer is "too many."
Every month, small charges add up — $4.99 here, $9.99 there — until you're spending hundreds a year on apps you barely use.
Here are 8 indie apps that don't play that game. You pay once (or use them free), and they're yours forever.
No monthly fees, no annual renewals, no "your trial has expired" popups.
| App | Category | Rating | Reviews | Subscription? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tategaki | Productivity | 4.6 ★ | 43.6K | No |
| Infinite Clock | Utilities | 4.6 ★ | 39.0K | No |
| Speedometer 55 | Navigation | 4.5 ★ | 26.6K | No |
| Hikidashi Diary | Lifestyle | 4.7 ★ | 25.9K | No |
| StickyNote | Productivity | 4.5 ★ | 22.8K | No |
| Flip Clock | Utilities | 4.5 ★ | 16.7K | No |
| Simple Calendar | Productivity | 4.5 ★ | 17.6K | No |
| Tax Calculator | Productivity | 4.6 ★ | 6.0K | No |
01
Tategaki - Vertical Writing
A writing app for vertical Japanese text — something most word processors don't support well. Writers, calligraphers, and novelists love it. Over 43,000 ratings prove there's a huge demand for what big tech ignores.
Tategaki - Vertical Writing
02
Infinite Clock
A beautiful, always-on clock display for your device. Perfect for a bedside table or desk display. No subscription to keep it running — pay once and it tells time forever. Simple as that, with nearly 39,000 people agreeing.
Infinite Clock
03
Speedometer 55 Start
A GPS speedometer with HUD (heads-up display) mode that projects your speed onto the windshield at night. Truckers and road-trip enthusiasts swear by it. Over 26,000 ratings from people who've been using it for years without paying a cent in recurring fees.
Speedometer 55 Start
04
Hikidashi Diary
A tag-based journaling app where you organize thoughts into "drawers." No cloud sync subscription, no premium tier needed to access basic features. Everything works from day one, beautifully.
Hikidashi Diary
05
StickyNote
Home screen memo widgets. Write it, stick it, see it every time you unlock your phone. No premium plan needed for more widgets, no monthly fee for "advanced formatting." It just works.
StickyNote
06
Flip Clock
A retro flip clock widget for your lock screen and home screen. The satisfying animation of numbers flipping, with zero recurring cost. Nearly 17,000 people made it part of their daily aesthetic.
Flip Clock
07
Simple Calendar
Your schedule, presented cleanly, without a subscription wall blocking half the features. Widget support, color coding, and intuitive design. This is what a calendar app should be.
Simple Calendar
08
Tax Calculator
Quick sales tax and discount calculations. Type a price, see the total with tax, see the discount amount. No subscription for a calculator — because that would be absurd, and this developer knows it. Nearly 6,000 grateful users agree.
Tax Calculator
The Math Doesn't Lie
A typical app subscription costs $4.99/month — that's $60/year. Over 5 years, you've spent $300 on a single app.
Every app on this list costs a fraction of that (or nothing at all), and you keep it forever.
Indie developers who choose the buy-once model are betting that their app is good enough to earn your money without holding your data hostage. That's a bet worth supporting.
Indie developers who choose the buy-once model are betting that their app is good enough to earn your money without holding your data hostage. That's a bet worth supporting.