Where to Get Cheap Mac Software
Posted on March 8, 2010 at 6:30 am
If you have just recently switched to Mac, you’re probably still looking for applications that match the functionality of certain Windows applications you used to use. There are a ton of applications out there, and just like on the Windows platform, the most popular applications (regardless of quality) are usually the highest price.
There is a lot of freeware available for OS X, but you may have to go through several applications to find what you’re looking for. The easiest way to maximize the bang for your buck when buying Mac applications is to buy application bundles.
MacHeist, MacUpdate, and MacFriendly are three software bundles that you should definitely investigate.
MacHeist
MacHeist is probably the most well known of the Mac software bundles. It is, however, much more than a software sale. MacHeist participants have to solve puzzles and logic problems to get software and to unlock opportunities to get additional software.
At the end of the heist, there is usually a bundle you can buy at an extreme discount in addition to all of the free software you collected while participating in the challenges. We participated in the last MacHeist, and the following applications were in the paid bundle for $35:
- iSale
- Picturesque
- SousChef
- World of Goo
- PhoneView
- LittleSnapper
- Acorn
- Kinemac
- WireTap Studio
- BoinxTV
- The Hit List
- Espresso
- Cro-Mag Rally
To give you an idea of how big the discount truly is, Kinemac retails for $299, and BoinxTV retails for $499. You may not make use of every application in the bundle, but if there are two or three software packages you think you can make use of, a MacHeist bundle pays for itself.
MacUpdate Promo
The MacUpdate Promo bundle doesn’t require any puzzle solving skills. It is assembled and sold through MacUpdate a few times a year, and usually contains extremely useful software. We purchased the Spring 2009 bundle and received the following software for $49:
- TechTool Pro
- Parallels Desktop
- NetBarrier X5
- DVDRemaster Pro
- Paperless
- Multiplex
- MoneyWell
- RipIt
- Posterino
- BetterZip
- Circus Ponies NoteBook
- Jets’n'Guns Gold
- CuteClips
- Voila
TechTool pro, Parallels Desktop, and NetBarrier are all well-known, premium applications. The value of this bundle to the average Mac user exceeds the purchase price tenfold. The best part about MacUpdate, is that they sell their Promo bundle a few times a year, so you can save a lot of money over time.
MacFriendly
MacFriendly’s bundles support charities. So you know that some of the proceeds from your purchase are going towards a good cause. We participated in the MacFriendly October 2009 bundle and received the following software for $49:
- MacJournal
- Pagico Professional
- 3D Image Commander
- CrossFTP Pro
- Cocktail
- Mac DVD Ripper Pro
- MacSnapper
- Data Guardian
- Translate It!
- Iris
- Sleep Blaster
- Super Flexible File Synchronizer Pro
It’s safe to say that participating in these bundles has saved us thousands of dollars over the course of two years, and we have gotten to use good software that would have been otherwise overlooked.
Some critics of these bundles say that the developers lose a lot of money by practically giving their software away. The truth is that they are hooking customers with full versions of good software, and these customers will likely come back and pay for future upgrades.
Add the fact that some of the proceeds are given to charity, and it’s hard to argue that the developer loses. These bundles are not scams, and you should definitely check them out. If there is nothing in a bundle that interests you, just wait. Another bundle a few weeks or months later may have everything you need!
» Filed Under Mac OS X
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I believe on MacHeist, the current bundle is the nanoBundle! And it includes different programs like MacJournal, RipIt, Clips, CoverScout, Flow and RapidWeaver. Also, some of these programs are locked, which makes them useless.
The locked programs on MacHeist are not useless. Once the MacHeist Bundle (or nanobundle) sells a certain number of copies, the applications get unlocked. I don’t recall programs ever staying locked during any MacHeist bundle, so you will most likely get all of the applications listed. There are less than 5,000 copies to go to unlock RapidWeaver, and a day left to sell them in.
Thanks for writing about this! I have a Mac and just bought the bundle before the deal ends! Pretty good software for $20.
There’s also Mac Bundle Box: http://www.macbundlebox.com
Not sure what their current status is…Right now they’ve just got a note on their homepage.
It really depends on what it is you’re looking for. For instance, Macs also COME with a lot of software that matches functionality of popular Windows programs (word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, mail, etc.)
But if you want real bang for your buck, try Googling “open source version os x” in front of the name of any program you’d like to duplicate. There are open source versions of Photoshop and Illustrator, many different fine word processors like Word, and much more — all free.
For the record there is no “open source version of Photoshop” in existence. There are many free, open source, and paid apps that duplicate some of the functionality Photoshop has to offer. There is, however, no open source version of any Adobe application.
What are some other places that I can get cheap Mac software? Windows has a million sites, this can’t be everything for Macs right?