Useful apps that do one thing well — without subscriptions for features that shouldn't need them.
Six rules. No asterisks.
Recurring fees are for services with recurring costs. A calculator isn't one.
If there are ads, they sit out of the way. The thing you came for always works.
Pay once if you want. No tiers, no upsells, no "Pro+" lurking behind it.
No fake urgency, no buried cancel buttons, no selling what you type.
Every price comes with the reasoning. You'll know what you're paying for.
Local-first where it makes sense. Export anything, anytime.
Somewhere along the way, every app became a subscription.
A PDF merger. A unit converter. A basic notes app. Tools that used to cost five dollars or nothing at all are now $9.99 a month, forever, with the good features locked behind a paywall and a pop-up asking you to upgrade every time you open the thing.
Fairware is the pushback. When I see a simple use case being gatekept, I build an alternative and price it honestly: free with ads that don't get in your way, or a one-time payment to remove them. That's it. No tiers. No trials that auto-renew. No "Pro" plan for features that cost nothing to run.
If a tool is simple, it should be priced like it.
Nothing shipped yet — the first ones are in the works.
Follow along on GitHub to see what lands first.
github.com/martin-raven