Bob Wertz


7 subscriptions I happily pay for

Worth every penny

It seems like everything is going to subscription pricing. I subscribe to a whole host of streaming services, bundles, news sites, and software. Many of them don’t always seem worth the money, but as I look at what I subscribe to, I realize that I don’t mind supporting products and creators that I love. So here are a list of services that I really, really like and happily pay for:

Micro.Blog $5/month

I backed the Micro.Blog Kickstarter and I’ve had a paid subscription ever since — even when I wasn’t using it every day. I’m happy to support a product with a viewpoint that aligns with my values, and Micro.Blog is that type of service. Now that Twitter is unstable, I’m glad Micro.Blog is my home base.

Upgrade+ $5/month

I’ve listened to Myke Hurley and Jason Snell talk about Apple and the larger tech industry on Upgrade since 2014. I listen to a lot of podcasts, but this is the one I listen to every Monday. Paying for the “+” gets me ad-free episodes and an extra segment, but, I’m just happy to support a show I love.

Six Colors $6/month

Jason Snell and Dan Moren write Six Colors. I get additional articles and an extra podcast on Friday afternoons, but again, a way to support writers that I like. (Dan also writes a series of science fiction spy novels that I like a lot. Check them out, too.)

Ulysses $29.99/year

A distraction-free writing app that lets me write in Markdown. I’ve used Ulysses for a long time and almost everything I write starts here (including this post).

Fontstruct 5€/month

I don’t spend a ton of time over on Fontstruct, but I love it dearly. Fontstruct lets you build modular fonts and export them. Tons of fun and a great community. It’s free to use, but the 5 euros helps pay the bills.

Notion $5/month

Notion is… a lot of different things in one package. I use it for tracking tasks, managing grad school projects, jotting notes and planning for the future. Well worth the $5 a month.

Zotero $20/year

I’m a Ph.D. student. Zotero is a citation manager that lets me track all of the sources I need for my papers. It’s not the prettiest app, but it’s incredibly powerful. Free to use, but by $20/year gets me more cloud storage. In a couple of years, I’ll happily upgrade to the $60/year plan. Worth every penny.


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