iPhone Apps You Can Buy Once

Every paid Solutionflare app can be bought once. Where a subscription also exists, it sits beside a lifetime price rather than replacing it, and this page publishes both along with the month at which buying outright wins. Including the cases where it doesn't.

Every price we charge

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Prices are US dollars, set by us and processed by Apple; regional prices vary. Verified August 2026.

When subscribing is genuinely the better deal

A pricing page that only argues one way isn't a pricing page, it's an advert. Three cases where the subscription is the right call:

• You need it for one event. Going to a festival next weekend and want Chat Local Pro for unlimited conversations? Take the monthly plan with its seven-day trial. Paying $59.99 for a four-day trip would be silly and we'd rather say so.
• You want to try before committing. The lifetime tiers have no trial. The recurring plans do — seven days on Chat Local's monthly and yearly, one week on Rouse's annual. Subscribe, decide, then switch if you're staying.
• You're not sure the app fits your life. An alarm app is a habit change, not a purchase. Two months of Rouse at $2.99 is a cheaper way to find out than $59.99.

The reverse is also true: if you already know you'll use something for years, the lifetime price is straightforwardly cheaper and never lapses. Rouse's lifetime tier pays for itself against the annual plan in the third year, and then keeps going.

What "lifetime" means here, and what it doesn't

It means a one-time, non-consumable purchase attached to your Apple ID, restorable on any device signed in to that Apple ID, covering all future updates to that app, with nothing to cancel and nothing to lapse. Family Sharing is supported where the app enables it, as CalcBoard does.

What it can't mean, for us or for anyone: a guarantee about the lifetime of a company or of the App Store. Nobody selling a lifetime unlock can promise that, and you should discount any claim that implies otherwise. What we can say is that our apps' core features work with no connection and no account, so an app you've bought keeps doing its job on your device regardless of what happens to us.

Why mobile went subscription, and what it costs

The economics are real. A one-time purchase pays once but the app needs maintaining for years — every OS release, every new screen size. Subscriptions smooth that out, which is why the industry moved, and why plenty of good developers use them without cynicism.

The costs land on the user in less obvious places, though. A subscription is a lease, so entitlements have to be re-validated, which is one of the main reasons "offline" apps stop working offline. It creates pressure to hold features back for a future tier rather than shipping them. And it turns a $2.99 decision into a recurring one you have to keep re-making, which is why the App Store subscriptions screen is where good apps go to be forgotten.

Our compromise: the free tiers stay genuinely useful, subscriptions exist for people who want them, and the lifetime price is always on the same screen. Scroll Clash went furthest — version 2.0 deleted its subscriptions and coin packs entirely, and everyone who had bought the old subscriptions kept the benefits permanently at no further charge.

What none of our apps sell

• No consumables. No coin packs, gems, energy, lives, continues, loot boxes, or battle passes exist in any app.
• No paywalled content mid-experience. Scroll Clash's 100 levels, 6 modes, and 20 bosses are all free; the $4.99 unlock only speeds up coin earning.
• No ads, and therefore no rewarded video. Nothing can be unlocked by watching something. Details here.
• No price for basic function. Every free tier does something real on its own — see the full breakdown of what each free tier includes.

Frequently asked questions

Which iPhone apps can I buy once instead of subscribing?

Every paid Solutionflare app offers a one-time purchase. CalcBoard Premium is $2.99 once with no subscription option at all, and the Scroll Clash Admiral unlock is $4.99 once. Pentire Plus is $29.99 lifetime, and Rouse Premium and Chat Local Pro are each $59.99 lifetime. Dogear is free with no purchases at all.

Is the lifetime purchase cheaper than the subscription?

It depends how long you keep the app. Pentire Plus at $29.99 beats $4.99 a month from month seven. Chat Local Pro at $59.99 beats the $4.99 monthly plan from month 13, and the $29.99 annual plan in year three. Rouse Premium at $59.99 beats the $2.99 monthly plan from month 21, and the $24.99 annual plan in year three. For a single event or a trial run, the monthly plan is the cheaper choice.

Do any Solutionflare apps sell coins, gems, or loot boxes?

No. There are no consumable purchases in any of the six apps — no coin packs, gems, energy, lives, continues, loot boxes, or battle passes. Scroll Clash removed its consumable coin packs in version 2.0 and did not replace them.

Do I lose access if I cancel a subscription?

You keep the paid features until the end of the period you paid for, then the app returns to its free tier. Nothing you created is deleted. Chat Local, for example, keeps older messages beyond the free plan's visible history on the device, hidden rather than removed, and they reappear if you upgrade again.

Is there a free trial?

On some plans. Chat Local's monthly and yearly plans include a seven-day free trial, and Rouse's annual plan includes a one-week free trial. The lifetime tiers have no trial, and Pentire has no trial at all — its free tier is the trial. CalcBoard's $2.99 unlock has no trial, though it previews locked themes live in the app.

What does "lifetime" actually cover?

A one-time, non-consumable purchase tied to your Apple ID, restorable on any device signed in to that Apple ID, including all future updates to that app, with nothing to cancel and nothing that can lapse. It is not a promise about how long any company or store will exist — nobody can make that promise. Because our apps work with no account and no connection, a purchased app keeps working on your device regardless.

Can I share a purchase with my family?

CalcBoard Premium supports Family Sharing. Restore Purchases works across any device signed in to the same Apple ID for all of our paid apps.

Why is Rouse's lifetime price higher than Pentire's?

Rouse is a larger, ongoing app — alarms, routines, countdowns, sleep insights, and the whole AlarmKit surface — with corresponding maintenance every iOS release. Pentire Plus unlocks a defined set of difficulties, shapes, looks, and unlimited photo puzzles. Both sit next to a monthly option so you can choose the shape of the cost.