iPhone Apps You Can Buy Once

Every paid app we make has a one-time price. Here is the whole price list, the month at which buying outright wins — and the cases where the subscription is honestly the better deal.

By Solutionflare · Verified September 2026

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.

What each app costs today

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Prices for all six Solutionflare apps, with break-even points for one-time purchases against subscriptions
AppBuy onceSubscriptionOne-time wins after
Dogear Free. No in-app purchases exist. There is no paid tier to compare.
CalcBoard $2.99 Premium, non-consumable, all future updates included None offered Immediately
Scroll Clash $4.99 Admiral unlock — a coin multiplier that gates no content None. Version 2.0 removed them* Immediately
Pentire $29.99 Pentire Plus, lifetime $4.99/month. No free trial. Month 7
Chat Local $59.99 Pro lifetime $1.99/week, $4.99/month or $29.99/year. No free trial on any plan. Week 31 vs weekly; month 13 vs monthly; year 3 vs annual
Rouse $59.99 Premium lifetime $2.99/month or $24.99/year. No free trial on either plan. Month 21 vs monthly; year 3 vs annual

Prices are US dollars, set by us and processed by Apple; regional prices vary. Verified September 2026 against each app's App Store listing.

* Scroll Clash 2.0 removed its subscriptions and coin packs from the app. Several of those retired products are still listed on its App Store product page pending removal from App Store Connect, so you may see them there. Nothing in the game sells or spends them, and the app offers no way to buy them.

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 weekly or monthly plan and cancel. Paying $59.99 for a four-day trip would be silly and we'd rather say so.
  • You want to try before committing. None of our plans has a free trial — the free tier is the trial, and it is not time-limited. Where you want more than the free tier for a short while, the cheapest recurring plan is a smaller bet than a lifetime unlock: a month of Rouse is $2.99 against $59.99.
  • 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.

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 from the app, 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 of the six apps. Scroll Clash sold coin packs before version 2.0 and removed them; some of those retired products remain visible on its App Store listing pending removal, and no shipped app can buy or use them.
  • 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. None of these has a free trial.

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 $1.99 weekly plan from week 31, 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 short run, the cheapest recurring plan is the cheaper choice.

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

No. As of September 2026 no shipped Solutionflare app contains a consumable purchase — no coin packs, gems, energy, lives, continues, loot boxes, or battle passes. Scroll Clash sold coin packs before version 2.0 and removed them without replacement; some of those retired products are still listed on its App Store product page pending removal from App Store Connect, and the game has no way to buy or spend 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?

No. As of September 2026 none of our apps offers a free trial or introductory offer on any plan, recurring or lifetime. The free tier is the trial, and unlike a trial it does not expire. Several apps also preview locked content live in the app before you buy — Pentire, Rouse, Chat Local, and CalcBoard all show a locked theme applied to your real screen and then revert it.

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?

Restore Purchases works across any device signed in to the same Apple ID, for all of our paid apps. Whether a given purchase is also shareable through Apple's Family Sharing is shown on that app's App Store product page — check there rather than taking our word for it.

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.

No consumables, no coin packs, no rented features

Two apps cost under $5 once. One is free with nothing to buy. The other three put a lifetime price on the same screen as the subscription.