Some people will say that if you want to get anything of quality, you need to pay for it. However,
there’s also a line of thinking that getting a balance of good quality and a more reasonable cost is better. This is especially true of technology and it’s a common issue when it comes to choosing
apps. For every industry standard famous app option, there will be dozens of other apps offering
similar functions but with a cut to the price. Which ones give the best value for money?

A Value Warning

Before we dive into these apps properly, however, remember the golden rule of good deals:
reading the fine print. Plenty of apps look like great deals with free features and extras but then
tag some conditions onto the end.

For example, there’s a big difference between casino platforms and apps that offer bonuses and
perks behind a wall of terms and conditions that drop the value a lot, and those no-wagering sites
that give bonuses that you can actually keep. It’s a small detail but critical because it
massively changes the offer’s value.

Graphics Apps

Anyone with a passing knowledge of anything to do with graphics will know that the Adobe
Suite is the gold standard of design software. Between desktop and mobile apps Adobe covers
virtually every function needed. That also means that it comes with a gold standard price behind
it, even for just the mobile suite.

The good news is that there are a number of alternatives, most of which are either free or very
close to it. For something completely free that has all the main Photoshop features, we’d
recommend Fotor, although beware of similar app Darkroom. As we warned earlier, the fine
details of that app have several big features hidden behind a monthly subscription.

Music Tuning Apps

Pro music apps, for whatever reason, can be ludicrously expensive, with the top apps like
CyberTuner hitting almost $1000  and competitors not being far behind. In this case, there aren’t a
lot of free alternatives that can do a similar job, however, there are many that come in with a
much cheaper price tag. For example, Tunable does the main functions for around $8, and nTrack Tuner Pro is also solid at the same price albeit only for iPhones.

 

Video Editing Apps

To go back to Adobe, they don’t have quite as dominant a position with video editors as they do
with other software, but Premiere is still high up the list. In this case, there is a runaway favourite
for a budget version in the form of KineMaster. Even with a $4-per-month full subscription it
comes in far cheaper than Premiere and has basically every feature you could want for editing on
the go.

For this list, we’ve picked out apps that tend to run at higher costs but it’s general advice across
apps in general that that’s almost always something cheaper. Just remember our warning and read
all the fine print first!