Advantages of Subscription Licensing

At Mimestream, we offer affordable subscription licensing for our app. The following are some of the key reasons we have chosen this licensing model:

  1. Enables use of the Gmail API: Mimestream uses the Gmail API, rather than the decades-old IMAP protocol, to provide advanced integration with Gmail. However, the API undergoes occasional changes that require app updates for compatibility (e.g. incident from February 2023). Additionally, we have a limited fleet-wide API usage quota from Google, so we need to continuously tune and manage the volume of queries.
  2. Continuous OS compatibility updates: Mimestream is built with cutting-edge technologies from Apple like Swift and SwiftUI, which enables the modern user experience of the app. Apple is rapidly evolving these technologies, and with a Mimestream subscription, you’ll always have the latest version that’s compatible with macOS updates.
  3. Immediate access to new features: You’ll be able to enjoy any new features as soon as we build them without delay. In contrast, paid upgrade models would force us to deliberately hold back features we’ve already built for long periods of time, so we can batch them up into a paid update.
  4. Improvements to core functionality: For an email client, we believe a focus on core functionality is especially critical. A subscription aligns our incentives with long-term user satisfaction and delight in your daily workflow, and empowers existing users to hold us accountable through their continued support. In contrast, one-time payment models would incentivize us to focus on new features and new users.
  5. Enables our future roadmap: Our future roadmap will necessitate subscription licensing, so starting out with this model avoids disruptive changes in the future. Features we’re planning to add in the future, like API-based push, server-assisted scheduled send, and OpenAI integration will require supporting services. Additionally, we intend to build an iOS app in the future, but since the App Store does not support paid upgrades, subscription licensing is the only practical option for a continuously-developed app.
  6. Ongoing support: Subscribing to our products also includes ongoing support. This means that if you ever run into any issues or have any questions, our team will be there to help you.
  7. Affordability and flexibility: Subscription-based pricing makes our product more affordable for a wider range of users. Rather than paying a large sum up front, you can choose a plan that fits your budget and needs. If you no longer need the app, you can cancel your plan – saving you money.

We’re a small, bootstrapped company, and invested many years of work into building Mimestream before beginning to charge for it. We’ve priced it as affordably as possible, so that the maximum number of customers can enjoy our app.

Is there a lifetime subscription?

No, we do not offer a lifetime subscription. Mimestream is dependent upon the Gmail API, but this is not under our control, so it’s not possible for us to make any long-term promises regarding its availability or cost. As a concrete example of our concern: the Twitter and Reddit APIs recently switched from being free to paid, having drastic impact on apps that used these APIs. If something like this ever happened with the Gmail API, it would be untenable for us to honor previous lifetime commitments, so we won’t make them.

What if a subscription is not right for me?

We completely understand that a subscription licensing model may not be the right fit for everyone. However, given the reasons above, we don’t offer a one-time purchase licensing option.

As an alternative, we recommend Apple Mail: it’s already built into macOS and is totally free to use!

Even if our offering is not currently right for you, we hope that you will occasionally check in on us to see the improvements we’ve made as we continue to build and grow the app.