Screen Studio's lifetime licence is one year of updates
Screen Studio's one-time licence stays valid, but access to updates ends. What Screen Studio says, what holders report on r/macapps and Hacker News, what is not documented, and what a buy-once licence means elsewhere.
"Lifetime" and "one-time" are not the same promise. Screen Studio's version of it is that the licence you bought keeps working and the updates stop.
What Screen Studio says
Its own FAQ answers a question about one-time licences bought in the past. The licence is still valid. If your access to the latest updates and features has expired, you can renew it at any time. Purchasing one-time licences is no longer possible for new customers.
That is the whole statement. It does not say what renewing costs, or how long a payment keeps updates coming.
What holders say
A thread on r/macapps from October 2024, titled "RIP Screen Studio 1-Device Lifetime", has 61 upvotes and 84 comments.
A commenter there wrote: "It's not even a lifetime licence, that's that scummy trick where you get 1 year of updates or so until the next huge update (v1 to v2) then they ask for more money." Another wrote: "only 1 year of free updates. Renewal cost $109". A third said that for people who bought before the price change, renewal was $49 for the standard plan and $89 for the extended plan.
Those are what people said, not what Screen Studio publishes, so confirm the price before you rely on it.
On Hacker News, in a thread about an open-source alternative, one user wrote that they bought it "when it was a flat fee for a year of updates", that the year was up, and that they would happily pay for another but not as a subscription.
Read the comment on Hacker News
What is and is not documented
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Does the licence keep working? | Yes, Screen Studio says it is still valid. |
| Do updates continue? | Access to the latest updates and features can expire. |
| Can you renew? | Yes, at any time. |
| What does renewing cost? | Not on Screen Studio's site. |
| Can new customers buy one? | No. |
If your updates have lapsed and you want to keep going on the old version, you can. If you want new features, you renew, or you subscribe at the prices in Screen Studio without a subscription. If you want out, how to cancel Screen Studio covers what a lapse means.
What "buy once" can mean
Read the terms, not the label. A licence can mean the app forever with updates included, the app forever with updates for a period, or a fixed version. Ask three questions before you buy: does it renew, what happens to updates, and does the price you see now change.
Screen Charm's one-time price is $79 with free lifetime updates, according to its own page. And Screen Studio zooms too much is the page for what the app does while you are deciding.
Prequel's lifetime licence
Prequel's lifetime licence is one payment of $29 with no renewal and nothing to cancel. It is the whole app, with no watermark and no length cap. What it does not do is grow: it comes with 5 GB of shared recordings, kept for three months each. Exports to your own Mac are never counted and never expire.
The pricing page says plainly that the price might rise, and that signing up today does not lock a rate in forever. See pricing and what the trial includes.
Try the lifetime plan's app free for 7 days first.
Prequel needs an Apple Silicon Mac on macOS 14 or later. Download Prequel for Mac and try it free for 7 days, with no watermark on anything you export. After that it is $9 a month or $29 once. See what it costs.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Screen Studio's lifetime licence expire?
- The licence itself does not. Screen Studio says a one-time licence is still valid, but access to the latest updates and features can expire, and holders can renew it at any time. The renewal price is not stated on its site.
- Can I still buy a Screen Studio lifetime licence?
- No. Screen Studio says one-time licences were possible in the past and are no longer available for new purchases.
- How much does it cost to renew a Screen Studio licence?
- Screen Studio does not publish it. Commenters on r/macapps reported $49 or $89 for people who bought before the price change and $109 for the later tier. These are what people said they were told, so confirm with Screen Studio before you rely on them.
- What does a lifetime licence mean for Prequel?
- Prequel's lifetime licence is one payment of $29 with no renewal and nothing to cancel. It includes the whole app and 5 GB of shared recordings. The price may change in future, and the pricing page always says what it is today.
Keep reading
- Screen Studio without a subscription: what your options areScreen Studio is $29 a month, or $9 a month billed yearly, with no free tier and export behind the paywall. The four options if you do not want a subscription, including the one for a project already recorded.
- How to cancel Screen StudioScreen Studio bills through Lemon Squeezy, not the app. Where to cancel, what the terms say about refunds and renewal, what happens to a one-time licence, and how to avoid a lookalike site. Checked 5 October 2026.
- Screen Charm refund and cancellation: it is $79 onceScreen Charm has no subscription to cancel. What its terms say about the $79 lifetime price, the 14-day refund and how to ask for one, the Apple Silicon requirement that caught one buyer, and how the one-off price compares.
- Screen Studio zooms too much: how to calm it downUsers on Hacker News and Reddit describe constant zooming as distracting and dizzying. What they said, and how to lower the level, slow the move, delete the zooms you do not want or swap them for a loupe in Prequel.