6 of the most expensive mobile apps you can buy today
“Free” is the king of mobile app stores, hence the rise of in-app purchases, but even paid apps usually only cost a few dollars. There were some significant outliers, however. Let’s look at apps that break the bank.
What qualifies as “expensive”?
Like our “most expensive phones ever” list, we need to set some parameters for what we mean by “expensive.” As for applications, there are two types of “expensive”.
The first is realistically Dear. These are expensive apps that have legitimate reasons to be expensive. The second is gadget expensive, which consists of expensive apps just to be expensive. The infamous “I Am Rich” app is a perfect example.
To note: For this list, I’m going to mix apps from these two categories. I will also focus only on apps from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. I’m also mostly looking at the initial price, but I’ve included one for in-app purchases.
Zollinger Atlas of Surgery: $119
One of the most common categories to find expensive apps is apps for the medical community. These are apps specially designed for surgeons, doctors, dentists, medical students and other medical professionals.
Zollinger’s Atlas of Surgical Operations (iPhone, Android) is one such app. It provides reference materials for a wide range of surgical procedures. The app costs $119, but it contains a wealth of information that is very useful to have with you if you are the target audience.
Classic TC with WordPower: $299
Classic TC (TouchChat) is an iPhone application for people who have difficulty speaking. Words are displayed on easy-to-read buttons and the user can press them to read the words aloud with the built-in speech synthesizer.
Custom buttons and voice recordings can also be added. In addition to the word buttons, there is also a phonic keyboard. For people with autism, ALS, Down syndrome, apraxia, stroke, or other conditions, the $299 may be worth it.
Most expensive widget: $399
Let’s dive into the gadget category. There is an Android application simply named “Most Expensive Widget”. What does it do? Absolutely nothing.
As the name suggests, it is just a widget that you can put on the home screen. It’s a $399 status symbol to show off to your friends. That’s it.
CyberTuner: $999
Alright, now we’re really going up there in price. CyberTuner is a professional piano tuning app for iPhone. It was programmed by a recorded piano technician with “years of experience tuning and prepping for gigs as well as ‘in the trenches’ home tuning and repairs.”
$1,000 seems excessive for a piano tuning app, but it seems worth it. At the time of writing, the app has a 4.8/5 star rating with nearly 50 ratings. People pay and like it.
app. Cash: $999
app.Cash, not to be confused with Cash App, is an iPhone/iPad application designed to replace physical cash registers. With a whopping $1,000 price tag, it’s still supposed to be more affordable than traditional registry systems.
This app is a great example of some of the very specialized expensive apps in app stores. The average person doesn’t need something like this, but for a very specific person it can be life changing.
Base Camp 3: $99 per month
Let’s finish things off with an app that will quickly become very expensive. Basecamp is a project management service aimed at keeping teams organized. This is greatly appreciated, but can be expensive if your team is small.
Basecamp costs $99 per month, but the problem is that it’s a flat rate. So if you have a large team, $99 per month may be worth it. However, for a solo user or a small group, $100 per month adds up quickly and just keeps getting bigger over time.
The world of expensive apps is very interesting. It shows how smartphones have become incredibly useful tools for certain industries and for people with very specific needs. There is also a lot of nonsense in spending a few hundred dollars on a useless app. Your phone is already expensive, so what’s more, right?
RELATED: No, iPhones are not more expensive than Android phones
