No subscriptions here.
Paid apps with subscriptions have become incredibly common in the Google Play Store. While it may be the fairest way to compensate developers, subscriptions add up. We'll share some great paid Android apps you only have to pay for once.
Buzzkill is a powerful app that lets you customize notifications. You can set up rules to filter out unwanted notifications, change the sound or vibration pattern, automatically reply or dismiss messages, snooze or remind notifications, and much more.
Buzzkill does not collect or share any data from your notifications, and it doesn't require internet access to work. Buzzkill costs $2.99 to buy from the Play Store upfront. There are no ads or in-app purchases to get more features. It’s all there from the start.
This is not just one app, but several from developer Kustom Industries. They have various apps that allow you to create your own widgets (KWGT Kustom Widget Maker), live wallpapers (KLWP Live Wallpaper Maker), and lock screens (KLCK Kustom Lock Screen Maker). If you're someone that likes to tinker with personalization, you’ll love these apps.
The Pro versions of each app cost $5.99 to unlock more features and remove ads. The Pro versions give you access to more presets, animations, effects, fonts, shapes, gradients, etc. You will also be able to import or export your creations and share them with others.
MacroDroid is an app that helps you automate tasks on your Android device. It’s similar to Tasker, but much more user-friendly. You can create automation that trigger actions based on various conditions, such as time, location, battery level, app launch, and more. For example, you can set up a macro to turn on Wi-Fi when you are near your home.
MacroDroid is free to use for up to five macros. You can upgrade to the Pro version for $14.95 to create unlimited macros and access more features. The Pro version of MacroDroid unlocks more complex conditions and actions, such as NFC tags, plugins, variables, and expressions. You will also be able to backup and restore your macros and sync them across devices.
Moon+ Reader Pro is an eBook reader app that supports various formats, such as EPUB, PDF, MOBI, TXT, and HTML. You can access millions of eBooks from online libraries or personal servers, or read local files on your device. It’s an essential app if you read eBooks outside of Amazon’s garden.
Moon+ Reader Pro has a lot of customization options for the reading experience, such as themes, fonts, brightness, page-turning effects, bookmarks, and annotations. It also has features like text-to-speech, dual-page mode, backup and restore, widget shelf, etc. Moon+ Reader Pro is $8.99 from the Play Store.
Nova Launcher is a long-time favorite home screen launcher for Android devices. It lets you change the look and feel of your device with tons of options, such as icon themes, grid size, animations, gestures, dock settings, and more. You can also backup and restore your home screen layout across devices or import layouts from other launchers.
Nova Launcher Prime costs $6.99 to buy from the Play Store. It’s already a great app for free, but Prime unlocks more features and customization options, such as swipe actions, app drawer groups, hiding apps, icon swipes, unread count badges, and custom night mode. Trying a new launcher is a great way to spruce up your phone.
Poweramp has a passionate following among people who prefer local media over streaming music. It supports music files in various formats, including Hi-Res formats. Poweramp has a high-quality audio engine that supports a graphical equalizer, bass and treble adjustment, stereo expansion, gapless playback, and replay gain. Poweramp also has features like album art downloading, tag editor, Android Auto support, and casting to Chromecast-enabled devices.
Poweramp is free to use for 15 days. After that, you can buy the full version for $6.99 from the Play Store. The full version of Poweramp unlocks all the features and settings of the app without any limitations.
Quick Cursor makes it easier to use large phones with one hand by utilizing a mouse-like cursor. The cursor is activated by swiping in from the side of the screen, and then it acts like an extension of your finger. Quick Cursor has many customization options for the trigger zones, tracker and cursor areas, appearance, behavior of tracker and cursor, and more.
Quick Cursor is free to use without ads, but you can buy the Pro version for $5.99 for even more features and gestures. It gives you more control over the cursor movement and speed and more gestures, such as double tap, long press, and swipe.
Smart Audiobook Player is an app designed for playing local audiobook files. It has handy features like playback speed control, bookmarks, a list of characters, automatic pause in case you fall asleep, playback history, Chromecast support, and more.
Smart Audiobook Player is free to use for 30 days, and unlocking the full version only costs $2. That will remove the time limit and give you access to more features, such as equalizer, widgets, lock screen controls, etc. Like Moon+ Reader, this is an essential app if you use audiobooks outside of Amazon's garden.
Solid Explorer is a powerful file manager for Android devices. It allows you to easily manage your files in a dual-pane layout, protect them with strong encryption, access and backup files on various cloud storages and NAS, and much more.
The full version of Solid Explorer costs $2.99. It unlocks features such as extended cloud features, file encryption, and no ads. Solid Explorer is one of the best file managers for Android, and it is worth the money if you find the stock file manager lacking.
Textra is an alternative SMS and MMS app that offers a vastly improved experience over stock messaging apps. You can customize the look and feel of your messages with themes, colors, fonts, emojis, and stickers. You can also customize things for each conversation independently. Textra supports advanced features like scheduled messages, quick replies, group chat, voice memos, and GIFs.
Textra is free of ads for the first 14 days. After that, you’ll be asked if you want to continue for free with ads or remove the ads for a one-time fee of $6.49. There aren’t additional features for Pro users, but ads in your messaging app are annoying, and Textra is well worth the money if you text a lot.
Joe Fedewa has been writing about technology for over a decade. He has been covering Android and the rest of the Google ecosystem for years, reviewing devices, hosting podcasts, filming videos, and writing tutorials.
Joe loves all things technology and is also an avid DIYer at heart. He has written thousands of articles, hundreds of tutorials, and dozens of reviews.
Before joining How-To Geek, Joe worked at XDA-Developers as Managing Editor and covered news from the Google ecosystem. He got his start in the industry covering Windows Phone on a small blog, and later moved to Phandroid where he covered Android news, reviewed devices, wrote tutorials, created YouTube videos, and hosted a podcast.
From smartphones to Bluetooth earbuds to Z-Wave switches, Joe is interested in all kinds of technology. After several years of jailbreaking and heavily modifying an iPod Touch, he moved on to his first smartphone, the HTC DROID Eris. He’s been hooked ever since.
Outside of technology, Joe is an avid DIYer, runner, and food enthusiast. If something piques his interest, he will dive into it headfirst and try to learn as much as possible. Joe brings that same passion to How-To Geek.