What I’ll be paying for in 2025
As I look forward to 2025, I’ve reviewed and evaluated the tools essential to my productivity, learning, and business growth over the past year. I wrote THIS article sharing the tools I was paying for this year, but as many of the bills come due, it was time to audit what was necessary.
Running two businesses, finishing my college degree, and managing a busy family life means I need tools that truly add value and streamline my workflow. Here’s a look at the subscriptions I’m committing to in 2025.
This post includes affiliate links
Sunsama — $192 (Free)
Sunsama remains my go-to tool for daily planning. Integrating my most-used platforms (ToDoist, Notion, Gmail, and calendars), it is the central hub for my work and personal life. With Sunsama, I can manage my day effectively, ensuring I stay on track without overcommitting. Thanks to my collaboration with Sunsama this year, I’ve been granted lifetime access as an affiliate and sponsor, making it an invaluable (and cost-effective) tool in my 2025 lineup.
Notion — $96
Notion is at the heart of my personal knowledge management system. It’s where I keep all my content plans, notes, school tasks, and client plans. As I look to 2025, Notion will remain a constant, providing the features and flexibility I need to manage my busy life. I did decide to remove the AI addition, as I pay for Chat GPT and Raycast separately.
Raycast Pro — $96 ($48 with student discount)
Raycast has revolutionized how I navigate my computer. After years of using the free version, I upgraded to Pro this year, and I haven’t looked back. The ability to sync settings across devices and utilize Raycast AI makes this tool an essential part of my daily routine. In 2025, I’ll continue to use Raycast to speed up workflows and keep my desktop organized.
Setapp — $162 (Free)
Setapp is one of those subscriptions that’s simply too valuable to give up. With access to hundreds of apps like CleanMyMac X, CleanShot X, and Dropzone, it has become an integral part of my tech stack. As new apps are constantly being added, I know I’ll get even more out of Setapp in 2025. Thanks to you all trying Setapp out, I have ~16 months of credits so 2025 will be free for me. You can get a free month if you use my affiliate link as well.
Tella.TV — $190
After partnering with Tella earlier this year, I found myself relying on it more than ever for creating YouTube and training videos. It’s a seamless alternative to tools like Loom, and makes editing much faster. I’ll continue to use Tella for screen recordings, tutorials, and quick video edits, streamlining my content creation process.
Canva — $119 (my share is $60)
Canva has been a pillar of my business for years. While I don’t use it as much as I used to, having quick access to all my brand assets for social media content creation remains crucial. Sharing the account with family also helps keep costs down, so this is a subscription I’m carrying into 2025.
Otter.ai — $220 ($164 with student discount)
Otter.ai has become my go-to for transcribing and organizing meeting notes. It offers a seamless way to capture and review important conversations, making it invaluable for my business. As I continue to optimize my workflow in 2025, Otter.ai will be an essential tool for keeping my notes organized and accessible.
ChatGPT — $240
ChatGPT has become an indispensable tool for brainstorming, writing assistance, and idea generation. It saves me time and enhances my productivity across various tasks. Whether it’s creating note summaries or brainstorming content ideas, ChatGPT will remain a crucial part of my toolkit.
ZTM — $250
Zero to Mastery has been an incredible resource for my web development journey. The structured courses and active community on Discord have made this subscription a valuable investment in my future. As I continue learning and growing in 2025, I’m excited to see how far this platform will take me.
YouTube Premium — $275 (our share is $90)
YouTube Premium was a bit of a silly addition this year, but now I am hooked. From ad-free viewing to the ability to listen to videos with the screen off, this subscription has made my YouTube experience so much better. Sharing the cost with my sisters and mother-in-law makes it affordable, so I’m going to keep this one around for a while.
Spotify Family Plan — $240 (our share is $120)
Music and podcasts are a big part of our lives, so Spotify Family Plan is a no-brainer for us. My husband and I, along with two other family members, share this subscription. While we could use YouTube music to replace this subscription, we just prefer Spotify.
This brings my subscription total to ~$2,080 — with my out-of-pocket expense around $1,257 after discounts and cost-sharing.
While it’s a significant amount, the value these tools bring to my productivity, learning, and entertainment is worth it. Without these, I would have a much harder time going to school full-time, working part-time, running this business part-time, and spending quality time with my two young kids.
~$100/mo makes that well worth it for my sanity.
