Pricing
Free is real. Plus is one-time.
No subscriptions, no membership cult, no little renewal email arriving at 4:12 a.m. Free ships 9 features. Plus unlocks 24 more in place, on the same app, with one StoreKit 2 purchase — non-consumable, never billed twice.
- Grid sizes 1–9 tiles (one to nine cells)
- Persona picker on first launch · cultivated first batch in ~1.5s
- Drag-and-drop loading; instant playback while the folder is still scanning
- Seamless gapless looping under every cell (AVPlayerLooper)
- Borrowed-player fullscreen — no rebuffer, no spinner
- Background audio + optional simultaneous-audio toggle
- Liquid Glass UI on macOS 26 · graceful fallback on macOS 15
- Siri & Shortcuts integration (9 App Intents)
- Folder Tree side panel · grid padding · keyboard-first navigation
- Up to 1,000 scanned items per folder · 100 favorites · 1 source per collection
- Grids up to 16 tiles (4×4)
- Editorial Layout · 14 curated templates · 2–6 cells · Vision-aware hero
- SmartShuffle — bag-draw, multi-dimensional library coverage
- Smart Layout Presets · Aspect Match (Preferred or Strict)
- Vision tags — 18+ on-device filters · status-bar progress pill
- Smart cell display · framing tightness · subject anchor
- Smart Captions via FoundationModels (macOS 26 + Apple Intelligence)
- Subject Cutout & Magic Layer · Smart Collections
- Moments (Picks + Sessions) · Cmd+1–9 recall · Pick Tray drawer
- QuickFill cells · FlexLayout editor · Grid Designer
- Countdown timers · Command Palette ⌘K · Present mode ⌘⇧↩
- Side pane reader (ePub / PDF) · In/Out points · fade & dissolve
- Paneless mode · window clone · performance indicator
- PNG grid export · transparent collage · Drag OUT · Set as Wallpaper
- Spotlight indexing (opt-in) · `flexgrid://` deep links
- Unlimited scanning · unlimited favorites · multi-source collections
What you get in each tier.
Same app, same engine, same install. Plus simply lights up more of the surface.
| Capability | Free | Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Grid tiles | Up to 9 (sizes 1/2/3/4/6/8/9) | Up to 16 (4×4) |
| Persona picker | Yes — six personas, configures defaults | Yes |
| Shuffle | Basic random | SmartShuffle (bag-draw, multi-dim coverage) |
| Layout | Standard grid · grid padding · Folder Tree side panel | + Editorial Layout · Smart Layout Presets · paneless · window clone |
| Editorial Layout (Plus) | — | 14 curated templates · 2–6 cells · vision-aware hero · structure lock |
| Aspect Match | — | Preferred or Strict · per-cell or grid-wide |
| Playback rates | 0.5× → 1.5× | 0.25× → 2.0× · in/out points · fade & dissolve |
| Vision tags | — | 18+ on-device filters · ScanReadinessGate |
| Smart cell display | — | One Smart mode · tightness slider · subject anchor |
| Smart Captions | — | On-device (macOS 26 + Apple Intelligence) |
| Subject Cutout / Magic Layer | — | Lift subjects above the grid borders |
| Smart Collections | — | Auto-curated chips on the empty state |
| Moments (Picks + Sessions) | — | ⌘⌥M opens · ⌘1–9 recall · Pick Tray drawer |
| Command Palette | — | ⌘K · every command, tier-aware |
| Present mode | — | ⌘⇧↩ — paneless + auto-advance + transitions |
| QuickFill cells | — | Up to 6 items per slot |
| FlexLayout / Grid Designer | — | Both, with presets |
| Side pane reader | — | ePub / PDF · 4 fonts · 3 themes |
| Output | — | PNG grid export · transparent collage · Drag OUT · Set as Wallpaper |
| Spotlight indexing | — | Opt-in · flexgrid:// deep links |
| Background audio | Yes | Yes |
| Siri & Shortcuts | 9 App Intents | 9 App Intents |
| Liquid Glass UI | macOS 26 · falls back gracefully | macOS 26 · falls back gracefully |
| Scanning limit | 1,000 items per folder | Unlimited |
| Favorites | 100 | Unlimited |
| Saved collections | 1 source per collection | Multi-source collections |
| Telemetry | None | None |
| Account required | Never | Never |
Pricing questions
Which Macs does flexGrid run on? +
macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, on Apple Silicon or any Intel Mac with Metal. Liquid Glass UI, Smart Captions, Subject Cutout, and the on-device AI features want macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence. Everything else is less emotionally needy.
Do I need an account? +
No. There is no sign-in screen because there is no sign-in cult. No accounts, no sync, no analytics, no network calls for features. Your Mac already knows enough about you.
Is it a subscription? +
Absolutely not. Free is a real tier, not a bread crumb trail. Plus is a one-time purchase through StoreKit 2 — price set at launch. You buy it once and then everyone can go lie down.
What's the difference between Free and Plus? +
Free is a fully functional multi-video grid player — drop a folder, play up to nine tiles, shuffle, lock, loop, go fullscreen, automate with Siri & Shortcuts, all of it. Plus unlocks bigger grids (up to sixteen), Editorial Layout, SmartShuffle, on-device Vision tags, Smart cell display, Smart Captions, Subject Cutout, Smart Collections, Moments, Command Palette, Present mode, FlexLayout editor, Grid Designer, PNG/collage export, Drag OUT, Spotlight indexing, and the unlimited-everything caps.
A nudge
Free is the right place to start.
Drop a folder. Run the grid for a few minutes. If the engine clicks, Plus is one tap inside the app. If it doesn't, you're out exactly nothing.