Setapp workflows for students — why students love Setapp for school and study

Assignments, deadlines, lectures, and everything in between. What makes it harder? Using a dozen different apps just to stay afloat. That’s where Setapp becomes a game-changer. It’s a one-stop subscription that gives students access to 250+ curated Mac, iOS, and web apps. From top-tier writing tools and note organizers to focus timers and project planners.

Setapp combines all the essential student apps for Mac into one affordable platform. It equips you with the smartest tools for college, without the usual chaos.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the best Setapp apps every student should use and how they can completely transform your academic workflow.

Why do students need better Mac tools for studying and writing?

Studying on a Mac can be productive, but only if you have the right Mac toolkit. But here’s where things get messy:

• You juggle multiple apps that do almost the same thing.
• Many apps don’t integrate well, so syncing notes or progress becomes a hassle.
• You risk losing data or duplicating effort due to poor app coordination.
• The best tools (for writing, focus, or planning) often come with steep monthly fees.

This creates a frustrating, disorganized experience, and costs add up fast. That’s why students need a smarter solution. Setapp offers exactly that: Affordable Mac software for students bundled into one secure subscription. 

With Setapp, you get:

• Writing, planning, research, and productivity tools — all in one place.
• No separate logins or clashing interfaces.
• No hidden fees or surprise charges. Just one predictable price.
• Continuous updates and no upgrade fees.

It’s everything you need to get through college without the app chaos. Even better, students get 20% off with Setapp’s educational discount. It’s a stress-free, budget-friendly way to study smarter.

Setapp-powered workflow for students

In the Setapp collection, students will find a wide range of apps to support their daily workflow, including NotePlan for planning and organizing tasks, Taskheat for managing projects with visual flowcharts, MindNode for brainstorming, Craft for creating beautiful documents, Ulysses for focused writing, BeFocused for staying on track with Pomodoro-style time management, and many more tools.

Let’s walk through a typical student day and see how the right tools can make studying easier. These student apps for Mac from Setapp are like your digital study buddies — ready to support you at every step, from taking notes to meeting deadlines. 

Here’s how they work together to simplify your academic routine.

How can I organize my semester and study plans with Setapp?

For students juggling assignments, classes, breaks, note-taking, and deadlines, Setapp helps turn chaos into clarity with smart, student-friendly tools. Here’s how:

• Track class schedule and homework with Subjects.

Subjects lets you create a fully-featured digital class schedule with ease. You can track your classes, add teacher names, class topics, descriptions, room numbers, and more. It also includes space for managing homework, calculating your GPA, and even collaborating with classmates — all in one place.

• Plan your day and track deadlines in NotePlan. 

It allows you to record your assignments, events, parties, and even socialize with your friends. Plus, its native calendar seamlessly syncs with outside platforms like iCal or Google Calendar to make sure you never miss a deadline. 

• Break big projects into manageable tasks with Taskheat

Big projects can be daunting for students, but with Taskheat, you can create a visual flow chart. It gets adjusted automatically, which means you don’t get distracted by the tasks that are out of your control. 

• Brainstorm ideas with MindNode Classic 

When a lot of ideas are bouncing in your mind, MindNode Classic enables you to create a picture map of your thoughts. You can connect ideas by drawing lines, stickers, and shapes. It also allows you to automate your workflow with Siri Shortcuts.

What are the best note-taking and writing apps on Mac for students?

Effective note-taking is essential for studying, whether during lectures or while reviewing materials later. Here are the best note-taking apps from Setapp for students:

• Structure notes with Craft

Craft is like a special notebook designed just for you that can’t be misplaced. You can type, add images, and draw. You can even create separate pages for each subject. It offers you 50 GB of storage for all of your notes and documents. When offline, you can still work on your notes and sync when you are back online!

• Write and format academic papers with MonsterWriter

MonsterWriter makes writing academic papers easier by handling the formatting for you. You can focus fully on your content while the app takes care of how your paper looks. It automatically supports citation styles like APA, Harvard, MLA, and IEEE.

With Monster Writer, formatting elements like equations, footnotes, bibliographies, captions, and references is effortless, ensuring your paper meets academic standards from start to finish.

• Write or draft with Ulysses

Ulysses helps you write without distractions by organizing your ideas into clear folders. It connects directly to WordPress and Medium, so you can publish your work without extra steps. You can also export your writing as ebooks, PDFs, HTML, or Word files, making it easy to share or save.

“Every day, I generate content for blog, media, and social networks, and Ulysses is one of the best apps for writing and publishing. No distractions, everything is convenient and fast.” shares Polina Fomenkova, Senior Content Creator at Setapp.

How can I stay focused while studying on my Mac?

Sometimes, staying focused during study sessions can be tough, especially with so many distractions just a click away. Setapp has apps for school assignments on Mac that help students manage time, build better habits, and stay accountable. Here’s how:

• Use Be Focused for Pomodoro-style study blocks

The Be Focused app helps you structure your study time using the Pomodoro technique — 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break. These timed sessions keep your mind fresh and reduce procrastination. Also, this app allows you to start, pause, or skip work intervals.

• Create intentional focus sessions with Session 

With this app, check how long you’ve studied and challenge yourself to do a little more each time. You can pause a session whenever you like. Before a session starts, you’ll be prompted to breathe in and breathe out, then get to study. Also, you can easily sync with Apple Calendar to track progress anytime on any Apple device.

• Track your app usage with Timing for accountability 

Timing quietly watches which apps you use. In the end, you’ll see a colorful chart showing how much schoolwork you did.

What apps help students deliver clean presentations and visuals?

Students often need visuals to enhance their presentations. These student apps for Mac from Setapp help create eye-catching slides and graphics:

• Capture high-quality visuals with CleanShot X

If something needs to be captured from your screen, CleanShot X helps you take blur-free snapshots. You can also add annotations when needed. Moreover, there is a pencil icon; simply click on that to edit screen captures in flash. You can also disable desktop notifications when you’re recording.

 "CleanShot X is my go-to for clean, professional screen recordings — no clutter, no random notifications popping up. I also use it for screenshots I add to my videos, since it makes it so easy to highlight, blur, and add text. It saves me time and makes everything look polished", shares Stefan-Radu Gogolan, video editor, digital marketing specialist.

• Showcase your work with Mockuuups Studio 

It helps turn your projects into presentation-ready visuals. Mockuuups Studio frames your work so it appears extra fancy. It has ready-to-use scenes to add to your presentations. Plus, the app integrates with professional tools like Figma, Sketch, and Photoshop. Any change you make in the original file will be reflected across your mockups too.

• Convert videos for easy sharing with Permute

Dealing with a large video? If yes, then easily adjust it in your presentation using Permute. This is my favorite app for changing the size and format of any video. It is also a great audio and image converter.

What apps can make the studying process easier for me?

Setapp has a range of apps that help you create a smart study process and streamline complex tasks.

• Memorize stuff with flashcards in Studies.

With Studies, you can generate flashcards that contain text, pictures, audio, or video. The app not only allows you to create your own study notes, but also gives you access to ready-made ones you can start using right away. The flashcard system in Studies is smart: it uses memorization techniques designed to help you reach your learning goals more efficiently.

• Listen to the notes with Voice Dream Reader.

Instead of reading your study notes, books, or articles, you can listen to them. With Voice Dream Reader, you can listen to books, articles, PDFs, Google Docs, and more. While listening, you can bookmark content, highlight text, or take notes. The app supports 75 voices across 27 languages.

• Calculate and convert in notes with Soulver.

Soulver is a type of calculator that understands natural language. You can write something like "30 hours at 25 dollars per hour," and it will calculate your wage. It's especially helpful when converting units like weight, distance, or temperature. I often use it when reading foreign literature where different metric systems are used, or when I need to quickly calculate my grades.

Which Setapp apps are best for different types of students?

Students have different study styles and needs. Some prefer writing, others focus on visuals, and many juggle busy schedules. Setapp offers curated mini-app bundles tailored to fit your specific approach. Discover your student type and find the perfect set of tools to support your work.

What are the best Mac apps for high school students?

High school is full of classes, homework, friends, and sometimes a little mess. But it doesn’t have to be hard. For high school students, I suggest you use:

• MindNode Classic to make colorful idea maps. When you have a project, start in the middle and add your facts, pictures, or questions. It helps see everything at once, just like drawing lines between stars to make a constellation!
• Make homework easy with Be Focused — your timer buddy. Set a time for study and breaks, then take a fun break, and come back ready to go again. 
• Use Craft to keep all your notes, drawings, and class lists safe in a folder for each. This makes finding things extremely quick and saves you time. 

What are the top Setapp tools for university students?

University is a big step; you have massive projects, longer readings, and maybe a busy schedule. I have been through all this. If you’re a university student, you will like this app bundle:

• Use Ulysses to structure essays, stories, and notes seamlessly. It is also best to organize your thoughts and create drafts.
• With NotePlan, plan your day, week, and month so as not to miss important deadlines. As tasks are completed, you can check them off. 
• Do you want more control over your daily tasks? If so, use Taskheat to break down tasks into simpler, smaller steps. 
• Session will help count your study minutes, break times, and work in short intervals for better productivity.

For more tips on boosting your productivity and staying motivated, check out this insightful summary of Ali Abdaal’s book.

How can student freelancers use Setapp to balance work and studies?

Student freelancers can use Setapp to balance work and studies by accessing a wide range of productivity and organization tools in one place. Here’s how Setapp helps:

• The Timing app can help you manage things pretty well. It shows where your hours go: school, work, or even play. You can even see how you spent your time and identify areas where you can improve the next day.
• CleanShot X allows you to share work and files quickly and saves you valuable time. 
• Students can set dedicated time for study and work using Session. This app helps users avoid mixing up tasks and enables them to get more done without feeling rushed.

How much does Setapp cost for students?

Setapp offers access to over 250 apps (macOS, iOS, and web) under one affordable subscription. Instead of paying for individual licenses, you get a complete academic toolkit for a flat monthly or yearly fee. 

Let’s break down what it costs and why it’s worth it for your studies:

• Monthly Plan: $9.99/month + tax (Mac only) or $12.49/month + tax for Mac + iOS + web
• Annual Plan: $107.88/year + tax (Mac). That’s about $8.99/month + tax when billed yearly 
• Educational Discount: Students get 20% off 

Typical standalone app costs vs. Setapp subscription

Here's why Setapp is more budget-friendly:

Apps for students	Standalone price	Included in Setapp
Ulysses	$5.99/month	Yes
CleanShot X	$8/month	Yes
MindNode Classic	$2.99/month	Yes
Timing	$9.36/month	Yes
TablePlus	$99/License one-time	Yes

The total price for the five standalone apps is $30/month. Just two or three of these tools would cost more than a full Setapp subscription that offers 250+ apps to students and everyone else.

Why Setapp student apps for Mac are worth having in your toolkit

Setapp makes it easier to stay on top of your studies without spending a fortune on separate tools. With one subscription, you get access to reliable student apps for Mac that help you write, plan, focus, and manage your files. It’s a practical setup for handling class assignments, and even juggling freelance work without getting overwhelmed.

Feel free to explore all the apps with a 7-day free trial before you decide to commit.