Kagi, Mullvad, and YouTube Premium: A Guide to Subscriptions Tech Pros Actually Pay For

In an age of ever-increasing subscription costs, deciding which services are truly worth the recurring monthly fee can be a challenge. A recent deep dive by tech professionals and enthusiasts reveals a clear pattern: the most valued subscriptions either solve a fundamental problem, significantly boost productivity, or protect user privacy. Conversely, many users advocate for a DIY approach, leveraging self-hosting and open-source alternatives to keep costs down.

Core Infrastructure: Privacy & Essentials

Services that form the backbone of a user's digital life are frequently cited as non-negotiable subscriptions. This category is dominated by privacy-respecting alternatives to Big Tech.

Email: FastMail and Proton Mail are consistently recommended for their reliability, privacy features, and independence from ad-based business models.
Search: Kagi is a standout favorite, with many users calling it an "absolute must" for its ad-free, high-quality search results and customizability.
VPNs: Mullvad is the most frequently mentioned VPN, praised for its strong privacy stance and straightforward pricing.
Password Managers: 1Password and Bitwarden are essential for many, providing secure, cross-platform password management.
Backups: Services like Backblaze B2 and rsync.net are considered vital for secure, off-site data backup, a crucial step that self-hosting a "closet server" alone doesn't cover against disasters like fire or theft.

The Great YouTube Premium Debate

Perhaps no subscription is more divisive than YouTube Premium. The arguments for and against highlight a classic convenience vs. cost/effort trade-off.

The Case For: Proponents value the seamless, ad-free experience across all devices, especially on smart TVs and Apple TV where ad-blockers are difficult to implement. The inclusion of YouTube Music and background play on mobile are also major benefits, with the family plan offering significant value for households.
The Case Against: Critics find it overpriced, pointing out that Google isn't the primary content creator. A tech-savvy contingent uses free alternatives to achieve a similar experience: NewPipe on Android, and Firefox with uBlock Origin on both desktop and mobile to block ads and enable background listening.

Developer & Productivity Tools

For professionals, subscriptions that save time are an easy justification.

AI Assistants: ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro are popular for coding and research. An interesting debate emerged between paying a flat subscription versus using API credits. The consensus is that subscriptions are better value for heavy or "agentic" use, while pay-as-you-go API access is more economical for average prompting.
IDEs and Editors: The JetBrains suite of IDEs is a common professional expense. For real-time code insight, the Wallaby.js, Console Ninja, and Quokka toolset was highlighted as a game-changer, fulfilling the vision of interactive development environments like LightTable.
Note-Taking & Organization: Obsidian Sync is a favorite for those invested in the Obsidian ecosystem, providing seamless and secure note synchronization.

The Self-Hosting Philosophy

A significant portion of users eschews subscriptions in favor of self-hosted solutions. By renting a cheap VPS from providers like Hetzner and using open-source software like SyncThing (for file sync), KeePassXC (passwords), and OpenVPN, they can replicate the functionality of many paid services. This approach offers more control and can be cheaper, but requires technical expertise and ongoing maintenance.