Money October 2026

6 things you used to pay for, now free on your iPhone

A surprising number of things people still pay for are already free on the phone in their pocket, or with a library card. These six each replace one purchase: a field guide, a rented LED sign, an audiobook, a custom map print, a film rental and a phrasebook.

The things you used to pay for, now free on your iPhone are Merlin Bird ID, LiveMarquee, Hoopla, Map Poster, Kanopy and Google Translate. I built LiveMarquee and Map Poster; the other 4 are other developers’ apps.

MiaAppLog— an iOS developer who reviews other people’s apps
Published October 2026 · apps and prices last checked 13 October 2026

Four stars is my score for how well an app answers this moment. An app I built gets four and a half — that is a rule, not a comparison. The App Store’s own average is on each card beside it.

1. 

   Merlin Bird ID

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Reference · App Store 4.9 (113,778)

   Instead of a field guide: record a bird singing and Merlin names it.

   Skip it if you keep a long life list in it — reviewers report updates signing them out and the list coming back empty, and recordings no longer saving unless you wait and save them by hand.

   Official site ↗More lists with Merlin Bird ID

   
2. 

   LiveMarquee Editor’s pick

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · Free · Utilities · App Store 5.0 (8)

   Instead of renting an LED sign: your phone scrolls the message, no ads.

   App Store ↗More lists with LiveMarquee

   
3. 

   Hoopla

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Book · App Store 4.8 (1,389,993)

   Instead of buying the audiobook: borrow it free with your library card.

   Skip it if you borrow a lot — your library sets the monthly cap and a daily limit shared across all its members can block a checkout, and reviewers find the ebook reader and slow audiobook downloads frustrating.

   Official site ↗More lists with Hoopla

   
4. 

   Map Poster Editor’s pick

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · Free · Photo & Video · App Store 4.8 (6)

   Instead of a custom map print: your photos light up every city you've been.

   App Store ↗More lists with Map Poster

   
5. 

   Kanopy

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Entertainment · App Store 4.8 (152,075)

   Instead of renting the movie: stream films free through your library.

   Skip it if your library card is new or awkward to verify — signing in through the library is where reviewers get stuck most, search works only when you already know the title, and unused monthly tickets do not roll over.

   More lists with Kanopy

   
6. 

   Google Translate

   ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Reference · App Store 4.3 (83,905)

   Instead of a phrasebook: point your camera at the menu and read it.

   Skip it if you use the camera to study text character by character — reviewers say recent redesigns folded it into Lens and took away controls they relied on, and spoken translation does not always pick up the speaker.

   Official site ↗More lists with Google Translate

   

LiveMarquee and Map Poster are mine — everything else on this list is someone else’s app. How that works.