Note: The deals below are for 2016. The Black Friday deals of 2017 are now live on my new dedicated website, mdmdeals.com — now with over 11 ways to get the deals!

My thanks to HelloTalk for sponsoring this year’s Black Friday & Cyber Monday deals! HelloTalk helps you learn languages by connecting you to native speakers. Read more about it or download HelloTalk today!

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There are over 4,100 apps on sale for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I’ve gone through them all so you don’t have to and curated a list of the top high-quality apps that are worthy of your consideration.

This post will be updated frequently, so make sure to check back! You can also follow my dedicated AppDeal Twitter feed, @MDMDeals for a curation of the best deals each day.

Update (11/24, 7AM PST): Updated with dozens of new deals! Deals are at the top of each section, in bold.

Update 11/25, 7AM PST): Updated with dozens of new deals! Deals are at the top of each section, in italics.

Update. 11/28: Most deals are now ended, but some are still active. I checked the status of all for Cyber Monday, which contains some new deals as well. Check out that list of Cyber Monday deals here!

My top ten (updated regularly)

• Fantastical 2 (iPhone), the BEST calendar out there, hands down: natural language input & a beautiful design; HIGHLY recommend; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99). Also on sale is Fantastical 2 for iPad; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99); and Fantastical 2 for Mac, most powerful Mac calendar; 20% off, now $39.99! (originally). Read why I recommend Fantastical so highly.
• Alto’s Adventure, one of the best games of all time, Apple Design Award winner; 75% off, now $0.99! (originally $3.99)
• Dispatch, the BEST email client for processing email; dozens of integrations w/ other apps, including TextExpander, Evernote, most task managers, Fantastical, & more; 57% off, now $2.99! (originally $6.99)
• TextExpander (Mac & iOS), turns small snippets of typed text into larger ones with forms, variables, fill-ins, and more. I’ve saved 18 HOURS of typing and lots of mental stress remembering stuff; HIGHLY recommended. It’s 20% off with code MDM20, just $2.53/month for Mac & iOS (originally $3.13/month). Worth every penny. Non-subscription pricing also available, 20% off with code MDM20, just $36 (originally $44.95)
• Due, custom reminders that will force you to get something done; HIGHLY recommend; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99). Read why I recommend Due so much. Also on sale is Due (Mac); with natural language input; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99)
• Drafts, automate text & perform actions on it; an all-time favorite app, HIGHLY recommended ; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99). Read why I recommend Drafts so much.
• Pixelmator, iOS graphics editor; Apple Design Award winner; desktop power, iOS simplicity; HIGHLY recommend; 60% off, now $1.99! (originally $4.99). Also on sale is the Mac app, 50% off, now $14.99! (originally $29.99)
• LongScreen, merge screenshots vertically, horizontally, or put in a device frame; HIGHLY recommended; 67% off, now $0.99! (originally $2.99). Read why I like LongScreen so much.
• Scanner Pro, scan something to PDF w/ OCR; fantastic app; 25% off, now $2.99! (originally $3.99)
• PDF Expert, the BEST way to manage, edit, sign, & markup PDFs; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99) Also on sale PDF Expert 2 (Mac), 32% off, now $33.99! (originally $49.99)

Productivity & utility apps

• DragToDo (Mac), minimalist to-do manager w/ simple drag & drop mechanic; free for limited time only; now free! (originally $5.99)
• Blink: Better Affiliate Links, the BEST way to search iTunes/App Store & generate affiliate links; HIGHLY recommended; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99)
• Associate, dead way to generate Amazon affiliate links on mobile; HIGHLY recommended; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99)
• Notability, powerful & versatile note-taking app; one of the best for students; 20% off, now $7.99! (originally $9.99)
• Notability (Mac), probably the best Mac note-taking app; syncs w/ iOS app; 20% off, now $7.99! (originally $9.99)
• PDF Business Kit, including PDFpen & PDF Scan by Smile; scan, OCR, create, manage, & edit PDFs on the go; 46% off, $17↘️$10.99
• Templates for Pages, 250 professional templates for Pages; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• Templates for Keynote (Mac), 60 gorgeous templates for Keynotes ; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99). Also on sale is Templates for Keynote (iOS); 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• Patterns (Mac), develop & test regex, w/ syntax highlighting; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• Command Center (Mac), get an iOS-style Control Center popover on your Mac; 50% off, now $9.99 (originally $19.99)
• Deliveries (iOS), the best package delivery tracker out there; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99). Also on sale for same price is Deliveries for Mac.
• DaisyDisk (Mac), the best way to find what is taking up space on your Mac; HIGHLY recommended; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99)
• Opener, skip the browser & open links directly in apps; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• Yoink (Mac), a MUCH better way to drag & drop files; recommended; 43% off, now $3.99! (originally $6.99)
• BrowserFreedom (Mac), specify what links should open in what browser w/o changing the default browser (e.g. Safari is default but YouTube links open in Chrome); 57% off, now $2.99! (originally $6.99)
• Fantastical 2 (iPhone), the BEST calendar out there, hands down: natural language input & a beautiful design; HIGHLY recommend; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99). Also on sale is Fantastical 2 for iPad; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99); and Fantastical 2 for Mac, most powerful Mac calendar; 20% off, now $39.99! (originally $49.99)
• CodeRunner 2 (Mac); 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• Magic Launcher Pro, launch apps, phone calls, & actions from your widget screen; 67% off, now $0.99! (originally $2.99)
• Deliveries, the best package delivery tracker out there; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99)
• TextExpander (Mac & iOS), turns small snippets of typed text into larger ones with forms, variables, fill-ins, and more. I’ve saved 18 HOURS of typing and lots of mental stress remembering stuff; HIGHLY recommended. It’s 20% off with code MDM20, just $2.53/month for Mac & iOS (originally $3.13/month). Worth every penny.
• Unclutter (Mac), get files, clipboard history, & notes w/ a quick swipe down; HIGHLY recommended; 50% off, now $2.99! (originally $5.99)
• Scrivener (iOS); the absolute BEST writing app for novels, theses, and anything where you want your research to be in the same place as your writing; what I’m using for my Master’s thesis; HIGHLY recommended; Mac app also 24% off, now $33.99! (originally $44.99)
• Dispatch, the BEST email client for processing email; dozens of integrations w/ other apps, including TextExpander, Evernote, most task managers, Fantastical, & more; 57% off, now $2.99! (originally $6.99)
• Due, custom reminders that will force you to get something done; HIGHLY recommend; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99). Read why I recommend Due so much. Also on sale is Due (Mac); with natural language input; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99)
• Just Press Record, start an audio recording on iPhone or Apple Watch w/ a single tap; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99). Also on sale is Just Press Record (Mac), for the same price; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99)
• DEVONthink To Go (iOS), super powerful information storage & organizing app; recommended; 27% off, now $10.99! (originally $14.99). Also on sale is DEVONthink (Mac) 26% off, now $36.99! (originally $49.99)
• Boxy (Mac), mac equivalent of Gmail’s “Inbox” app; 33% off, now $3.99! (originally $5.99)
• Layouts for Keynote (Mac), 100 beautiful Keynote templates; 50% off, now $14.99! (originally $29.99)
• MacID, unlock your Mac w/ TouchID or your Apple Watch; 80% off, now $0.99! (originally $4.99)
• Phone Drive, use your phone as a USB; download & manage files & folders, including cloud; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• iWriter, minimalist text editor w/ TextExpander support; 33% off, now $1.99! (originally $2.99)
• 2Do (iOS); powerful task manager; now free! (originally $14.99). Also on sale is 2Do for Mac, 36% off, now $31.99! (originally $49.99)
• PDF Expert, the BEST way to manage, edit, sign, & markup PDFs; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99) Also on sale PDF Expert 2 (Mac), 32% off, now $33.99! (originally $49.99)
• Newton Mail app, powerful email productivity; free to download & in-app purchase  50% off, just $24.99/year or $2/month (originally $49.99/year, $4/month). Also 50% off is the Mac app.
• Printer Pro, easily print anything from iOS; recommended; 57% off, now $2.99! (originally $6.99)
• Scanner Pro, scan something to PDF w/ OCR; fantastic app; 25% off, now $2.99! (originally $3.99)
• Dropzone 3 (Mac), store files & launch actions from your Mac menu bar; recommended; 80% off, now $1.99! (originally $9.99)
• Drafts, automate text & perform actions on it; an all-time favorite app, HIGHLY recommended ; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99). Read why I recommend Drafts so much.
• Gemini 2, BEST way to find & intelligently remove duplicate files; HIGHLY recommend; 50% off, now $9.99! (Originally $19.99)
• Paprika Recipe Manager, best way to manage recipes: easily import & build shopping lists from items; 40% off, now $2.99! (Originally $4.99). Also for iPad and Mac (50% off, now $9.99; originally $19.99)
• Linky, share w/ better text & image selection to multiple accounts; HIGHLY recommended; 50% off, now $1.99! (originally $3.99)
• Magnet (Mac), easily manage & snap windows on your Mac; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• BusyCal, one of the best calendars out there; HIGHLY recommended; now free! (originally $2.99)
• Health Data Importer, easily export health data from one iPhone & import into another; HIGHLY recommended; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99)
• BusyContacts (Mac), most powerful contact manager in existence; great developer; 40% off, now $29.99! (originally $49.99)
• Trickster (Mac), easily access your most recently used files in your menu bar; great app; 80% off, now $1.99! (originally $9.99)
• Juice, get an Apple Watch complication & notifications of your iPhone battery level; now free! (originally $1.99)
• Typeeto (Mac), type from your Mac’s keyboard onto any Bluetooth-enabled device; 62% off, now $4.99! (originally $12.99)
• Screens VNC, the BEST app for accessing your Mac remotely; HIGHLY recommend; 50% off, now $9.99! (originally $19.99). Companion Mac app also on sale 50% off, now $14.99! (originally $29.99)
• Scanbot 6 Pro, powerful & automate-able document scanner & PDF maker w/ OCR; HIGHLY recommended; 20% off, now $7.99! (originally $9.99)
• Later, easily create Reminders.app tasks from preset templates; now free! (originally $0.99)
• Milkeddit, a better Reddit client for iOS; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• Babel, easily move your music from Spotify to Apple Music; now free! (originally $0.99)
• Boom 2 (Mac), powerful audio enhancement; 45% off, now $10.99! (originally $19.99)
• Denied (Mac), automatically skip music you dislike in Apple Music/Spotify; 75% off, now $0.99! (originally $3.99)

Photos and Graphics apps

• Capto (Mac), make edit, & annotate screen recordings; 33% off, now $19.99! (originally $29.99)
• Snapheal (Mac), by MacPhun: remove objects & imperfections from your photos; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99)
• Squash (Mac), easily compress images for use on the web; 60% off, now $7.99! (originally $19.99)
• Brushstroke, turn photos into beautiful drawings & paintings; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99)
• IconFly (Mac), easily generate app icons for Mac, iPhone, iPad, & Apple Watch apps; 80% off, now $0.99! (originally $4.99)
• Inpaint 6 (Mac), easily remove unwanted objects from your photos; 75% off, now $4.99! (originally $19.99)
• Infographics (Mac), easily create info graphics w/ over 2000 template forms; 50% off, now $9.99! (originally $19.99)
• Layouts for Keynote (Mac), 100 beautiful Keynote templates; 50% off, now $14.99! (originally $29.99)
• Scapple (Mac), powerful mind-mapping w/ easy integration w/ Scrivener; 27% off, now $10.99! (originally $14.99)
• Pixelmator, iOS graphics editor; Apple Design Award winner; desktop power, iOS simplicity; HIGHLY recommend; 60% off, now $1.99! (originally $4.99). Also on sale is the Mac app, 50% off, now $14.99! (originally $29.99)
• Pixave (Mac), Apple Best App of 2015; beautiful image organizer; 40% off, now $8.99! (originally $14.99)
• LongScreen, merge screenshots vertically, horizontally, or put in a device frame; HIGHLY recommended; 67% off, now $0.99! (originally $2.99).  Read why I like LongScreen so much.
• Screeny, easily find, filter, and delete screenshots; save time & space on your phone; now free! (originally $0.99)
• Tayasui Sketches Pro, beautiful drawing app w/ gorgeously realistic brushes & effects; now free! (originally $4.99)
• Fotograf, beautiful photo filtering & editing; now free! (originally $1.99)
• LiveBurst, turn bursts & Live Photos into GIFs; now free! (originally $1.99)

Information and Education apps

• Leaf (Mac), elegant RSS news reader; 60% off, now $3.99! (originally $9.99)
• Patterns (Mac), develop & test regex, w/ syntax highlighting; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• Essential Anatomy 5, extensive 3D animation of human anatomy & physiology; 52% off, now $11.99! (originally $24.99). Also on sale is Essential Anatomy 5 for Mac; 51% off, now $16.99! (originally $34.99)
• Deliveries, the best package delivery tracker out there; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99). Also on sale for same price is Deliveries for Mac.
• NKJV Study Bible by Thomas Nelson; 84% off, now $3.99! (originally $24.99)
• Blinkist, get 15-minute summaries of over 1500 critical nonfiction books; free to download, with in-app-purchases 50% off!
• Fantastical 2 (iPhone), the BEST calendar out there, hands down: natural language input & a beautiful design; HIGHLY recommend; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99). Also on sale is Fantastical 2 for iPad; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99); and Fantastical 2 for Mac, most powerful Mac calendar; 20% off, now $39.99! (originally $49.99). Read why I recommend Fantastical so highly.
• CodeRunner 2 (Mac); 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• Grafio 3, powerful & beautiful mind mapping & graphing app; 50% off, now $3.99! (originally $7.99)
• TextGrabber, auto text from photos & screenshots; 80% off, now $0.99! (originally $4.99)
• Star Walk ™ 2, your guide to the night stars, constellations, meteors, comets, & more; 67% off, now $0.99! (originally $2.99)
• Workabulary, an app to manage, test, and review your vocabulary learning; free download, 50% off in-app purchase, now $4.99 (original $.9.99). Mac app free to download and 20% off in-app purchase as well
• Leaf, a new Twitter client w/ a beautiful UI; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99)
• widget weather, far more powerful weather data in widget than w/ standard app; now free! (originally $1.99)
• Network Utility Pro, all the info you’d ever want about your wifi/cellular networks; now free! (originally $0.99)
• Weather Line, fantastically designed weather app; 33% off, now $1.99! (originally $2.99)
• Calendars 5, powerfully beautiful calendar app; 50% off, now $2.99! (originally $5.99)
• Period, easily track periods, fertility, & ovulation; 67% off, now $0.99! (originally $2.99)
• World Time Clock Widget, see custom time zones in your widgets; beautiful design; now free! (originally $0.99). Read why I like World Time Widget so much.
• Castaway, quality podcast player; 50% off, now $1.99! (originally $3.99)
• HelloTalk [sponsor], a fantastic free way to learn, practice, or refresh a foreign language; free! Read why HelloTalk can help you learn a language.

Games on sale

• Kingdom Rush Frontiers, tower defense strategy game; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• FINAL FANTASY V; 53% off, now $6.99! (originally $14.99)
• Noodles!, fun spatial puzzler; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• Alto’s Adventure, one of the best games of all time, Apple Design Award winner; 75% off, now $0.99! (originally $3.99)
• Trivia Crack (Ad Free); 67% off, now $0.99! (originally $2.99)
• Lara Croft GO, award turn-based adventure game; 60% off, now $1.99! (originally $4.99)
• Rayman Classic, mobile version of the 1995 hit game; now free! (originally $4.99)
• Hitman GO, award game; 60% off, now $1.99! (originally $4.99)
• BADLAND, winner of Apple Design & iPad Game of the Year Awards; 67% off, now $0.99! (originally $2.99)
• BADLAND 2, sequel to the hit award-winning game; 50% off, now $1.99! (originally $3.99)
• Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition, award game, now on iOS; 60% off, now $1.99! (originally $4.99)
• Kingdom Rush Origins, super fun tower defense game; 67% off, now $0.99! (originally $2.99)
• Heads Up!, hilarious word-guessing party game; recommended; now free! (originally $0.99)
• The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (Mac); 75% off, now $4.99! (originally $19.99)
• Ticket to Ride, fantastic port of the award-winning game; one of my favorites; HIGHLY recommended; 57% off, now $2.99! (originally $6.99)
• Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Mac); 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99)
• RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3, built your own theme park & to please your guests; great game; 40% off, now $2.99! (originally $4.99)
• Crisis Line, newest Lifeline game: solve a murder in a notification-based adventure; 33% off, now $1.99! (originally $2.99)
• Angry Birds, if you don’t have this yet…you should; now free! (originally $0.99)
• Bad Piggies, play the part of the pigs in Angry Birds; now free! (originally $0.99)
• hocus., mind 3D puzzler; great fun; 50% off, now $0.99! (originally $1.99)
• Minecraft: Story Mode, the hit game, now with a story; now free! (originally $4.99)
• Infinity Blade; 83% off, now $0.99! (originally $5.99). Also Infinity Blade II and Infinity Blade III on sale for the same price.
• Lego Star Wars Saga (Mac); 75% off, now $4.99! (Originally $19.99)
• Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 (Mac); 75% off, now $4.99! (Originally $19.99)

Movies on sale

Note: These are US-based sales; apologies in advance if sales don’t apply in your territory!

• Black Sea, with Jude Law; 67% off, now $4.99! (originally $14.99)
• The Dark Knight; fantastic movie, w/ Christian Bale and Health Ledger; 53% off, now $6.99! (originally $14.99)
• Taken, with Liam Neeson; sale for today only, 67% off, now $4.99! (originally $14.99)
• Good Will Hunting; 20% off, now $7.99! (originally $9.99)
• Selma; 47% off, now $7.99! (originally $14.99)
• Mrs. Doubtfire; 67% off, now $4.99! (originally $14.99)
• Night At the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, hilariously good family fun; 67% off, now $4.99! (originally $14.99)
• The Wizard of Oz, the classic film; 67% off, now $4.99! (originally $14.99)
• Chicken Run; 67% off, now $4.99! (originally $14.99)
• Despicable Me; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• Despicable Me 2; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• Divergent; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• The Divergent Series: Insurgent; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• The Divergent Series: Allegiant; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• Eye In the Sky; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• Holiday Inn; 67% off, now $4.99! (originally $14.99)
• Independence Day: Resurgence; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• The LEGO Movie; 44% off, now $9.99! (originally $17.99)
• The Terminal, w/ Tom Hanks; 47% off, now $7.99! (originally $14.99)
• Shrek; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• X-Men: Apocalypse; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition), huge sale; 50% off, now $9.99! (originally $19.99)
• A Beautiful Mind, winner of 4 Academy Awards, w/ Russel Crowe; 67% off, now $4.99! (originally $14.99)
• Joy, a true story w/ Jennifer Lawrence; 47% off, now $7.99! (originally $14.99)
• The Legend of Tarzan (2016), first sale & lowest price ever; 50% off, now $9.99! (originally $19.99)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Alfred Hitchcock classic; great film; 67% off, now $4.99! (originally $14.99)
• Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, lowest price ever; 47% off, now $7.99! (originally $14.99)
• Saving Private Ryan, classic film at lowest price ever; 47% off, now $7.99! (originally $14.99)
• Star Trek Beyond, first time on sale; great movie & great deal; 50% off, now $9.99! (originally $19.99)
• War of the Worlds (2005), Spielberg film w/ Tom Cruise; lowest price ever; 47% off, now $7.99! (originally $14.99)
• We Bought a Zoo, w/ Matt Damon; 50% off, now $4.99! (originally $9.99)
• The Walk; 33% off, now $9.99! (originally $14.99)

Check back throughout this week for more deals, added to the top of each post.

You can also follow my dedicated AppDeals Twitter feed, @MDMDeals where I curate the best deals each day and not just on Black Friday.

If you found something you like, please share this list with your friends and spread the joy! Buttons below for your sharing ease 😀.

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Sponsored App: HelloTalk

While writing my thesis for my Master’s degree in ESL, I was amazed to see the strong connection in research between mastering a language and receiving large amounts of quality input in that foreign language. In short, the more you interact in a foreign language, the faster you’ll learn it. The trouble is, most of us don’t live with easy access to native speakers of the language we want to learn. That’s where the free app HelloTalk comes in.

HelloTalk connects you to native speakers of the language you want to learn who are learning your native language. They have support for over 100 languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, French, Japanese, Italian, Arabic, Russian, and German. Since I studied Mandarin Chinese for 4 years while I lived in China, I searched for native Mandarin Chinese-speaking men who are my age and was immediately connected with dozens. A nice touch is that HelloTalk lets you search by age, gender, language, and even location, so that you can find exactly the person you’d like to talk with.

I have legitimately had fun using Mandarin to communicate again and helping others with their English at the same time. More importantly, I’m using the language and getting linguistic input, which is the most critical factor in acquiring a language.

If you want to learn, practice, or refresh a language, why not give HelloTalk a try? It’s free to download on the App Store today.