Both of these macOS-only applications perform audio plug-in management functions, but with varying options and pricing. I hate doing this, but I'm going to discuss two very similar products in a single review. I'll start by stating that both of these apps work really well, and I enjoyed using them both. I'm not out to compare one against the other and pick "a winner," but I want you to know that they exist and that they fulfill a needed role in the modern DAW recording landscape.
Why would someone recording in a DAW need a third-party plug-in management application? Have you ever wondered where all the authorization keys for your 1,000-plus plug-ins are? Have you hunted around for download links when you knew you needed an update? Do you wonder which plug-ins will fail on you if you update macOS? Did you buy a new computer and now need to reinstall all the plug-ins you had before? Are you trying to keep the same plug-ins set up on several different computer systems? Both Plugin Station and PluginHub perform functions relating to these questions. They scan the plug-ins on your Mac and give you tools to manage them from there. You can see what updates are available, which are current, what has been superseded (like when oeksound's soothe3 replaced soothe2 recently), and which need manual checking for updates. It looks like one of the most difficult factors in running apps like this and letting us know if our plug-ins are up to date is in interfacing with the plug-in developers. As PluginHub says, "These vendors either don't publish public version data, or they deliver updates through their own installer app." Hence, any plug-in manager app will face this challenge. Both apps offer extensive sorting, which can be important for figuring out what you actually have installed. It could even remind you what apps you could be using! Buying a new computer? Open the previous machine's system profile of all your installed plug-ins, and then use one of these apps to tell you what to install and where to get it.
Have you ever sat at your computer for hours, downloading and installing plug-ins you might already have because you had no idea if they were up-to-date or not? I have, and I hate spending my time doing this. These two apps gave me different readings on plug-ins that needed updating. Plugin Station compiles their own list of current plug-in versions based on info from their users (which are manually checked and entered by Plugin Station), and it alerted me to more out-of-date plug-ins than PluginHub. Both apps offer links to installers and websites to get the user going on updates, but if you have a fantasy that they could work like some magic macro and do ALL the updating for you, you'll have to wake up and remember the actual process for installing software on a Mac!
What makes these two apps different from each other?
Plugin Station offers up ways to compare pricing for plug-in updates through their app and can even save you money. One of the first things I did, after setting up my account and scanning the plug-ins and DAWs on my Mac, was to manage storage. The System Warnings tab should be your first visit anyway, especially if you're a chronic "disable notifications" person like myself. I was able to purge around 5 GB of unneeded VST plug-ins right away. Plugin Station searches for which DAWs you have installed, so it let me know I was hosting plug-ins I did not need. Plugin Station opens with a folder-like view, and I didn't initially know what to do when it appeared. Purchasing of the software has to be dealt with within the app and not via a browser. I think the extensive tools in Plugin Station would appeal to users who want more control and features.
PluginHub opens in a tabs view to show plug-ins by manufacturer. I liked starting out with that, and it got me digging into updates right away. Overall, it's a little easier to use, and though it might lack some of the capabilities of Plugin Station, it does have a history of adding features. I think this simplicity and ease would appeal to users who want to get the basic management job done.
These apps are priced differently but fairly, I think. Plugin Station's basic single system costs $4.99 per month or $54.89 a year, and a perpetual license is $149.99. Multi-system costs are a bit higher, of course. PluginHub offers one-time-fee perpetual licenses, starting at $29.99 for two activations, and up to $89.99 for way more Macs. I would suggest running both of these apps in trial mode and deciding which features suit your needs. Both are built by very nice folks that have been in this industry for years and know why we need this help. Trying to take in the full extent of the number of plug-ins on a computer these days is overwhelming, and that's why we need Plugin Station and PluginHub to help us out.