manytricks:

If you ask either of us for our opinion on the best place to buy Mac software, here’s our opinionated answer: We strongly recommend buying direct over using the Mac App Store.

At a personal level, we both always try to buy direct, using the App Store only when there’s no direct alternative.

Why do we think you should buy direct? Because we feel the advantages of buying from the Mac App Store are greatly outweighed by the disadvantages of buying from the Mac App Store.

Here’s a comparison of the two methods of buying, with what we view as some of the pros and cons of each.

The Mac App Store works for those who want more of a hands off approach but I’ve always preferred to buy direct from the developer. This piece does a good job of laying out the pros and cons of each method.