What justifies the upgrade fee to TechTool Pro v9.5 is the APFS repair functionality added in v9.6. Micromat is the FIRST macOS utility developer to add this functionality. Otherwise, High Sierra users are stuck with Apple's meagre Disk Utility. Bravo to Micromat!

Keep in mind that this is 'initial' APFS compatibility. Further APFS functionality features are on the way. To quote Micromat:

"Trust us when we say that there is a lot going on with this new file system, so this is just *initial* support. Techtool Pro can now test and repair these disks, even eDrives on them, but we're still hard at work exploring the depths of this file system. Some more advanced features will be coming down the road."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We're still waiting for:
- Alsoft DiskWarrior repair compatibility with APFS.
- Prosoft Engineering Drive Genius repair compatibility with APFS.
- Apple to finish APFS such that it is compatible with both conventional hard drives and Fusion drives. (Apple provided initial Fusion drive compatibility in the first beta of High Sierra, then removed it. There has been no sign of it since!)

Note that the inability of HFS+ Macs to access APFS Macs can be a CRITICAL problem. Therefore, unless your network consists of only SSD Macs, I currently recommend NOT upgrading to High Sierra. If you want your HFS+ Macs to access APFS Macs, you're thoroughly hosed. As such, I consider High Sierra to be an unfinished beta OS.

Hurry up Apple! We're beyond impatient here! (@_@)

Upgrade policy stinks.