Paid vs Freemium model, which one you chose for your app and why?

Question

I recently released app to AppStore as paid app for just $0.99 USD and getting lot of criticism about it being paid and not free. Do you think it is bad idea to release paid apps? When do you think app should be paid and when it should be freemium?

Rajan Verma (Aarvy) · Accepted Answer

There  is nothing wrong in providing paid apps. Actually it depends on the niche your app is targeting. If it is targeting entertainment, there are plenty of free apps available. Narrowed to 2 questions: 
 - Do you offer trial / basic free plan in your app?   
 - Have you validated the market whether people willing to pay for this ?
 - I'd personally like to try things first before I'd pay for it, its same for majority of users. What kind of freemium model you have used? Pay as go , pay before go, subscriptions etc ?

Mr Ethar Alali · Answer

B2B really isn't suitable for significant Freemium offerings.

B2C on the other hand, is basically entirely driven by this these days. Users expect free in most cases. You have to make money from a tiny fraction of your user base, to ensure you can provide a service. In the vast majority of cases, this doesn't happen. Which is why Ads have been the default go-to for some time.

karmjit singh · Answer

I guess, I should not worry about people hating the App being paid and should concentrate more on adding value to App and making sure those who are buying it think that it is worth it.

karmjit singh · Answer

@aarvy i have seen similar apps with more money and having so many downloads. It’s just that I am working on features which would make the price worth. Either I can release free version with limited features and add Pro version of the app. But personally I always liked paying once and using the software.

karmjit singh · Answer

@photo_retouch it is iOS only app. I am not sure if AppStore offers anything like that.

karmjit singh · Answer

@mwobith any specific platform? Or here at PH?

karmjit singh · Answer

@mwobith that seems like lot of work. Have you done this before? Is there any specific template you use?

karmjit singh · Answer

@karmjit @mwobith I will do this.  👍

Dan Burcaw · Answer

@aarvy here's an article from the makers of iA Writer about how they think through some of this (in their case, whether to offer a subscription or not). Since interesting perspective. https://ia.net/topics/subscription-or-no-subscription

Aiden Jeffries · Answer

There is nothing wrong with paid applications. Alternatively, you can run a demo so that a potential customer can test your Google app for free. For example, both free and paid applications can be used for training: https://justbuyessay.com/blog/google-apps-for-education

Moritz Wobith · Answer

@karmjit I would use as many platforms as possible!
1. Ask on PH
2. Create a survey with typeform and send it to all your contacts
3. Share the link to the survey on your Social Media 
4. Create Twitter and Facebook polls 
--> This will give you a good understanding and an median/average

Moritz Wobith · Answer

@karmjit trust me this is worth the effort!

Rajan Verma (Aarvy) · Answer

@aarvy @karmjit IMP this is surely not an appropriate approach to sell, comparing with other similar business and expecting people will treat your's the same is bad. 
.
There could be several factors helped those apps to reach at such level,  those could be  trust, paid marketing, substitute app, high IPO, press targets, time, affiliates  and many more. There is no worth in comparing. Second, is you want your users to pay you, try to think with their perspective. What value are you adding by asking them to pay. 
If you really wanna see how your competitors has got to that level of installations then read about journey, their growth plans , marketing PR Strategies etc. this might help you grow. I suggest to release free version with limited features,  But conversion rate is probably less if someone have good alternative.  Nobody will pay you for your hard work, you either need to make them feel amused or add a value. Either of them require  them to try the app first.  Try opting for free trial with full features for limited time.  Or better if you can combine both

Moritz Wobith · Answer

Have you made user interviews on the willingness to pay for your app?
This could look like that: 
How much would you pay for the app?
0
0,99$
2,39$
Open field

Try that and you I'm sure that you will get amazing insights :)

Kristin Ides · Answer

The psychology of pricing is a whole topic unto itself! Here's a quick intro: https://neilpatel.com/blog/5-psychological-studies/

There's definitely a perception that if something is free it doesn't have value, but at the same time, users expect to be able to try before they buy. Maybe increase the price to $3.99 and offer a free trial that doesn't auto-charge?

All that said, I have seen people griping in the app store about paying for some of the most excellent and robust apps where the maker absolutely deserves high compensation, so you'll never be able to please everyone.

Paid vs Freemium model, which one you chose for your app and why?

Replies