

ASK HN: How do I determine if I should make my iPhone/Android App free vs. $1.99 - jag0

Hey all,<p>So I'm in the process of scoping / hiring for an iPhone/Android app. The app in my opinion and based on the audience I see for similar apps is what I'd consider to be pretty Niche (under 250K users).<p>It's a media streaming app in a similar vein as Pandora / Last.fm with a bit of a twist. Now given this very vague description and a general idea of the maximum audience size I'm still not certain if I should go free and try to earn through in app advertising, or charge $1.99 (which seems to be the 'advised' price based on what I've read here on HN).<p>Any and all advice on how to go about determining what method to go with as well as any possible ideas on how to mix the two would be great. Thanks!
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veyron
Do you expect to make more money from advertisement or from entrance fees? In
the former, make it free (more eyeballs, the better). In the latter, charge a
few bucks.

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abbasmehdi
Do both, freemium. Cold sales are hard, especially for the market you're
thinking. They're very price sensitive.

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jag0
I was strongly considering this but since I'm going to be outsourcing most of
the development I was thinking about how difficult/feasible it would be to do
more or less 4 versions of the app. (2 free but restricted/ad supported for
each platform AND 2 full featured versions for each platform)....

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Pewpewarrows
For Android: Free app w/ ads. Paid version of the app has no ads.

For iPhone: Paid app.

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jag0
Thanks for the input. Any specific reason why you'd go free on android (with
ads) but paid on iPhone?

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Pewpewarrows
It's a philosophy that's been repeated over and over again, both on HN and
from those who have been successful in the mobile app markets.

Simply put, Android has an air about it that says "open" and "free". People
have come to expect some of the best apps on Android to be free. Apple
products, on the other hand, have always had a steep mark-up in terms of price
compared to a competitor's product with identical hardware and/or features.
Users of OSX, etc, have never had a problem in the past paying for features
and programs that come for free elsewhere, and the trend continues with iOS.

