Download!Download Point responsive WP Theme for FREE!

Should $.99 Apps Come In A Free Flavor Too?

imageIn the comments to the WP7 app data post it seems like we’re all starting to talk about what app pricing should look like so let’s focus on it a little bit here. The MS Marketplace is supposed to be a place for devs to make money and presumably that’s in sales and it isn’t geared to ad revenue. The Android market is the opposite – it is geared towards ad based apps since that’s the model Google is pushing and the Android base has subscribed. And that will give you an idea why Angry Birds ultimately was a free/ad based game in its initial release. Since that release there have been complaints that the ads are intrusive and that people would pay $.99 to not have to have them. And that’s the question here.

Do you think that developers of $.99 apps (and I’m limiting it there since higher priced apps may not have the same breakeven points) should release two versions of their apps? So they would have a free/ad based app and then a second app for $.99 that would be ad free. I personally like the model and think devs will end up pretty well this way (with some money upfront for the paid users and also an ongoing stream of revenue from the ad users) but I can see some users having mixed feelings about multiple app versions out there and I also see the Marketplace getting mucked up if all apps are duplicated. So let’s presume the paid and ad app are the same except for the ads. How should developers market and release their $.99 apps?

9 Comments