Pricing is the decision indie developers put off longest and regret most. Set it too low and you can't afford to maintain the app. Set it too high and nobody tries it. There's no formula, but there are good rules of thumb for Mac and iOS apps.
Start from value and costs
Ask two questions before picking a number:
- What is the app worth to the person who needs it? A tool that saves a professional an hour a week is worth far more than a hobby app, even if the code is the same size.
- What does it cost you to keep it alive? Developer Program fees, servers, support time, and above all your time updating for new macOS and iOS versions every year. An app with ongoing costs needs ongoing revenue.
Then look at what comparable apps charge, but don't just undercut them. Low prices attract more support requests and fewer loyal customers.
The four common models
One-time purchase
Pay once, own the app. It's popular on the Mac and easy to explain.
- Good for: focused utilities that work offline and don't have recurring costs.
- Watch out for: revenue dries up once the market is saturated. You need a plan for funding updates: paid major upgrades (direct sales only), a new edition, or selling add-ons.
Subscription
Pay monthly or yearly. Predictable revenue, funding ongoing work.
- Good for: apps with ongoing costs (sync, servers, AI features, content) or where value keeps accumulating.
- Watch out for: subscription fatigue. Users accept a subscription when they can see what it pays for. Offer an annual plan at a discount, and consider a lifetime option for people who won't subscribe.
Freemium
Free to use, with a paid tier.
- Good for: apps that benefit from a large user base or word of mouth, or where a free tier teaches people the value.
- Watch out for: a free tier too generous to ever convert, or too stingy to be trusted. Aim for a tier that's genuinely useful on its own, with a paid tier that's clearly better for heavy users.
Free trial, then pay
Full-featured for a limited time. It's the most honest way to show an app's value, and it works well for direct sales. The Mac App Store doesn't allow time-limited demos of paid apps, so you'd use a free app with an in-app purchase to unlock, or a subscription with an introductory offer. See Mac App Store vs direct distribution.
Upgrades and the long term
If you sell direct, you can charge for major versions, with a discount for existing customers. On the Mac App Store, which has no paid upgrades, subscriptions and in-app purchases are the usual way to keep earning from an app you keep improving.
Whatever you do, be transparent. Say on the pricing page what's included, what a future major version might cost and whether the license is per user or per device.
Tactics that work for small apps
- A launch price. Offer a limited-time discount for the first couple of weeks, with the regular price shown. It rewards early adopters and gives your launch a reason to share. See our launch checklist.
- An annual plan. If you offer monthly, make yearly noticeably better value. It reduces churn and improves cash flow.
- A lifetime option. A higher one-time price for people who hate subscriptions. Price it high enough (often several times the yearly price) that it doesn't undercut the subscription, and be sure you can support those users for years.
- Family, team and education pricing. Easy to add, and they open new customers.
- Regional prices. On the App Store you can set prices per country. Direct sales processors let you do the same.
- Bundles. Teaming up with other indie developers on a bundle can bring in a new audience. Check NativeShelf's deals for how others do it.
How to test a price
Don't agonize; run experiments:
- Launch with a price you can defend.
- Watch conversion from trial or free to paid, not just downloads.
- Listen to what users say. "It's cheap" is a signal to raise it. "It's too expensive" from people who aren't your target user is not.
- Change prices for new customers only, and give existing ones notice and fair treatment.
- Try one change at a time, for long enough to see a pattern.
Common mistakes
- Pricing against free apps. Compete on quality and fit, not on being cheaper than free.
- Pricing in your own wallet. You are not your customer. A professional tool can cost far more than a hobbyist would pay.
- Never raising prices. Costs go up and the app gets better. Raise the price as you improve it.
- Hiding the price. A clear price on your site and your listing builds trust, and filters out the wrong visitors early.
Summary
Pick the model that matches how your app delivers value: one-time for simple offline tools, subscriptions for ongoing services, freemium for wide reach, trials to let the app prove itself. Price for value and sustainability, say clearly what people get, and treat the first price as a hypothesis you'll adjust. Ready to put your app in front of buyers? Submit it to NativeShelf.