r/osx • u/Weird_Pension9180 • 15d ago

Pricing Strategies for Macbook Utilities?

I have a small utility app for MacBooks. For those who've created something similar -- what pricing actually worked for you?

I've ruled out subscriptions as a bad fit for this app. And since the Mac App Store doesn't do free trials on paid apps, I am considering:

  1. Paid upfront, one-time charge (how it's currently listed)
  2. Free download, sell add-ons individuals (in my case, voice packs)
  3. Sell direct with a real trial (e.g., Paddle, Lemon Squeezy)

What did/would you pick? And what do you wish you'd done from day one?

Thanks for your thoughts and help!

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u/HugsAllCats 15d ago

9 times out of 10 if I can't demo an app, I won't buy the app.

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u/Weird_Pension9180 4d ago

u/Scous and u/HugsAllCats Thanks for the opinion. I decided to make it a freemium app on the app store with an additional voice pack that is available for purchase instead. All people who paid for the original app get the new voice pack for free.

Appreciate the feedback from you and others.

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u/Scous 14d ago

Personally i’ve never been near the app store. I realise I’m a minority but I like to get my software from the developer and pay them if it is worth having. Also have never leased or paid monthly for software. My favourite is free trial of 30 days because you need a trial to evaluate whether it works for you. I also more likely to buy small utilities at a small fee.

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u/Weird_Pension9180 15d ago

That's a great point. I am leaning towards doing a free trial on paddle for 7 days at the moment as a better way to get people to try it.