Ask HN: Mac App Store worth it for a $0.99 app?

4•gu009•1h ago

I've developed a Mac app that's a simple 1 trick pony, aimed at a niche audience (music / video / content producers). It solves a problem I couldn't find any other solution to, and I've been using it myself & have been really pleased with the results.

I've been thinking about putting it up for sale, and given it's a simple app for a niche audience, $0.99 seems like the the reasonable price point. It feels like it wouldn't be good value at a higher price, I don't know if I'd buy it for more than that myself.

At this price point, I'm wondering whether the Mac App Store is worth the cost of admission. I'm not a "proper" developer, I'm just dipping my toe into making apps and want to share 1 simple tool I've made at a price that feels reasonable. I'm questioning whether this app would make back the $99 per year fee.

This is small potatoes for many on HN I know, but I'm interested in any advice anyone might have. Thanks!

Comments

azhenley•1h ago

If I’m willing to go through the hassle of buying something, then I’m willing to pay more than $1.

tjr•1h ago

Agreed. If the application is actually useful -- even if only slightly -- I strongly suspect I wouldn't think anything of paying $5.

toomuchtodo•1h ago

You can always lower the price, harder to raise it. As someone else said, I think $5 is reasonable for a one time purchase. I’ll spend $10-$20 on an app if it appears to have value.

k310•1h ago

There's an old adage, I don't know if it's still valid, that a higher price makes some people think that the product or service is actually worth more than a cheaper one. (think open source apps and operating systems)

That said, I believe that music/video production apps start around $5 and a lot more on ios, some unknown number on mac (many ios apps run on Macs since M1/Ventura)

I don't follow mac app prices/bargains since some sale sites shut down or are just too hard to find. For ios, I look at the bargain page below, which is how I got that rough lower bound.

The "virtue" of the mac app store is the visibility to many, whereas selling outside of it (still possible and desirable) has a findability problem, unless you know how to find your customer base by whatever means

P.S. I sometimes find useful mac apps via Hacker News, but I avoid "help, get me out of here" popular social sites.

https://www.igeeksblog.com/paid-iphone-apps-gone-free/

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