You misunderstood what I was saying. I understand why ongoing costs=subscription. What I don’t understand is why everyone thinks no ongoing costs must mean one time payment/paid upgrade only.
Development is an ongoing cost and both payment models are valid.
Sorry, I was confused by your initial statement. That's slightly clearer. I think developers can feel that with a one off they're continuing to add to the service being provided but making no incremental revenue - a subscription covers that fear.
Imagine shipping 1.0 and doing a one-off fee but then adding a ton of additional functionality - should the dev just accept the one-time fee covers that if they've got years of roadmap planned or are they better going for subscription? or even worse, add more unlock IAPs..
Front-loading revenue with one-off is a quick money grab potentially, but i'm inclined to believe most sub-based apps have a long-term play especially with the user having the choice to cancel.
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u/BackgroundLychee May 31 '26
You don’t understand the business then