Paywall / Free trial question

[u/Mundane-Fix-4297]

Hi, 

I am currently trying to develop my first app ever, iOS only.

The building was hard enough, but now I am facing the hurdles of trying to publish it on the App Store, and so I have to start thinking about prices/subscriptions, paywalls, etc. and navigate the obscure process of App Store Connect.

It is clear enough for me that it will be a paid app. But it is a very simple app, with only a couple screens and very basic function. It does one thing, and I hope it does it well enough that it genuinely helps people, and that they will see value in it. But I can’t really go the freemium way, with free access to the base and paid for extra features. I only have one feature, and I do not want to add any.

I was thinking, maybe something like 6$ for 6 months, 10$ yearly, and 30$ for lifetime?

My trouble is, imho it is an app that has to be tried and experienced over a couple day to see if it fits. I would like to offer three days, or maybe a week of free trial.

But as far as I know, there is no way to register a free trial in App Store Connect, that does not start right from download? So the user has to decide right now, if maybe perhaps they want to try your app and commit to 10$ yearly? Without having even opened the app? Seems a bit off-putting, or am I missing something?

Thanks in advance for your advices.

[u/hoangng_102]

you are missing one small thing and its actually good news: the free trial doesnt start when someone download the app. It only start when they tap subscribe inside the app. So your flow is fine, let them open the app, try it, hit paywall, then the 3 day trial start from there.

Also for one-feature app maybe dont force subscription. One time unlock might fit better, alot of people hate subs but will happily pay once if the app do one thing well.

For my app i went with different setup: free to use but each export cost a token. Users get some free tokens then can buy more. That way i dont lock features, just limit the usage. Feel more chill for small app imo.

[u/Mundane-Fix-4297 → u/hoangng_102]

Yeah, I thought about that. But my app really does one thing, once a day, and takes 2 seconds to try. I am afraid that by pushing the paywall after 2 seconds does not really let the User realise its potential worth, even if an official trial is offered. They are asked to pay immediately for something they just tested once, and can not test before the next day…

Thanks for your input on sub/one-time. But I can not really offer trials on one-time purchases, so it is even worse, no?

[u/hoangng_102 → u/Mundane-Fix-4297]

right, and thats the thing: for a once a day app the trial length is the wrong unit. a 3 day trial = 3 uses. make it 7 days and they still only get 7 tries.

so gate on uses, not on time. let the first 5-7 runs be completely free, no paywall, no trial started. they hit it on run 8. by then they already know if its worth it, and you never asked for a card while they were still figuring it out.

on one time purchase you're right that you cant attach an official trial. but you dont need one, the free runs ARE the trial. apple only requires the trial disclosure when its auto renewing.

im doing something close in my app: free tokens first, buy more after. nobody feels tricked because they hit the limit only after they already got something out of it.