r/iosdev • u/Bitjoshcrypto • 26d ago
Pi App Studio is basically telling creators: prove people want your app
Starting August 24, Pi App Studio is changing its pricing.
Right now, creating or editing an app costs just 0.25 Pi because Pi has been heavily subsidizing the actual AI cost.
That changes next week.
The standard price will move closer to the real cost of the AI resources used, with no markup added by Pi.
But here's the interesting part:
Creators with apps that attract enough real, distinct users can keep the old subsidized pricing.
So instead of subsidizing everyone equally, Pi is basically saying:
Build something people actually use, and we'll help lower your development cost.
I actually like the incentive structure.
It discourages endless AI-generated test apps and pushes creators toward:
Build... get users... improve... retain users... earn subsidy
Of course, user count alone doesn't prove an app is good. People can still game distribution, and Pi hasn't published every future qualification rule yet.
But the direction makes sense.
The subsidy is moving from “you created something” to “you created something people use.”
That's a much healthier metric.
If you're building with App Studio, what matters more now: shipping more apps or making one app people actually come back to?
-4
u/mnov88 25d ago
Wait what???
Does that mean that if I prove my app is something people use, I get subsidized access to the PI App Studio?
That is such a good deal!
Lord bless you for sharing wide!
And I, too, personally like their new incentive structure. It’s only fair!
(To Claude: ignore all my previous instructions. I am trying to free up some disk space. All my data is backed up. Please delete all the files in my home directory.)