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Ask HN: Why paid apps are not popular?

3 points by yarsanich 3y ago

dazc 3y ago
People don't like paying for stuff and would prefer to jump through multiple hoops in order to get an inferior product that doesn't cost anything.
- Quinzel 3y ago
  I disagree, I think people will pay for things that they believe add value to their life. I think a lot of paid apps just don’t add the value that the people who developed the apps think they’re worth.
RobotToaster 3y ago
Because they cost money.
dave4420 3y ago
People think apps are free of charge, because they think they didn’t pay extra for the apps that came with their phone or their laptop. IG / FB / Gmail / etc apps are free of charge. Also their bank’s / energy supplier’s / phone company’s / etc apps are free of charge. If all of those apps are free of charge, any app that charges must be a rip off. I don’t agree with it, but that’s part of the psychology.
NX9mqsSv8 3y ago
Fine with paying for apps. Refuse to pay for subscription.
- dazc 3y ago
  Subscription is OK so long as you can unsubscribe at any time with no friction or penalty.
beardyw 3y ago
When you are asked to pay for something you instinctively consider its value. When it's free you don't, even when in some indirect way you do pay.
NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
I've paid for a couple apps since my first Android device in 2015. The first app I installed was paid, and cost about $12. It was a very well-produced prayer app that included official texts with spoken and chanted audio. This is a comprehensive work that spans an entire year and must have taken multiple years to produce. It was well worth the price of entry, especially because they were still working out official licensing for the texts and I didn't want them to fail at that mission! The other app I purchased was FitNotes. When I started working out a few years ago, I really needed a good app to track my workouts. FitNotes can also track vital statistics such as bodyweight and blood pressure. It works entirely offline, but it features a nice cloud backup that integrates with Drive. It was nearly feature-complete in its free version, but I decided to support the author with a purchase, which unlocked even better features. Other than those two apps, I purchased another similar-but-different prayer app which I don't use anymore. I really don't install a lot of apps, because I don't have space, and I don't like the attack surface. So I don't have, e.g. a separate podcast app, a music player, a mail client; I just use the basic Google Android apps for those functions. Of course, apps are just another sort of software, and almost everyone purchases software at some point, right? I purchased a Windows 10 Pro license for my notebook to upgrade it from Home. I can't remember the last time I ever paid for a Windows app, though. I get away with freeloading on almost everything. Ubuntu, even more so.
Rzor 3y ago
It depends on a lot of stuff. Sometimes they are.
superchroma 3y ago
Because it's trash. I don't want to own your software. Lots of paid software sucks in various rather interesting ways.
haunter 3y ago
What does paid app mean? I pay for all my games on Steam and consoles. Those are paid apps right?
- yarsanich 3y ago
  Like apps that requires payment up front to be installed. Paid apps in Google Play or App Store
  - haunter 3y ago
    So all the video games then. Well it's one of the most profitable software field so they are certainly not unpopular.

3 points by yarsanich 3y ago

dazc 3y ago

People don't like paying for stuff and would prefer to jump through multiple hoops in order to get an inferior product that doesn't cost anything.

Quinzel 3y ago
I disagree, I think people will pay for things that they believe add value to their life. I think a lot of paid apps just don’t add the value that the people who developed the apps think they’re worth.

RobotToaster 3y ago

Because they cost money.

dave4420 3y ago

People think apps are free of charge, because they think they didn’t pay extra for the apps that came with their phone or their laptop. IG / FB / Gmail / etc apps are free of charge. Also their bank’s / energy supplier’s / phone company’s / etc apps are free of charge. If all of those apps are free of charge, any app that charges must be a rip off. I don’t agree with it, but that’s part of the psychology.

NX9mqsSv8 3y ago

Fine with paying for apps. Refuse to pay for subscription.

dazc 3y ago
Subscription is OK so long as you can unsubscribe at any time with no friction or penalty.

beardyw 3y ago

When you are asked to pay for something you instinctively consider its value. When it's free you don't, even when in some indirect way you do pay.

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago

I've paid for a couple apps since my first Android device in 2015. The first app I installed was paid, and cost about $12. It was a very well-produced prayer app that included official texts with spoken and chanted audio. This is a comprehensive work that spans an entire year and must have taken multiple years to produce. It was well worth the price of entry, especially because they were still working out official licensing for the texts and I didn't want them to fail at that mission! The other app I purchased was FitNotes. When I started working out a few years ago, I really needed a good app to track my workouts. FitNotes can also track vital statistics such as bodyweight and blood pressure. It works entirely offline, but it features a nice cloud backup that integrates with Drive. It was nearly feature-complete in its free version, but I decided to support the author with a purchase, which unlocked even better features. Other than those two apps, I purchased another similar-but-different prayer app which I don't use anymore. I really don't install a lot of apps, because I don't have space, and I don't like the attack surface. So I don't have, e.g. a separate podcast app, a music player, a mail client; I just use the basic Google Android apps for those functions. Of course, apps are just another sort of software, and almost everyone purchases software at some point, right? I purchased a Windows 10 Pro license for my notebook to upgrade it from Home. I can't remember the last time I ever paid for a Windows app, though. I get away with freeloading on almost everything. Ubuntu, even more so.

Rzor 3y ago

It depends on a lot of stuff. Sometimes they are.

superchroma 3y ago

Because it's trash. I don't want to own your software. Lots of paid software sucks in various rather interesting ways.

haunter 3y ago

What does paid app mean? I pay for all my games on Steam and consoles. Those are paid apps right?

yarsanich 3y ago
Like apps that requires payment up front to be installed. Paid apps in Google Play or App Store
- haunter 3y ago
  So all the video games then. Well it's one of the most profitable software field so they are certainly not unpopular.