Simply: Apps are so cheap because the bar for entry is low. People can't successfully charge $10 for something a reasonably talented high school student could m

Simply: Apps are so cheap because the bar for entry is low. People can't successfully charge $10 for something a reasonably talented high school student could make (and consider a runaway success if it brought in a couple hundred dollars). And I don't think that's a bad thing. And the popular 'app vs subway token' kinds of comparisons are ultimately unfair. You don't pay $2 to ride the subway. You pay $2 to get somewhere; because the destination is worth it and you know you'll get there. If you had no idea where the subway stopped and whether it would get anywhere close to where you were going, let alone in a timely manner, how eager would you be to step through the turnstile for $2? Similarly, if you didn't know anyone who had successfully gotten where they were going via the subway, or if the last few times you rode the subway you had terrible experiences, how eager would you be to step through the turnstile for $2?