As a developer you should NOT have to pay Apple or Google or anyone any money to create / distribute software. Developers create real value to a platform, and no self-respecting developer should encourage this kind of exploitation. App Stores also exploit customers and also violate their privacy.
Note that the usage of App Stores on a Mac is not at the same level as that of iDevices (where everyone is forced to use the Apple App Store to install any software). And many Mac developers also sell / distribute their products outside it. Since your application is a Mac app, you do have a real choice to avoid App Store and distribute your app online through other means.
All that said, it's pretty hard to judge how much the App Store can help you sell your product because it depends on various factors like how useful your product is to your target market, how well-designed your product is, who your competitions are etc. Whether you can make money also depends on your business skills.
There's an old adage, I don't know if it's still valid, that a higher price makes some people think that the product or service is actually worth more than a cheaper one. (think open source apps and operating systems)
That said, I believe that music/video production apps start around $5 and a lot more on ios, some unknown number on mac (many ios apps run on Macs since M1/Ventura)
I don't follow mac app prices/bargains since some sale sites shut down or are just too hard to find. For ios, I look at the bargain page below, which is how I got that rough lower bound.
The "virtue" of the mac app store is the visibility to many, whereas selling outside of it (still possible and desirable) has a findability problem, unless you know how to find your customer base by whatever means
P.S. I sometimes find useful mac apps via Hacker News, but I avoid "help, get me out of here" popular social sites.
I've noticed some Chinese developers create 2-3 different versions of the same app with different name and slightly different layout, and sell it at different price point on the App Store. That's a great way to determine how much to price your product.
You're targeting "music/video/content producers," who are professionals.
In this market, a $0.99 price tag is a liability, not an asset. It signals "hobbyist toy," "abandonware," or "data-harvesting scam." Professionals are used to paying for tools that solve a problem, and they will happily pay $9.99 or $19.99 for a "1 trick pony" if it saves them 10 minutes of frustration just once.
Don't price it based on its "simplicity." Price it based on the value it provides to your niche audience. You'll need 100 sales at $0.99 just to break even on the fee. You'd only need 10 sales at $9.99. The latter is a much more realistic validation signal.
You can always lower the price, harder to raise it. As someone else said, I think $5 is reasonable for a one time purchase. I’ll spend $10-$20 on an app if it appears to have value.
As a developer you should NOT have to pay Apple or Google or anyone any money to create / distribute software. Developers create real value to a platform, and no self-respecting developer should encourage this kind of exploitation. App Stores also exploit customers and also violate their privacy.
Note that the usage of App Stores on a Mac is not at the same level as that of iDevices (where everyone is forced to use the Apple App Store to install any software). And many Mac developers also sell / distribute their products outside it. Since your application is a Mac app, you do have a real choice to avoid App Store and distribute your app online through other means.
All that said, it's pretty hard to judge how much the App Store can help you sell your product because it depends on various factors like how useful your product is to your target market, how well-designed your product is, who your competitions are etc. Whether you can make money also depends on your business skills.
My advise - just sell and distribute the app yourself ( https://stripe.com/resources/more/how-to-start-a-digital-pro... ) and use the $99 on Google Adwords to promote your app ( https://business.google.com/in/google-ads/ ). How many people searching for the feature that your product offers, click your ad and buy your product will give you a very fair idea of the commercial viability of your app.
There's an old adage, I don't know if it's still valid, that a higher price makes some people think that the product or service is actually worth more than a cheaper one. (think open source apps and operating systems)
That said, I believe that music/video production apps start around $5 and a lot more on ios, some unknown number on mac (many ios apps run on Macs since M1/Ventura)
I don't follow mac app prices/bargains since some sale sites shut down or are just too hard to find. For ios, I look at the bargain page below, which is how I got that rough lower bound.
The "virtue" of the mac app store is the visibility to many, whereas selling outside of it (still possible and desirable) has a findability problem, unless you know how to find your customer base by whatever means
P.S. I sometimes find useful mac apps via Hacker News, but I avoid "help, get me out of here" popular social sites.
https://www.igeeksblog.com/paid-iphone-apps-gone-free/
I've noticed some Chinese developers create 2-3 different versions of the same app with different name and slightly different layout, and sell it at different price point on the App Store. That's a great way to determine how much to price your product.
You're targeting "music/video/content producers," who are professionals.
In this market, a $0.99 price tag is a liability, not an asset. It signals "hobbyist toy," "abandonware," or "data-harvesting scam." Professionals are used to paying for tools that solve a problem, and they will happily pay $9.99 or $19.99 for a "1 trick pony" if it saves them 10 minutes of frustration just once.
Don't price it based on its "simplicity." Price it based on the value it provides to your niche audience. You'll need 100 sales at $0.99 just to break even on the fee. You'd only need 10 sales at $9.99. The latter is a much more realistic validation signal.
You can always lower the price, harder to raise it. As someone else said, I think $5 is reasonable for a one time purchase. I’ll spend $10-$20 on an app if it appears to have value.
If I’m willing to go through the hassle of buying something, then I’m willing to pay more than $1.
Agreed. If the application is actually useful -- even if only slightly -- I strongly suspect I wouldn't think anything of paying $5.