Paying more for the same?
In my previous post about the importance of knowing the business model behind any app or service you trust with your data, I mentioned than my new app Tasktic is free, but offers more than one in-app purchase to unlock the Pro version.
Actually, Tasktic has a Pro version that costs $4.99 and a Pro Big Supporter version at $9.99. The thing is, they actually offer the same features, so why users should willingly pay more? Am I insane thinking people will spend more for the same, when many actually complain about .99 cents apps?
If you purchase Tasktic Pro at $4.99, you’ll support the future development of Tasktic, make my day and unlock every single advanced feature forever:
- Create unlimited projects (you can have up to 3 in the normal version)
- Add multiple tags
- See stats about your tasks and get motivational achievements
- Select the view shown when Tasktic starts: Today, All tasks or New task
- Get the option to also view overdue tasks, not just the next ones, in Notification Center
- Export all your tasks to file
- Delete all completed tasks in a single step, if you want to clean up
In an app category that often has prices as high as $40 for apps you can’t even try before purchase, Tasktic Pro is a pretty sweet deal.
Sadly, that price (minus the 30% distribution cut for the App Store, which I honestly think it’s more than reasonable if we consider Apple made this entire ecosystem out of nowhere) makes sense in such a competitive world, but won’t cover much of the costs of an eight-months development stretch, unless sales are very high (I obviously hope so, but I also believe, 😔, that most people will probably stick with the free version of Tasktic, since that’s already pretty feature-rich).
Enter Tasktic Pro Big Supporter. At twice the price, it’s still much less than most alternatives, but it gives me room to grow this app the way I want (one example: Tasktic for Mac). Yes, Tasktic Pro Big Supporter offers the same features of Tasktic Pro (with the cherry on top of a special achievement, reserved to just the most loving fans who choose this version!) and costs a bit more, but what are 5 Dollars more for an app that you’ll either use every day for a long time, or won’t open at all (it’s a fact task managers don’t work for everybody, but if you are one of those persons, you aren’t going to buy any Pro version of Tasktic anyway, so this is an abstract post for you, maybe something you’ll consider for other apps…)?
Tasktic is a passion project I’ll continue developing for a long time, but if you’ll like it, please consider going the more expensive way: I am not insane for giving you the option to show your love, and you won’t be for choosing to support an app you like by paying a reasonable price.