There are a lot of things to consider when you are pricing your app.  There is always a thin line between the cost of development and maintenance of the app versus how much your clients are willing to pay.  Increased competition has begun to drive down the price of apps continuing to make it difficult to set a reasonable price for both consumers and IT developers alike.  One thing that has become an advantage for app providers is the ability to gain revenue through in app purchases which helps to lower the initial price of the app.

One of the best avenues you have to promote your mobile application is to offer a free or lite version of the app.  This gives consumers the chance to try out your app before paying for the premium or full version.  There are a few drawbacks to offering a free version however.  Some clients may feel that the lite version is all that they need.  It could also lead consumers to believe that the free app does not offer limited functionality compared to their paid counterparts.

As mentioned before a simple and effective way to up your revenue is in app purchases.  In app purchases allow consumers to purchase services and extras directly from the app.  This works for both producers and consumers.  The ease and convenience for consumers to access more content increases revenue and keeps consumers satisfied.

Another way to generate revenue without driving your app’s price through the roof is in app advertising.  This allows you to bring in a healthy income without having to charge or over charge for your app.  One downside to the use of in app advertising is that it may turn off some users from using your app.

The fact that it is possible to generate other revenues makes setting a price slightly easier.  It is up to you to decide on how you plan to generate your revenue and what price you think consumers will pay to use your app.  The great thing is that app prices are not set in stone.  If a price isn’t producing as many downloads as you would like it is easy to go in and make changes to the price.  It can also be a great promotional tool to offer an app at a free or reduced price for a limited time to entice users into taking the plunge.

There is one type of app out there that is impossible to price and that is the mobile enterprise app.  These apps can’t be priced because, quite frankly, they are priceless to the companies that use them.  These apps can be an invaluable way to help both employees and IT professional help to support and maintain primary business functions.  Charging for these apps would likely drive employees away from using them which could hurt business.

Pricing your app comes down to what function your app provides and how valuable it is to its users.  In some instances the price of the app may be your only form of revenue which could drive the price up.  In other instances you may make most of your revenue from in app purchases or advertisement making it easy to offer a free or lite version.  Still in other instances, like mobile enterprise apps, you make your revenue from the way your employees use your apps.  In the end app users will eventually help you to dictate the perfect price for your mobile software.