Many people are inclined to only or mostly use free apps, even though there are paid apps that perform the same task. While what you can get for free is amazing, paying for an app is often worth the cost in the long run.
Let’s discuss a few reasons why paying for iPhone or Android apps is worth compared to their free counterparts.
1. Developers won’t have to make money elsewhere
It’s easy to balk at the $5 price of an app and wonder if you should buy it for days, even though you wouldn’t mind spending that much on a coffee. The important thing to remember, though, is that app owners have to make money one way or another.
If they don’t earn money by paying for the app, they can stick ads in the app. These may pay the bills, but they’re ugly and can get insufferable when taken to the extremes of unskippable video ads. Developers can also suck your data and sell it to third parties, but that means you pay for the app with your privacy.
Even for simple apps that are just a side hobby, publishers still have to pay an annual cost to get Apple’s developer fee listed on the App Store. For more complex applications, there are additional costs that must be paid for one way or another.
If you don’t spend money, you will pay with time or your personal data.
2. Paid apps are less likely to disappear
Nothing can go on free forever. There are several examples of beloved free apps that were discontinued because they weren’t making enough money. One such application was the Mailbox messaging app, which contained many innovative features for email clients at the time.
Mailbox was launched for iPhone in February 2013 and then the company behind it was acquired by Dropbox in March of the same year. After Mailbox for Android launched in April, it wasn’t long before Dropbox announced in December 2015 that it would be shutting down the app the following February.
Dropbox was able to fund Mailbox for a while, but since Mailbox was completely free, it had no way to make money. When it went bankrupt, everyone who relied on Mailbox had to find a new email client, which is tedious and has a negative effect on your productivity.
You never know when the “too good to be true” free app you love today will disappear tomorrow because its revenue model wasn’t sustainable.
3. Paid apps offer better developer support
Developers who earn huge sums from their apps will encourage them to continue. If they’re making, say, $700 a month from people buying the app, that’s a lot of extra money for their efforts.
Once an app gets to this stage, developers have a vested interest in maintaining it. If they don’t update their app to work with the latest versions of iOS, fix bugs, and work properly, negative reviews will pour in. Once the app’s reputation is tarnished, the revenue the developer has grown accustomed to will dry up.
Many people have created an app as part of a one-time experience, perhaps to practice development skills. But if they release their app for free and never watch it again, there’s little chance anyone will want to use it in the future. You’ve probably stayed away from apps on Google Play that reek of Android design standards from a decade ago for this reason.
4. Don’t Worry About Freemium Locks
Instead of requiring an upfront payment, many apps today follow a freemium model. In this, some features are available for free, but unlocking everything requires payment. And while it works for some apps, it’s not a perfect strategy in all cases.
While the freemium version of an app might have everything you need, another might lock its killer feature behind the paywall or severely limit your use of its services. Also, if everyone sticks to the free version, the developer would not make any money, which would reflect the above issues.
In some cases, a developer can even take features that were once available in the free version and restrict them to paid users only. This sadly happened with Pushbullet, a once-loved app that lets you easily send information across multiple devices, among other features.
When the app introduced a Pro plan a few years into its life, the developers moved several key features, such as universal copy-and-paste, behind the paywall.
And today, Pushbullet is no longer available for iPhone. One of the developers said on Reddit that since none of the Pushbullet Pro features work on iOS, it makes no sense to put effort into the iPhone app as it won’t continue development. In a previous Reddit thread, he mentioned the implementation of the now required Sign in with Apple functionality would be too much work, which also contributed to the write-off.
The more people who support apps by paying for them, the less chance there is of another story like Pushbullet happening.
5. Paid apps usually have more polish
As stated above, developers have more reason to spend time on an app that makes them money. If they’re barely getting by, they probably won’t have time to do small optimizations.
These seem minor, but they can add up. Crashing apps in the middle of something, worrying about signing out for no reason, or wondering why your taps aren’t registering are all real hassles of using unpolished apps.
It’s frustrating to work with apps that have these issues, so a few bucks can save you time and raise your blood pressure.
6. Pay for apps supports developers
We’ve given many practical reasons why you should pay for apps, but these are mostly self-serving: you should pay to get better apps. However, there is something to be said for simply supporting a developer whose work you like.
Even if it’s only a few bucks here or there, knowing that you’re helping a quality developer eat is a nice feeling. Chances are you’re happy to pay for other services you find valuable, such as tipping for food delivery. Why not extend that same logic to someone who’s spent dozens of hours building an app you think is awesome?
Consider paying for apps after all
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should only use paid apps or that there aren’t good free apps. Many developers offer amazing apps for free because they are generous and want to share their awesome creations with others. But as we have seen, these do not last forever.
The predominance of the subscription model complicates this a bit, but the principle is still valid. Often, paying for an app keeps the product you love alive and kicking for longer.
