Since the tech world is having a shit-fit today about the pricing about Fantastical's new Mac App, it seems like as good a time as any to go on my rant about app pricing in general.
(Just for disclosure- I don't use Fantistical on any platform. Nothing against the product's price- I prefer Readdle's Calnedars 5 for my iOS needs. I WISH Readdle would make a Mac App version (but they haven't) so I use the default OSx apps)
Here's the problem- developers want to be paid more for apps and users want software for free. Just about everything in the middle is fluff. You can wax poetic all day about how Apple contributes to this problem by featuring free apps more heavily or making otherwise paid apps free in "App of the Week," etc.- but that's going to end up in a chicken-and-egg debate about do users want free apps because that's what's featured or do fee apps get featured because that's what users want?
Thing is, for an app like Fantistical (or any app that replaces a core-app) it doesn't matter. What matters is the value proposition.
Think of it like this - your Mac already comes with a Calendar app. It's already free and it already does a really good job at most things. In fact, for most users, it's all they ever need. That's Apple's goal- give you something included that can handle most, if not all, of your needs.
So apps that seek to replace those built-in apps must add functionality ABOVE and BEYOND what those native apps are offering.
The first version of Fantistical did just that. Natural language parsing was a huge advantage. Well worth the extra money. But now many calendars- including Apple's- have it. So the relative value is gone.
The new version of Fantistical looks great. Pretty, well-designed, and clearly a lot of work went into it. The developers invested a lot of time (aka, money) into the new version. But the problem is this- that work didn't add value above the free option.
Quoted in the Wired review, developer Micheal Simmons says he noticed himself using other apps than Fantistical and decided instead to make his own more powerful. A smart realization, but admittedly, playing catch-up.
Which leads us to the ultimate question at hand- is a new version of Fantistical "worth $49.99?"
Well, where a developer might say "Of course! I put a lot of time and effort into this. I worked hard and I deserved to be paid!" the market is asking a different question; "Does this app provide $50 MORE VALUE than the free app my Mac came with?"
I don't know the answer. Time will tell.
But just realize this- a thing's value is not at all proportionate to the effort or time that goes into making it. A thing's value is what it adds versus what it costs. I'm all for paying for good software- I do it every week. But "good" software (to me, and I'm sure many others) means it's prettier, more functional, or more "delightful" than the free option.
If Fantastical wants to get $50 for it's app, it just needs to show us that there's $50 (or more) worth of value ABOVE the free offerings. But if the price is a statement about "paying developers fairly" and not about the value proposition- then it's not a business model; it's a charity request.
