Don't launch a freemium app

I think this somehow varies from product to product. We launch a free version of our Cloud IDE months before we start the premium features (as it wasn't even ready yet!). We had several limitations for the free users from the very beginning and our initial users asked us if they could get more out of us if they paid. We carefully planned out what will be the difference between free and premium and both of them worked out well. The Cloud IDE is sufficient enough for mild usage, and it is powerful enough if you paid.

That's interesting. I've also noticed that free apps get more ratings that freemium ones. Perhaps it's also because when people see a freemium app they don't even bother to try it - believing that all the "good" features will be in the premium version?

It depends upon the features we give on the free and premium plans. If we give the reasonable cost for the features in premium it won't offend the initial free users.

It sounds like your original approach was successful. Not sure if I would launch both free + paid versions at the same time.

Did the free version give you any insights/customers for your premium version?

It’s always very annoying banner that breaks markup and screams buy me. I feel creepy seeing them, I think maybe that’s feeling that push people to write 1star reviews

@VikoFounder

You have highlighted good point about the product free vs paid version!

what do you think about starting product only 1 feature at 1 time free or paid only?

I will be thankful about your precious time.

Theres a reason why some of the top companies use freemium. Because it works.

Canva
ProfitWell

Just to name a few.

My SaaS currently has a 14-day trial with credit card needed to start trial. But we are switching to the freemium model.

Some good reading on this topic that solidifies this thinking can be found here:

• https://sixteenventures.com/saas-free-trial-credit-card
• https://sixteenventures.com/eliminate-churn
• https://sixteenventures.com/customer-success-simple
• https://sixteenventures.com/free-trial-metrics
• https://sixteenventures.com/saas-free-trial-engagement
• https://sixteenventures.com/saas-free-trial-length
• https://sixteenventures.com/customer-onboarding

We at Norns AI launched with a 7-day trial + hard paywall, no freemium, but started to think about giving freemium a try.

The tool needs to retain people and let them be hooked instead of sending them away right in the beginning if they're not ready to pay.

Automated email personalization could be quite a new approach for many people out there.

So some of them were not ready to pay for it since the very beginning of use.

But sure, the set/quality of core features should be the same.

The only alternative tactic is to launch another free micro-product that could up-sell the premium one but is not the same.

I think it's more nuanced than this, but there's definitely truth in it. For Bear Blog there's no issue at all with the freemium model and I have had no complaints. This is due to the nature of the users and it not being seen as an "app" but as a webservice. On the flip side JustSketchMe regularly has users complain that the free version is crippled by the paid version, even though the free version gets regular updates (even though it's, as the name implies, free).

This is very generic advice. It depends on the feature split between freemium and the paid plans. If you give enough value in the free plan, you should be getting positive Word of Mouth and reviews to fuel top of funnel, rather than bad reviews. Take Tally for example: 99% of their features are free and users are huge advocates of Tally allowing the team to spend literally zero on paid advertising. I've learned in a case study from Marie (the co-founder), that they have a 3% conversion rate but the benefits of getting many leads top of funnel far outweigh this.

hmmmm i think its subjective and depends on the platform. What I did was provide a free app with loads of features but if they wanted to display more data then they would pay. I made a few $ without any bad reviews. could it be that you didn't provide enough features in the free mode?

Thanks for sharing your story.

These days I am hesitant to trial anything free without knowing what the priced version would be. @VikoFounder

For my latest tech startup, https://skilledup.life - free talent for tech startups, I've refused to even offer a free trial. In our case, we are a Human Platform and not really a software product.

I totally agree with you most people wanted to make quick money.

Interesting...

I am working on a free app. Would love to learn from you. [email protected]

Isn't making them a bit annoyed a way to get paid? 😈

Never thought about it this way... Interesting how if you only had a premium version, you would've only gotten positive reviews. Can you clarify why the freemium users were unsatisfied with their offering?

Wow. Interesting perspective.

That's really interesting, I've certainly seen those type of comments in marketplaces that contain a lot of free tools. Like the Wordpress plugin site or Google Workspace Market.

Interesting course of action. Aside from the fact that people hate paying in general, I have seen key people on twitter mentioning that being transparent about upcoming premium features is being welcomed more easily..

Was it clear to your users (initial and later) that the premium extension would come or exists? Eg was your extension titled "Navigation Free" or simply "Navigation"? I honestly think, if people understood that the limited version is free, they wouldn't have been so upset. On the other hand .. there are always trolls who hate paying for anything :)

we have just launched freemium, check please
https://www.producthunt.com/posts/pitchmonster-io