ASK HN: How do I determine if I should make my iPhone/Android App free vs. $1.99

Hey all,

So I'm in the process of scoping / hiring for an iPhone/Android app. The app in my opinion and based on the audience I see for similar apps is what I'd consider to be pretty Niche (under 250K users).

It's a media streaming app in a similar vein as Pandora / Last.fm with a bit of a twist. Now given this very vague description and a general idea of the maximum audience size I'm still not certain if I should go free and try to earn through in app advertising, or charge $1.99 (which seems to be the 'advised' price based on what I've read here on HN).

Any and all advice on how to go about determining what method to go with as well as any possible ideas on how to mix the two would be great. Thanks!

For Android: Free app w/ ads. Paid version of the app has no ads.

For iPhone: Paid app.

I was strongly considering this but since I'm going to be outsourcing most of the development I was thinking about how difficult/feasible it would be to do more or less 4 versions of the app. (2 free but restricted/ad supported for each platform AND 2 full featured versions for each platform)....

It's a philosophy that's been repeated over and over again, both on HN and from those who have been successful in the mobile app markets.

Simply put, Android has an air about it that says "open" and "free". People have come to expect some of the best apps on Android to be free. Apple products, on the other hand, have always had a steep mark-up in terms of price compared to a competitor's product with identical hardware and/or features. Users of OSX, etc, have never had a problem in the past paying for features and programs that come for free elsewhere, and the trend continues with iOS.