How do you decide what features should be free and what should be paid?
Let me start from the creator’s perspective:
I personally don’t have a product (apart from hiring people for creative work or offering personal consultations).
But as a creator, I constantly share content, insights, and information, value that helps me build trust (for free). Based on that perceived expertise, people eventually decide to work with me (a paid service).
So some things I share for free to eventually move toward a paid collaboration.
Personally, it’s sometimes hard to judge when I might be giving away too much for free.
And I assume it’s similarly tricky for builders.
You want users to try the product, but then comes the question of paid features, or a trial limited by time or usage.
How do you decide which parts of your product or service remain free, and which become paid?
When I share content publicly, I usually provide generalised advice. But when it comes to a specific case or a tailored strategy that requires a personal approach, that’s where it becomes paid.
Replies
With my latest app, I only offer paid, because there are costs to run and I'm self-funded. In the past, I've used features to be my funnel and then the more premium features are paid. That's my train of thought.
@mario_gomez0710 being self-funded is one of my biggest concerns, because I cannot afford to lose a lot of overhead costs, which can drain potential investment resources
@kutlwano_melamu This is the main reason as to why. While my margins aren't great, it ensures that usage won't drain my wallet. Without backing or capital to invest I recommend this approach.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@mario_gomez0710 Have you already acquired paying users? How do you convince them to pay?
@busmark_w_nika I point these things out within the enrollment of the app:
- I tell them no ads
- I tell them I'm self funded and the app costs money to operate
- I offer monthly and yearly options with a huge discount with yearly.
And yes I've gotten users. It isn't something easy. But it's keeping the lights on.
@mario_gomez0710 is there any free trial?
@sadig_990 yes. 7 Day free trial in one of my apps, 30 days in the other.
This is something I'm genuinely struggling with right now for my product, DrillSpark (drillspark.io). Deciding where to draw the line between free and paid features feels like a constant balancing act.
On one hand, I want users to experience enough value to understand what the product can do. On the other hand, giving away too much makes it hard to convert free users into paying customers.
I'd love to hear how others have navigated this — especially for early-stage products where you're still figuring out what users value most. How do you find that sweet spot?
minimalist phone: creating folders
@katsunori_y Maybe you should offer a trial related to days of using (7, 14 or 1 month)
minimalist phone: creating folders
@katsunori_y + maybe change it to English by default
@busmark_w_nika Thank you for the advice. I’ll try to make the free plan easier to understand.
This is something we're actively working through at Acaso (social fashion app with AI-powered virtual try-on).
For us it comes down to cost structure. Our most compelling feature — virtual try-on — is also our most expensive to run. So the free tier gives you enough to feel the magic, and if you want more, that's where the subscription comes in.
We're also building around closet sharing — you upload your closet, invite friends, try on each other's stuff. The social loop is free because that's what drives growth. The AI-heavy features are what cost us money, so that's where the paywall lives.
The way I think about it: your most expensive features are often the ones users value most. Give enough to hook, price at the point where usage gets real. But it's not just about cost — you need to watch what your users are actually telling you through their behavior. Sometimes the feature you thought was secondary turns out to be the thing people can't live without.
Still figuring it out honestly — would love to hear how others are thinking about this.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@fernando_gabriel_leon_molina What will be/are your paid features in your case?
@busmark_w_nika We're leaning toward a usage-based subscription tier. Users get a set number of AI features for free — things like virtual try-on — and if they're using it often, we're hoping that naturally converts to a paid subscription. But we're also exploring monetization that doesn't mean charging the user directly, like affiliate commerce. When someone discovers an item through a friend's closet and wants to buy it, there's a natural transaction layer there that doesn't feel like a paywall.
Free should get the user to the “wow moment”
Paid should help them go deeper, faster, with proof of repeat value
How I see this basis my experience is
free = audit, visibility, limited runs, core understanding, get the user to see "Value" in some form or way without much involvement of the user
paid = depth, scale, automation, prioritization, with more involvement from the user to drive value
If you gate too early and then conversion will suffer. Users can’t pay for value they haven’t properly felt yet.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@swati_paliwal Love the definition in bold :)
minimalist phone: creating folders
@swati_paliwal Thank you, Swati, it is so encouriging :)
I’m a builder and personally struggling with this right now with the app I am soft launching (Pocket Style). We have a freemium model which has quite a bit of really good features in it, and on the other hand we have a paid tier with some powerful stuff that saves the users a lot of time and provides additional value over the top of their freemium investment. Our current model also has a 7 day trial for the premium tier and we have feature paywall gates setup at appropriate spots where the user tries the premium feature.
All of that being said, I’m struggling with whether the trial is even necessary these days if you have a solid freemium tier. It seems like it adds some confusion and just defers the inevitable conversion or churn for Premium features by 7 days. I’m at a cross road of likely ripping the trial out in favor of just “letting it rip”.
I’m very curious whether others have struggled with free trial versus freemium and whether doing “both” is a bad idea (I’m leaning towards that being a yes by the way).
I also wonder if we are giving away too much for free and should be feature gating more. The challenge then shifts from a pricing perspective vs volume and how big the market potentially is.
I’m sure there are not really answers in my response here - just more questions. But I feel very aligned with what you’ve written above. The struggle is real and if I’m feeling it as a first time builder, I have to imagine this is an age old tale.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@bradh11 To be honest, some apps or tools give so much value for free that I could go only with their free version and I would be done.
Can you drop the app here? (link)
@busmark_w_nika Sure thing... Here is the link --> Pocket Style.
The app was my wife's idea, she just got lucky in that my day job and experience are all around Product Management, software development and infrastructure so I was able to do something about it, haha. It just so happens that I think a lot of other people might like it too (she has good taste). :-)
Happy to talk further on it - It's been a lot of fun bringing it to life (just one month in the wild now).
minimalist phone: creating folders
@bradh11 This could be promoted on Pinterest tbh + Instagram. Many visual inspirations :)
@busmark_w_nika my wife is getting ready to do exactly that! In fact she is our own best customer and asked me to create a feature to share clothing items or outfits to Pinterest or Instagram (among others). That feature releases this week. 🙂
I actually have a framework I use for this. Something I've developed working directly with builders as their product designer. So let me share it.
The core test I always start with: does the free version create the need for the paid version?
Free should demonstrate the problem exists and that you understand it. Paid should be the resolution. If your free layer solves the problem completely, you've removed the reason to pay.
From there, I ask three questions:
Does this feature work without context? If it works for anyone, it can be free. If it only works for a specific user's situation, it's paid. A framework is free. Applying that framework to your business is paid.
Does giving away this feature build demand or kill it? If a free feature leaves a visible gap, it pulls users toward paid. If it fully resolves their need, they never upgrade. The free tier should make the problem more visible, but still valuable enough that users stick around.
What's the cost of delivery? Resource-intensive, logic-heavy, or high-stakes features belong behind a paywall, not because of the feature itself, but because of what it costs to maintain and deliver well. Usage limits aren't arbitrary. They're where the real infrastructure cost lives.
The trickiest edge case: when your free product is so good it creates a ceiling. Users feel satisfied but never convert. That's usually a sign the free-to-paid bridge is missing, not that you're overgiving.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@janefrances_christopher Thank you for this point of view, I enjoyed this mindset, probably work with this in the future :)
For me it’s all about generating users and offering a product that people like to use , especially beginners . My free tier has an incentive game element , however I am happy for some developer funds if people want to earn from it straight away.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@linkbotlabs what is your product?
@busmark_w_nika The product is a viral product discovery feed for creators.
Every day the platform automatically discovers trending Amazon products and displays them as ready to share product cards.
Creators can browse the feed, save a product image, and post it to Pinterest or social media. Each product links back to a shareable page with the product card and Amazon link.
The idea is to make viral product curation extremely easy for beginners who want to create Pinterest content or affiliate traffic without having to hunt for products manually.
There is also a creator mode where the links can include the user’s affiliate tag, so if their posts generate clicks or sales they can earn from it.
This is a question I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about for my March 24th launch!
As a solo builder of a writing app (Gridance Studio), I decided to go with a 14-day full-feature trial followed by a one-time lifetime purchase.
My reasoning is that writing is a habit-based activity. I want users to experience the full 'deep flow' without any feature gates for 14 days—long enough to see if the tool actually fits their routine. After that, the 'Paid' part is about Ownership. In a world of endless subscriptions, providing a permanent workspace for a one-time fee is the value I want to offer. No 'seating drama' or hidden costs—just a tool you own forever once you know it works for you.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@linapok How many users tried it for free (in a trial) and how many kept using it when they had to pay?
@busmark_w_nika That’s the golden question! Since my launch is actually coming up on March 24th, I don't have those conversion numbers just yet—this strategy is my 'Day 1' hypothesis.
My goal for the launch is to test exactly how this '14-day flow to ownership' model resonates with writers. I'm betting that the combination of zero feature-gates during the trial and the relief of 'no subscriptions' will drive the conversion. I'd be happy to share the actual data after the first month if you're curious!
minimalist phone: creating folders
@linapok IMO, first, you need to earn trust and testimonials, and after observation, to test pricings.
@busmark_w_nika That’s a solid point. Trust is everything, especially for a solo maker. I’m definitely focusing on building that social proof and gathering feedback during the initial weeks. Thanks for the reality check—I'll stay flexible with the pricing based on what I observe!
minimalist phone: creating folders
@tereza_hurtova I am just thinking whether boothstrapping and VC-funding also determine the strategy.
The founder of the app minimalist phone is solo and bootstrapped, and first, the app was free, then a 7-day free trial + paywall. He kept the Android version for free for several months, then was changing pricing.
With the Apple version, the testing (free) app was only a few weeks. The evolution to a paid model was way faster in this second case, because the brand is already established.
@busmark_w_nika That’s a great point. I do think bootstrapped vs. VC-backed companies often approach this differently.
If you’re bootstrapped, revenue usually becomes important much earlier, so the free part tends to be shorter or more limited. VC-backed companies sometimes have the luxury to optimize longer for growth, data, and distribution before pushing monetization.
That said, I’ve also seen the opposite happen many times – investors like the idea and the traction, but then push founders to prove that users are actually willing to pay. And suddenly the strategy shifts much faster toward monetization.
What’s interesting in your example is that the strategy changed once the brand was already established. That probably reduced the need for a long free phase, because users already trusted the product and understood the value.
So in a way it’s not just funding – it’s also brand maturity and how quickly users can grasp the value. 👑
minimalist phone: creating folders
@tereza_hurtova I remember how one company was FC-funded and afforded "observe and tap the water" for 2 years :D Another case is Bluesky, after 3 or 2 years the CEO Jay stepped down, because they have problems with the user base growth (not talking about the fact that they haven't monetised yet)
Velocity: AI User testing
Traditionally its scaled with size, charging by heads model but thats being challenged, but how many are poking the app is still relevant. Theres a gap between an individual and a team. Theres also clear division in enterprise B2B as that has many teams. Depending on your ICPs, traditionally you divided features based upon how much shared interactivity was required. It's going to shake out in the cost of acquisition. Depending on how valuable your ICP is, you will be willing to pay more to acquire them.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@kevin_mcdonagh1 I would say many factors decide in different products. I have always had only experience with B2C, so B2B pricing I never tried to solve.