After 3 months solo, my $7.99 one-time-purchase iOS app is on TestFlight
Long-time lurker, finally have something to share.
I just shipped Pace to TestFlight — a modern Couch-to-5K running app for iPhone. Built solo over 3 months on nights and weekends while keeping my day job.
The why
I'd done Couch-to-5K twice and quit both times. The third time around, I noticed something obvious: the most popular C25K apps haven't been meaningfully updated in over a decade. No Apple Health sync. No music ducking. No plans for what to do after week 9 (which is the single biggest reason people quit running after finishing C25K). So I built the modern version.
The pricing decision (the part I want to discuss)
Every modern fitness app is a subscription. I went the other way — $7.99 one-time, full Zero-to-5K plan free, premium unlocks the follow-on plans (10K, faster 5K, maintain) plus extra trainer voices, themes, and the workout builder.
Why one-time:
1. The product is finite. C25K takes 9 weeks. Even with my follow-on plans, active engagement is ~6 months, not perpetual. Charging monthly for that feels wrong.
2. It's a marketing wedge. "No subscription" is a real differentiator in fitness. Every App Store review of competitors mentions the subscription. Easy to lead with.
3. It removes my own incentive misalignment. With subscription, my next year would be spent obsessing over retention. With one-time, I'm aligned with the user — make a great product, ship updates, get word of mouth.
Tradeoff I'm accepting: LTV is capped at $7.99 vs. potentially $50-100+ on subscription. I think it's worth it for an indie at my scale, but happy to be told I'm wrong.
The stack
- Expo + React Native (managed)
- Zustand + AsyncStorage for state
- expo-audio for trainer voices + music ducking
- HealthKit via @kingstinct/react-native-healthkit
- EAS Build for the pipeline
- ElevenLabs for the 24 trainer voice cues (4 voices × 6
cues, ~$5 of credits)
- RevenueCat (currently stubbed) for IAP
Total spend so far: ~$140 ($99 Apple developer + $25
ElevenLabs + $15 domain).
Numbers so far (full transparency)
- 3 months of building (~200 hours)
- 5 TestFlight testers (most from r/c25k value-first posts, one from personal network)
- App Store submission this week
- Goal: 50 testers + App Store approval before end of month
What I'd love feedback on from IH
1. The pricing decision — anyone here gone one-time in a subscription-saturated category? What surprised you?
2. Pre-launch tester recruitment — what worked best for your indie iOS launches?
3. Anything obvious I'm missing in my launch checklist before App Store submission?
I'll post 30/60/90 day revenue numbers here after launch.
Building in public is the only accountability I trust.
Pace landing page: [pace.philiplarsson.dev]
TestFlight beta: Link
Thanks for reading 🏃
The one-time pricing choice actually makes sense here because C25K is a finite journey. The bigger question is whether $7.99 is being framed as a cheap app purchase or as “pay once, finish your first 5K without another fitness subscription.”
That second frame is much stronger.
I’d also separate the launch problem into two tracks:
one group testing the app quality
one group testing the buying reason
TestFlight users can tell you if the app works. But your real launch signal is whether beginners who hate subscription fitness apps immediately understand why Pace is worth paying for once.
For tester recruitment, I would not go broad. I’d focus on people who have already failed C25K once, are restarting, or are annoyed by subscription fitness apps. That is the emotional wedge.
Happy to put a tighter version in writing if useful. The main thing I’d map is pricing angle, tester recruitment, App Store launch positioning, and a simple 14-day pre-launch plan.
This is genuinely useful, thank you.
You're right that I've been framing it as "cheap app" rather than "pay once, finish your first 5K without another fitness subscription." That second frame is way stronger and I'm going to steal it for my App Store copy and the next round of Reddit posts. Genuinely hadn't thought about it that sharply.
On the two tracks - that's interesting. So far I've been treating tester recruitment as one funnel. Splitting "tests the app" from "tests the buying reason" makes a lot of sense once I think about it. Most of my current 8 testers came from value-first posts in r/c25k, which means they're already in the C25K mindset but I don't actually know if any of them would pay $7.99 once the App Store goes live. That's a real gap.
On the emotional wedge: yes, that's exactly the angle I've been leaning into. I'm someone who failed C25K twice before it stuck, and the third time around I switched apps three times because each one annoyed me differently. That's the story I've been telling on Reddit, and it's the highest- converting one so far.
Regarding pricing: I went with $7.99 because it sits below the psychological "is this expensive?" threshold for an app purchase but above the "free junk app" level. Open question whether $9.99 or $12.99 would convert at the same rate (and just net more revenue), or whether it would tank conversion because the "no subscription" hook depends on the absolute number feeling small. Curious if you have a take on this.
And yes, would genuinely value the written version with the four areas mapped out. Pricing angle, tester recruitment, App Store launch positioning, and the 14-day pre-launch plan. If that's still on the table, I'd read every word and probably implement most of it.
DMs are open if it's easier than threading here.
Yes, still on the table.
The pricing question is exactly the kind of thing I’d include there, because it is not just “$7.99 vs $9.99.” It depends on whether the App Store page sells Pace as a cheap running app or as a one-time path to finishing the first 5K without another subscription.
Drop your email and I’ll send over the tighter version. I’ll keep it focused on pricing angle, tester recruitment, App Store positioning, and a simple 14-day pre-launch plan.