Should I launch the free version or the paid version first?
I'm in the early stages of building a stock market analysis tool for retail traders (link: https://www.tradingrules.app/).
In terms of business model, I'm planning to do the freemium consumer SaaS model which is most companies do in this category do (TradingView, FinViz, Think or Swim). The part I'm unclear on is the most effective way to launch this.
In particular I'm trying to decide whether to launch the free version or the paid version first. I could do both at the same time, but it would slow me down and I would prefer to launch as soon as possible.
I'm concerned that if I launch the free version first, users might feel betrayed when I take away certain capabilities for the paid product. On the other hand, if I launch the paid version first I will have a much harder time gaining users and therefore my insight into the market will be delayed.
Which is better to launch first, free or paid? Or should I just bite the bullet and try to do both at the same time?
We're in the same space, so I hope that my advice comes across as helpful and not trying to sabotage a competitor.
You should pay people to use it. Use all of your runway. Change your font to comic sans.
I kid.
I launched the free tier of mine first, however, the free tier is not the full version and I make it as explicit as possible that it is just an entry point to the algorithm.
You want the free version to be a pathway to the paid and, as a company focused on making people money, the free version (in my opinion) should be a way to help the users justify the subscription fee. We are lucky in that we don't have to work with intangible benefits (such as productivity boosters), if our company makes people over $X then it's a benefit to the user.
My background is e-commerce and I've experienced many, many times that if you provide something for free, people will expect it to always be free and/or they will react negatively if you start to charge money.
I guess my main problem is just the problem of evolving the product over time — having a hard time figuring out what the core offering is since I have so many different ideas for stock market simulations. Time to talk to users!
I would definitely start with a free/demo plan to get some feedback first and you will also get a better idea of what to include in your paid subscription. If your users like your service, you can convert them to paying customers later.
Ideally, do both at the same time... but not if it delays your launch. Go with the free version first, and then grandfather your users in when you add the paid plan.
Launching with a free product first allows you to get more momentum and more word of mouth growth. Then, when you launch premium, grandfathering everyone in will make them happy (and vocal) customers... and if you have a killer new paid feature, there will still be incentive to convert. It's the best of both worlds.
In my bootstrapper's guide I tell people to start asking for money right from the start. Mostly because bootstrappers need to be profitable from the start and is better not to waste time with a product that no one wants to pay for...
In my case I started free; then after seeing how my users were using my product, and also after some improvements on the product, I created a paid plan. Personally, I highly recommend keeping a free plan with basic features and using in-app messages to suggest your user upgrade to unlock all features.
We first launched a free version with limited functionality. This helped to test it in battle and get the first loyal customers who left feedback on other sites. Only half a year later, we launched a paid version with extended functionality. By the way, the free version was retained and is still in demand! Here you can see how we realize it: https://getscreen.me/en/plan