Indie Dev Monetization — Pricing Psychology, Subscriptions, and Freemium Done Right You can build the best product in the world and still fail on monetization. Getting pricing wrong stalls growth faster than any technical debt. Here's what actually works for indie developers. The Three Base Models 1. One-Time Purchase Best for : Utilities, productivity tools, mature feature-complete products. Examples: Tot (Iconfactory) — $19.99 forever MusicBox (iOS) — $4.99 Retcon (macOS) — $24.99 Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode Pros : Low purchase friction, high user trust, predictable revenue at volume. Cons : Revenue doesn't compound, hard to charge for ongoing updates, LTV is capped. 2. Subscription Best for : SaaS, data-driven products, community platforms. Examples: Notion — $10/month Linear — $8/seat/month Raycast — $8/month Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode Pros : MRR compounds, you can fund ongoing work, usage metrics are clear.…