The excellent RSS reader client, Reeder received a welcome upgrade this week in the form of the new Reeder 2 app. A new app and a new price. Yes folks, if you paid for Reeder and expected a lifetime of free upgrades then think again. Reeder 2 is a separate app and if you want the pleasure of using it, it will cost you. And that's not a bad thing.

Apps Are Cheap

Let's face it, we've sometimes spent more money on a coffee and a bite to eat than we do on apps. We don't argue over paying a few dollars for a bite to eat to keep us going, but why do some of us complain when an app is priced in the same region? Are you seriously going to quibble over $5 for an app that you are going to use practically every day when you've just dropped the same price on a coffee and a bagel?

I've 9 non-Apple apps on my home screen that I use every day. Two of them are free and the rest are bought apps. I wouldn't hesitate to pay for new app versions of these every year. That could be in the region of $60 per year, but I have subscriptions to single services that are more than the combined total of $60 so right away an upgrade at $5 per year is still better value than many SaaS subscriptions.

Also updates to apps where a new version is released are usually in the space of 18 to 24 months, so even forking out $5 every couple of years isn't going to break the bank.

Support The Developer

Many of these apps are not made by massive software companies but by independent developers working from home or small offices. The apps they write aren't hobbies or projects, they're part of the developer's business model and their income.

No business can sustain itself on free updates. There's simply nothing there to support the future of the developer and the app you use on a daily basis if they provide free updates for an app for life.

These developers make apps so that they can generate income to support themselves and for some of them, their families too. It isn't just a sideline, it's much needed income for them. It's a living.

You Get Value

App updates like this are a good thing as you the customer gets more value. New versions of apps give the developer a chance to start with a clean slate and build a better version of their previous app.

Obviously these new features take time, but they also can't be built on the developer's time without some kind of return. Safe in the knowledge that the developer has a revenue stream from the existing app, they can then focus on spending their time exploring ways of making future versions of their apps better.

So there we go. Paying for your app upgrades is worth it. It's cheap and you're ensuring that the app you gain value from will be around for a long time.

I welcome developers that push new versions of their apps and charge for them. It gives them a chance to take a good thing and make it better. Yes, it might cost a few dollars a year for it, but I see it as money well spent.