I get asked this question quite frequently.

The reality is that I have charged users for the app up front … and I do this for a bunch of reasons. The main one being that developing an app is like building not just a house, but a mansion – it takes hundreds of hours to design, build and test – and lots of coordination with others during this process. Of course there are tools and services that need to be paid for. On top of that, users expect an app to keep being updated and supported until the end of time. And they expect that if they ask for your help, they will get it.

Overall an app is very different from a physical product that is made and sold and that is the end of the transaction. Once upon a time users would pay tens to hundreds of dollars for software, and for each version update, with little access to support. But now users expect an app to either be free or to be $1.99. Of course, not all apps are equal, some are very simple in scope and features – but I don’t feel ServicePlanner falls into this category.

So I partly charge up front because I think it is more than fair to ask for less than the price of coffee for all that effort. And I also charge because I find it filters out those users who just don’t understand what I have explained above.

But the reality is that charging a few dollars, once, and then continually supporting and enhancing an app over many years … well, it doesn’t really scale well in the real world. But that is what us app developers set ourselves up for. I don’t really want to go down the route of a small annual subscription, but I may implement something like that in the future as an optional buy-in for users.

So in the meantime – what is the answer to the original question?!

The answer is, yes, I do accept donations 😀 There are a couple of options:

Option 1 – GitHub Sponsors 🩷 (preferred)
https://github.com/sponsors/de1mat

Option 2 – Buy Me a Coffee ☕️
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/de1mat

To those who want to send me a donation, I really appreciate the thought and that you understand what I have explained above. To be honest that is enough for me. Having ServicePlanner enjoyed and appreciated is a big thank you in itself. But if you do make a donation, please know that it is really unexpected and really appreciated 🤗.