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Pricing Strategies

Strategies for pricing subscriptions across 175 App Store territories.

Understanding Price Equalization​

Apple's price equalization automatically converts your base USD price to local currencies using their predefined price points.

How It Works​

# You specify $2.99
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 2.99

# Apple calculates equivalent prices:
# USA: $2.99
# GBR: £2.49
# EUR: €2.99
# JPN: ¥400
# ...

Benefits of Equalization​

  • Automatic currency conversion - No manual calculation
  • Apple-approved prices - Match App Store conventions
  • Tax handling - Prices include regional taxes appropriately
  • Market-appropriate - Based on local purchasing power

Disable When Needed​

# Custom price for specific market
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 1.99 --no-equalize -t IND

Pricing Models​

Standard Equalization​

Use Apple's equalization for all territories:

subscriptions:
  - product_id: app.pro.monthly
    price_usd: 4.99
    territories: all
    equalize: true

Best for:

  • Most apps
  • Simplest management
  • Consistent global positioning

Regional Tiers​

Different prices for different regions:

subscriptions:
  - product_id: app.pro.monthly
    price_usd: 4.99
    territories:
      - USA
      - CAN
      - GBR
      - AUS
    equalize: true

# Lower price for emerging markets
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 1.99 \
  -t IND -t BRA -t IDN -t MEX -t TUR

Best for:

  • Maximizing global revenue
  • Purchasing power parity consideration
  • Competitive positioning in specific markets

Premium Market Focus​

Higher prices in high-income markets:

# Premium markets
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 6.99 \
  -t USA -t GBR -t CHE -t NOR -t DNK

# Standard for others
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 4.99 --all

Best for:

  • Premium positioning
  • B2B or professional tools
  • Niche, high-value apps

Territory Analysis​

High-Income Markets​

TerritoryCodeTypical Pricing
United StatesUSABase price
United KingdomGBRBase ±10%
GermanyDEUBase (equalized)
SwitzerlandCHE+20-30%
NorwayNOR+10-20%
AustraliaAUSBase (equalized)
JapanJPNBase (equalized)

Emerging Markets​

TerritoryCodeTypical Strategy
IndiaIND30-50% of base
BrazilBRA40-60% of base
IndonesiaIDN30-50% of base
MexicoMEX50-70% of base
TurkeyTUR30-50% of base
South AfricaZAF50-70% of base

Special Considerations​

TerritoryCodeNotes
ChinaCHNRequires separate app/strategy
RussiaRUSPayment processing issues
European UnionVariousStrong consumer protection

Implementation Examples​

Example 1: SaaS Subscription​

Professional tool with global audience:

# subscriptions.yaml
app_bundle_id: com.company.protool

subscriptions:
  - product_id: com.company.protool.pro.monthly
    name: Pro Monthly
    price_usd: 9.99
    territories: all
    equalize: true
    offers:
      - type: free-trial
        duration: 2w
        territories: all

  - product_id: com.company.protool.pro.yearly
    name: Pro Yearly
    price_usd: 79.99
    territories: all
    equalize: true
    offers:
      - type: free-trial
        duration: 1w
        territories: all

Example 2: Consumer App with Regional Pricing​

Consumer app with emerging market focus:

app_bundle_id: com.company.consumerapp

subscriptions:
  # Standard pricing for developed markets
  - product_id: com.company.consumerapp.premium.monthly
    name: Premium Monthly
    price_usd: 4.99
    territories:
      - USA
      - CAN
      - GBR
      - DEU
      - FRA
      - AUS
      - JPN
    equalize: true
    offers:
      - type: free-trial
        duration: 1w

Then apply lower prices separately:

# Emerging markets
asc subscriptions pricing set com.company.consumerapp.premium.monthly \
  --price 1.99 \
  -t IND -t BRA -t IDN -t MEX -t TUR -t ZAF

Example 3: Freemium with Premium Tier​

Free app with optional premium:

app_bundle_id: com.company.freemium

subscriptions:
  - product_id: com.company.freemium.plus.monthly
    name: Plus Monthly
    price_usd: 2.99
    territories: all
    equalize: true
    offers:
      - type: free-trial
        duration: 2w
        territories: all
      - type: pay-as-you-go
        duration: 3m
        price_usd: 0.99
        territories: all

Pricing Updates​

When to Update Prices​

  • Annually - Adjust for inflation/market changes
  • New features - Justify price increase with value
  • Competitive changes - Respond to market
  • Currency fluctuations - Major forex changes

How to Update​

# 1. Preview impact
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 5.99 --dry-run

# 2. Apply new pricing
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 5.99

# 3. Verify
asc subscriptions pricing list SUB_ID

Price Increase Best Practices​

  1. Grandfather existing subscribers (handled by Apple)
  2. Communicate in advance via app/email
  3. Add value alongside increase
  4. Consider timing (avoid holidays, major updates)

A/B Testing Considerations​

App Store Connect doesn't support native A/B testing for pricing, but you can:

Geographic Testing​

Test different prices in similar markets:

# Test $4.99 in Canada
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 4.99 -t CAN

# Control $3.99 in Australia
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 3.99 -t AUS

# Compare results over 30 days

Phased Rollout​

# Week 1: Small market
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 5.99 -t NZL

# Week 2: Expand if positive
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 5.99 -t AUS

# Week 3: Global if successful
asc subscriptions pricing set SUB_ID --price 5.99 --all

Monitoring Performance​

Key Metrics​

Track these after pricing changes:

MetricTool
Conversion rateApp Store Connect Analytics
Revenue per userApp Store Connect Reports
Churn rateApp Store Connect Subscriptions
LTV by territoryApp Store Connect Reports

Revenue Reports​

# Download sales reports
asc reports sales --date 2025-01-01

# Subscription events
asc reports subscriptions --date 2025-01-01

Common Mistakes​

1. Ignoring Local Market​

Wrong: Same price everywhere Right: Consider purchasing power parity

2. Too Many Price Changes​

Wrong: Weekly price adjustments Right: Quarterly or annual reviews

3. Not Testing​

Wrong: Global rollout immediately Right: Test in smaller markets first

4. Forgetting About Taxes​

Wrong: Assuming price = revenue Right: Account for regional tax differences

Learn More​