There is no free lunch, especially in app publishing

In 2009, a professor at a mobile networks class explained the concept of "there is no free lunch" when discussing how TCP handles packets lost over 3G. He elaborated that reliability is not free; it comes with costs such as retransmissions, increased latency, and draining battery life. Today, as an engineering leader at a no-code app builder, this principle applies to app publishing as well. Numerous pricing decisions demonstrate this truth.

The source material highlights that building an app for free is possible, but shipping one for free is not. Every vendor knows that their free tier ends right before the App Store and Google Play. After building for free, previewing for free, the store's gates close, revealing a pricing table. The study of 30 major free tiers shows that the pattern is consistent across the market, and even a competitor admits that store publishing always requires a paid plan.

Running engineering at a no-code app builder, the author observes the costs associated with app publishing - store treadmill, API requirements, legacy protocols, runtime hardware, CDNs, push delivery, annual engineer on-call, and developer account fees. These costs never pause even when a customer pays zero. The author argues that a free plan promising store publishing without mentioning these additional costs is misleading.

GoodBarber, the author's employer, offers a different approach by providing a full platform for 30 days at no cost, including a Progressive Web App (PWA) that can be published during the trial. After the trial, customers can decide based on the real product and its prices, which are not hidden. The author concludes that the cost of app publishing is always present, and honest design should reflect this to set realistic expectations for users.