Our Subscription Model

If you want to learn how our subscription model started, why we adopted it, and the backstory of Niagara Pro, please check out this Medium article.

A Brief History

After working on Niagara Launcher in my free time, turning it into a side job when it reached 2 Million downloads with the first iteration of Niagara Pro, it has become so much more. Now we have 10 Million downloads, and I am no longer working alone. I gathered my friends, and we six are working on Niagara Launcher full-time.

I managed to turn my passion into my full-time job, and I am incredibly thankful for that 💙

Similar to how you can support Captain Disillusion and Mark Brown, my favorite two guys on Patreon, you can help us keep working on Niagara Launcher with a small yearly payment. Their channels flourished wonderfully with the help of their fans. (Due to Google’s terms of service, I cannot link to a Patreon page from Niagara Launcher. That’s why it will use Google Play’s subscription system instead.)

On the other hand, in the mobile world, subscriptions are not well-received — often, you get the feeling some developers switch to a subscription model to rip you off. That’s why we find it especially important to explain Niagara Launcher’s monetization model.

But first, let’s begin by going through the income sources of other apps:

Alternative Monetization Strategies

So, what about placing some funny and colorful ads in between apps? Also, you surely wouldn’t mind watching a short video before changing your app icons, would you? — No, just kidding, that won’t happen. Most of us, especially me, can’t stand advertisements. Ads just don’t fit into a clean launcher.

Besides, a lot of other apps have a so-called freemium model. You get the basic features for free and can purchase a pro version with additional features if you enjoy using it. But, there is one big caveat with this model from a developer’s standpoint: it is too unreliable and doesn’t guarantee sustainable income compared to a regular job. One-time purchases might lead to higher revenue in the first months, but it will most certainly decrease over time. You must acquire new users to keep it going, so old users usually lose relevance as time goes on.

That’s not what Niagara Launcher is about; it’s no one-time product. We have so many cool and interesting ideas for the app, so it is not nearly finished yet, and we doubt it ever will be. We will keep it flowing and evolving. With over 3000 total submitted issues and suggestions tracked on GitHub, we constantly talk to our community and discuss proposed ideas internally.

I could go on about why we chose this system, but the YouTuber Polymatter has explained this matter way better in one of his videos:

Other Launchers

There are many launchers out there, and most of their Pro versions have changed away from one-time purchases.

For example, Smart Launcher went from its free version containing advertisements to removing ads and a subscription model, and Action Launcher introduced a second in-app purchase for further features as well as advertised apps appearing on the home screen after intall. Chris Lacy, the mind behind Action Launcher, also wrote about how he’s struggling with the monetization system: Exploring a new Action Launcher business model.

Moreover, both launchers were “re-released”; you had to pay again to unlock all features. Furthermore, the developers of said Launchers have created additional apps to earn money (Action dash & Icon pack studio, for example). This shows that only one-time purchases are not sustainable.

One launcher that has gone too far is Apex Launcher, in my opinion. The app serves a pop-up ad every time you open your browser.

The Big Players

Nova Launcher was an exception, however. It is by far the most popular Android launcher out there. Nova’s pro version has more than five million downloads. They even got to partner with Razer; Nova Launcher Prime is pre-installed on every Razer phone. In 2022 Nova Launcher was aquired by branch and in 2024 the majority of the team working on Nova Launcher at branch was laid off. While development will continue with the founder being the one and only person still working on development, it shows that being aquired can change the trajectory of an app. To stay 100% true to one's goals and ideals, you need to stay independent.

And I should also mention Microsoft launcher. It doesn’t even offer a pro version. Microsoft doesn’t want to generate revenue from the launcher itself. The launcher wants to bring you into their ecosystem instead with Office apps, Outlook and Cortana, and by syncing your phone with your Windows PC.

I also recommend reading an article from the developer of Ulysses. He further states the differences between the freemium and monthly-support system and explains why he switched to the latter: Why we’re switching Ulysses to Subscription.

All in all, the histories of several launchers show that a one-time purchase for just an independent launcher is not enough to support ongoing development costs, in my opinion. Okay, now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty:

The Price

When it comes to subscriptions, a lot of them seem overpriced in comparison to one-time purchases. After analyzing the Play Store’s subscription tab we found out that prices mostly range from five to fifteen dollars a month.

Niagara Pro costs much less, only a couple of dollars a year. However, our goal is to enable our small indie team to continue working on Niagara Launcher full-time, turning it into the best launcher we can create. This is why we increased the price every 2-3 years to keep the price in line with the value added by new features. Lifetime purchases are not affected by any future price increase, and running subscriptions renew at their original price to reward and thank early supporters!

Since we want to offer everyone a fair chance to get access to Pro features and support us, we localize prices in countries with low purchasing power.

Even though subscriptions are way more sustainable, we also want to offer a one-time purchase for those who just can’t stand subscriptions. You can buy Niagara Pro once and own it forever, all future updates included.