How to Price an Indie Game Without Market Research

Pricing a game without market research is not guessing. It is using the data that already exists on every app store, combined with three anchors that keep the decision grounded. You do not need a survey, a focus group, or an analyst. You need thirty minutes on the store, a calculator, and a willingness to adjust after launch.

Why this matters

Most indie developers price by gut feeling, and the gut tends to price too low. Underpricing feels safe because it lowers the barrier. But it also signals low value, reduces revenue per install, and makes paid acquisition uneconomical.

Overpricing is rarer and easier to fix. You can lower a price with a sale and learn from the response. Raising a price after launch is harder.

Getting the starting price roughly right matters more than getting it exactly right, and roughly right is achievable without research.

Store comparables: the free market research

Every app store is a pricing database. Use it.

Find ten games that match yours on three criteria.

1. Genre. The same kind of game.
2. Quality tier. Similar production values, not the genre leaders.
3. Recency. Released in the last twelve months, so the prices are current.

Write down the price of each one. The range gives you a floor and a ceiling. The median gives you a starting point.

The store is the research. Ten comparables found in thirty minutes tell you more than a survey of people who have not played your game.

This works because players already have expectations shaped by what they have seen in the store. Your price will be evaluated against those expectations whether you study them or not. Studying them puts you on the right side of the comparison.

The three price anchors

Comparables give you a range. Three anchors help you place yourself within it.

Anchor one: the floor. The lowest price at which your revenue per install covers your acquisition cost. If you are running paid installs, this is the hard constraint. Below it, every install loses money.

Calculate it simply: your target cost per install divided by your expected conversion rate from install to purchase. If either number is unknown, use the genre average from public benchmarks.

Anchor two: the ceiling. The highest price among your comparables that a game at your quality level has sustained for at least three months. Above this, you are pricing above what the market has shown it will pay for a game like yours.

Anchor three: the round number. Players respond to certain price points. At the lower end, prices like 0.99, 1.99, 2.99, and 4.99 carry specific expectations. A price between round numbers, like 3.49, feels arbitrary and draws more scrutiny.

Pick the round number within your range that is closest to the comparable median.

Free-to-play with IAP: a different calculation

If the game is free with in-app purchases, the pricing question shifts from "what should the game cost" to "what should the first purchase cost."

Three rules for the first IAP.

1. Price it below the impulse threshold. Under two dollars for casual games. The first purchase is about converting, not about revenue.
2. Make the value obvious and immediate. The player should see what they got and feel good about it within ten seconds.
3. Do not price the first IAP at the same level as the second. A lower entry point followed by a moderate second purchase produces better lifetime value than a flat price across all offers.

The relationship between first purchase and lifetime value is more important than any single price point. Optimise for the second purchase, not the first, because the first is a trust purchase and the second is a satisfaction purchase.

Testing the price after launch

You do not commit to a price forever. Test it.

Two approaches that work without a large player base.

A limited-time sale. Drop the price for a week and measure whether install volume increases more than revenue per install decreases. If total revenue rises, the lower price is better.

A regional test. Price differently in a small market and compare conversion rates. This takes longer but produces cleaner data because the two groups never see each other's price.

Do not change the price daily. Players notice, and frequent changes erode trust. Test once, read the result, and commit for at least a month.

Common pricing traps

Five mistakes that are easy to make and expensive to sustain.

1. Pricing at the absolute lowest. Signals low quality and attracts players who do not spend.
2. Matching the genre leader's price. They have brand recognition you do not. Their price reflects their position, not yours.
3. Pricing based on development cost. Players do not care what it cost to make. They care what it is worth to play.
4. Never changing the price. A launch price is a hypothesis. Treat it as one.
5. Discounting too early. A sale in the first week tells the market the launch price was not real.

What we would do

Spend thirty minutes finding ten comparable games and write down their prices. Calculate the floor from acquisition cost and conversion rate.

Pick the round number closest to the comparable median, between the floor and the ceiling.

Launch at that price, run a sale after six weeks to test a lower point, and adjust based on what the numbers show. The first price is a starting position, not a commitment.

The short version

• Store comparables are free market research. Find ten and note their prices.
• Three anchors: floor from acquisition economics, ceiling from comparables, and the nearest round number.
• For free-to-play, price the first IAP below the impulse threshold.
• Test the price with a limited-time sale or a regional test after launch.
• Do not price based on development cost, match the genre leader, or discount in week one.
• The launch price is a hypothesis. Adjust it with data.

Find ten comparable games and note their prices today. If you want help with monetization planning before launch, talk to us.