Which one do you prefer? Paid app without ad vs Free app with ad?

James_Watson · Dec 14, 2015

Which one do you prefer? Paid edition without ad vs Free edition with ad

Suppose that there is a nice utility app on Google Play and it has both a paid edition and a free one.

Which edition do you prefer to get? Is the paid edition without ads or the free one with ads supported?

KOLIO · Dec 14, 2015

I myself prefer the Paid/Pro version of apps:
1) Typically more features than the free version.
2) Ad removal for the user is always a good thing.
3) Not sure which is more beneficial to the developer,but,since I use Ad-Blockers,it ensures that I am doing the right thing & supporting the developer.

EDIT:
To the OP:
How about adding a poll to the thread?

Thom · Dec 14, 2015

I always use the paid version if it is available.
I do not use apps with ads.
I recommend apps to my customers. I never recommend an app with ads.

... Thom

James_Watson · Dec 14, 2015

Poll: Which one do you prefer? Paid edition without ad vs Free edition with ad

James_Watson · Dec 14, 2015

KOLIO said:
I myself prefer the Paid/Pro version of apps:
1) Typically more features than the free version.
2) Ad removal for the user is always a good thing.
3) Not sure which is more beneficial to the developer,but,since I use Ad-Blockers,it ensures that I am doing the right thing & supporting the developer.

EDIT:
To the OP:
How about adding a poll to the thread?

Okay. I could not add a poll to this thread. So I created a new poll just now.

jefboyardee · Dec 14, 2015

Depends on what the paid version costs and how bad I need it vs how annoying are the ads in the free version.

moose05 · Dec 15, 2015

The advertising industry has ruined Television and the likes. I ether remove them with LP or don't use them at all. If I really need the app I'll buy the premium version.

Hadron · Dec 15, 2015

I will use a paid version rather than ad supported (as I have a root ad blocker installed I won't generally see the ads, but if I'm going to use the app I'll pay anyway - that always seems fair to me).

That said, I suspect we are not representative of the general public, from what I've read on this topic.

zuben el genub · Dec 15, 2015

Some apps don't have paid versions. I have a couple of small utilities like that. I did check permissions before installing.

Clementine_3 · Dec 15, 2015

If I like the app and there's a paid version I buy it.
If it's a free version with no paid option and the ads are annoying/too many/video auto-play/pop-ups I usually delete it and find another.
If it's a free version with no paid option and the ads are acceptable then I keep it.

I get that devs want to make money. I do. I'm usually quite happy to support them. I will not tolerate obtrusive, obnoxious ads though.

tommo47 · Dec 15, 2015

Paid version every time for me, mainly because with every free/paid app I've wanted/needed enough to have it, I've found the extra features are well worth paying for

- and I really don't like ads :mad:

.

psionandy · Dec 15, 2015

It depends on the app....
If its any good, then I'm likely to buy it.
If its mediocre then I'll use the advertising version.. but i' m unlikely to generate much money as i won't use it much.

I like the idea of developers getting money, if it encourages them to keep supporting the app.

jamesvz · Dec 15, 2015

Really depends. If the pro app is +4 dollars, probably not. A lot of games/apps with ads have an ad removal for about 1$ so I guess I prefer free.

Slidejoy · Dec 16, 2015

Wow, this is really interesting. I would have thought that most responses would be to see ads and get a free app. Is this survey more indicative of the people here or the general population?

KOLIO · Dec 16, 2015

Slidejoy said:
Wow, this is really interesting. I would have thought that most responses would be to see ads and get a free app. Is this survey more indicative of the people here or the general population?

Hard to say,given that the conventional wisdom here is that membership in forums such as this one isn't necessarily a cross-cut representation of the GP.

You'd be surprised as to how many people own smartphones & don't have an account for all the services available for their devices,be it Google/Microsoft/Apple.A subset of these people pirate content & will never pay for it & subsequently end up here @ A/F,asking for help,wondering WTF happened to their phone (virus/malware/etc).
KARMA IS A B**** & I hope it stays that way!

Some are just cheap & equally ignorant,thinking content just falls out of the sky/birthright/etc.....

I'm optimistic with the poll results to date & the one view mentioned by a few posts here,that they fall somewhere in-between,in that it depends on the content/price/frequency of use of the content determines whether they opt for an ad-supported content or the pro/paid version & likely those members have a mix of both.

buttercup24 · Dec 17, 2015

Paid edition without ad

mikedt · Dec 17, 2015

KOLIO said:
Hard to say,given that the conventional wisdom here is that membership in forums such as this one isn't necessarily a cross-cut representation of the GP.

You'd be surprised as to how many people own smartphones & don't have an account for all the services available for their devices,be it Google/Microsoft/Apple.A subset of these people pirate content & will never pay for it & subsequently end up here @ A/F,asking for help,wondering WTF happened to their phone (virus/malware/etc).
KARMA IS A B**** & I hope it stays that way!

Some are just cheap & equally ignorant,thinking content just falls out of the sky/birthright/etc.....

I'm optimistic with the poll results to date & the one view mentioned by a few posts here,that they fall somewhere in-between,in that it depends on the content/price/frequency of use of the content determines whether they opt for an ad-supported content or the pro/paid version & likely those members have a mix of both.

Don't know if it's a region or country thing. But when I made an Apple account for the App Store, when I bought a new Macbook a few months ago, I had to register a form of payment with it, e.g. credit card, which was required even before I could download free apps. I also made a Microsoft account as well, for the Windows app store, I didn't have to, and neither with Google Play a few years ago. If eveyone has a form of payment registered with Apple, maybe they're more inclined to pay for apps, rather than just go with "free" adware ones, having not been required to register any form of payment with Google or Microsoft.

Piracy, that's a thing with iOS, it's harder to steal apps and games, because you actually have to go out of your way to jailbreak them. Android can just sideload whatever stuff you like, and there's plenty of dubious sources, like the plethora of Chinese app stores. :thumbsupdroid:

zuben el genub · Dec 17, 2015

I had a Chinese Coby tablet years ago that didn't come with any services. You could get apps from Amazon or the App Store?
recommended by the tablet. I eventually side loaded Play since I wanted some apps that Amazon didn't have. The tablet worked just fine for my purposes without any Google services. (That's the wifi only tablet that Google decided belonged to TMobile)

I really don't care about the other services. Except for apps, I don't need them. I prefer to PAY for what I buy.

I do have a Gmail address and I don't use it except for Play store. I won't register with Windows, and I can't see buying any iDevice. With Windows, I don't install, I have someone do it for me, so he must register.

Some phones don't have an account per se, but the carrier can supply some apps as a third party. If the cellco offers a service like visual voice, then why buy the app? Some apps are free for the advertising. If you want a local app to keep up with what's happening in your area, that's free and you can get it from the TV station rather than Google.

My friend won't register with Google. She doesn't download any apps unless they are from Sprint.

n1nj4Lo · Dec 18, 2015

Why can't free app with no ad's be an option? LoL

Srsly I guess maybe free app with option to unlock more features and disable ad's.

bcrichster · Dec 18, 2015

Like many of you, I simply won't use an ad version of apps cuz I tend to blow thru my data in 1-2wks and suffer the rest of the month being throttled and ads burn thru my data quicker plus choking my meager data speed even further. Fk the dumb$h!t.. JS

zixxorb · Dec 18, 2015

Free with ads honestly as long as they aren't too intrusive and pop up over the whole screen every 2 minutes.

I'll be the first to admit tho that sometimes I try to find the app without ads for free if possible (say the dev uploaded it to xda without ads or something)

srglassw · Dec 18, 2015

I would guess that most "free without ads" apps are done as a labor of love and are often a one-off effort. I expect that they would often have a limited life. What motivation is there to support and update an app that produces no revenue stream as new Android devices and versions are released? Therefore, I don't think they are particularly relevant in the long term.

I have many free with ads apps but I don't hesitate to purchase the paid version if it adds worthwhile features. Also, sometimes the ads in free apps are not just annoying but are downloaded and cached by the app, using up more and more storage space over time, so they can continue to display when the app is used offline. Unless this type of app is really useful I'd uninstall it rather than buy the ad free version.

Thom · Dec 18, 2015

Not a good assumption.

Some of the free without ads apps are very widely use and are extracting information from your device that is conveyed to others (I assume at a price).

ES File Explorer (cloud accounts/passwords)
Clean Master and almost every other product from Cheetah Mobile Tools

... Thom

bcrichster · Dec 18, 2015

Es? REALLY?! When/how was that realized..?? I ask cuz I use it sometimes but never cloud stuff..

Thom · Dec 19, 2015

Yes really. This has been known and documented here repeatedly for the last year. The only known problem with ES is with cloud access. Be careful.

... Thom

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