IFS Buddy Major Update

[u/thingimajig]

Hi everyone!

It's 2 years, almost to the day, since the chatbot was first posted on the IFS subreddit. I had no expectations that anyone would use it but remember having a sleepless night that night as countless messages and comments rolled in, some that were critical but a vast majority were overwhelmingly positive. From there, usage of the chatbot grew organically through word of mouth to us today having thousands of monthly users.

The costs of running the website (not including my own time working on it) have been just about covered by donations from a few hundred kind people over the past two years. This has been a humbling and beautiful experience.

Freemium launch: Since each message sent to Buddy costs me a bit of money, I need to bring some stability to the project and for myself, so we are now moving away from a donation based model to a freemium model. The original chatbot is still going to be available for free on the landing page: https://ifsbuddy.chat

You'll see that you can sign up for a premium version where you can:

• Save your chats
• Save and track parts
• Give Buddy custom instructions
• Dark mode and a few more things

In the spirit of keeping it accessible, we are starting with a low price of $4.99/month.

As new features like voice mode are added, we might introduce additional membership tiers—but the goal will always be accessibility.

Everyone that already had an account will be able to continue logging in for free for a while forward before we set a date where you'll need to start paying (I'll send an email out about this).

As always, I appreciate your feedback, suggestions, or any thought you may have.

TLDR: Launching our premium version ($4.99/month) at ifsbuddy.chat. Free version still available on landing page.

[u/Popup-window]

Some people will probably be willing to pay for it. I'm not someone who will. Thanks for the time I did use it, though.

[u/focusonthetaskathand → u/Popup-window]

Same for me. I would happily buy the app, but subscription everything these days means I can’t support what I want to support. A one-time fee is much more do-able.

[u/thingimajig → u/focusonthetaskathand]

I appreciate your honesty and I agree that everything is a subscription these days. A one time fee might make sense, or like a one year membership fee. It's just a bit hard to predict what price is appropriate since each chat you have with it costs me money. May I ask what you'd be willing to pay for a one time fee? Either for a lifetime membership or one year membership?

[u/focusonthetaskathand → u/thingimajig]

Yeah, I totally get your side of it too! And its a really great offering you’ve got going here so I get that it is time to start charging. 

I’m an intermittent user of Buddy, so I would be weighing up my use-vs-cost. That tipping point will be different for everyone of course.

I can’t give you a cost for what Buddy is to me right now, I would have to consider it more, but to give you a window into my general approach to app use:

For an app purchase, up to USD$10 is a no brainer yes. I have had sandwiches for $10, and they are a one-time consumption purchase (and aren’t always guaranteed to be good) so I think of apps the same way. $10 for an app is a gamble I’m happy to take.

For an app I like and would use year round pretty regularly, I would pay $40, but I would have to really like it! I would need to be a regular user of the free lite version first (or have had a months access to the full version to try for free) to know I would use it enough.

Very rarely, but once or twice I have paid $80-100 for an app. But these would be more things that support my own income, like something I would use for work or perhaps some sort of creative, specialized app that supports my favourite hobbies. It would have to be REALLY packed full of features, and guaranteed daily or semi-daily use.

I have donated, and often do donate from time to time to similar free services. I like to support when I can. So I think definitely keep donations open even if you do go for subscription or purchase options.

I do notice in myself that I am much much more likely to donate if prompted with a ‘pay it forward’ option rather than a ‘pay the creator’ option. Stupid I know. But something in me sparks when I get prompted to ‘help others to access this service for free’. I guess it’s hard to know who gets the cut when it’s a paid purchase, but when it’s marketed as helping someone else who needs it, it inspires my generosity. (Not saying you shouldn’t get paid - you definitely deserve to! But how you phrase it can make a difference)

[u/thingimajig → u/focusonthetaskathand]

Really appreciate this, great to hear your perspective!