onatcipli/app-store-price-index

App Store Price Index

Optimize your App Store pricing using purchasing power parity analysis—like the Big Mac Index or Spotify Premium Index, but for your iOS/macOS apps.

Concept

Different countries have vastly different purchasing power. A $9.99/month subscription that feels reasonable in the US may be unaffordable in India or Turkey. This skill helps you set data-driven, localized prices that maximize both conversions and revenue.

The Premium Index Approach

1. Collect reference prices — Fetch prices of popular apps (Spotify, Netflix, etc.) across all 175 App Store territories
2. Calculate index — Compare each territory's price to the US baseline
3. Cross-reference PPP — Validate against World Bank purchasing power parity data
4. Generate recommendations — Suggest optimal prices per territory
5. Automate updates — Apply prices via App Store Connect API

API Access Tiers

| Tier | Auth | Scope | Use Case | |------|------|-------|----------| | Public | None | Any app's price via iTunes Lookup | Build Premium Index, competitor analysis | | Private | JWT | Your apps' price points + write access | Get equalizations, apply price changes |

Workflow 1 — Build Premium Index

Create a price index by analyzing reference apps across territories.

Step 1: Select Reference Apps

Choose 3-5 popular subscription apps as benchmarks:

Suggested references by category:
- General: Spotify (id: 324684580), Netflix (id: 363590051)
- Productivity: Notion (id: 1232780281), Todoist (id: 585829637)
- Fitness: Strava (id: 426826309), MyFitnessPal (id: 341232718)
- News: NYTimes (id: 284862083), The Athletic (id: 1135216317)

Step 2: Fetch Prices Across Territories

For each reference app, fetch prices from all territories:

GET https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id={app_id}&country={territory_code}

Response fields:

• price — Numeric price value
• currency — Currency code (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.)
• formattedPrice — Localized string ("$9.99", "€9,99", "Free")

Rate limiting: ~20 requests/minute. Cache results aggressively.

Step 3: Calculate Index Values

For each territory, calculate:

price_index = local_price_in_usd / us_price

Where local_price_in_usd = local_price × exchange_rate_to_usd

Step 4: Generate Index Table

Output format:

| Territory | Currency | Spotify | Netflix | Avg Index | PPP Factor | Status |
|-----------|----------|---------|---------|-----------|------------|--------|
| USA       | USD      | $11.99  | $15.49  | 1.00      | 1.00       | Baseline |
| GBR       | GBP      | £11.99  | £10.99  | 0.92      | 0.69       | High |
| IND       | INR      | ₹119    | ₹199    | 0.14      | 0.28       | Optimized |
| TUR       | TRY      | ₺57.99  | ₺63.99  | 0.16      | 0.19       | Good |
| BRA       | BRL      | R$21.90 | R$39.90 | 0.35      | 0.41       | Low |

Status interpretation:

• Baseline — Reference territory (usually USA)
• Optimized — Index aligns well with PPP (within ±20%)
• High — Price higher than PPP suggests (may hurt conversions)
• Low — Price lower than PPP suggests (leaving money on table)
• Good — Reasonable alignment

See index-methodology.md for calculation details.

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Workflow 2 — Analyze Your Current Pricing

Compare your app's pricing against the Premium Index to identify optimization opportunities.

Step 1: Fetch Your Current Prices

Option A: Via iTunes Lookup (public)

GET https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id={your_app_id}&country={territory}

Option B: Via App Store Connect API (private, more accurate)

GET /v1/apps/{id}/appPriceSchedule
GET /v1/subscriptions/{id}/pricePoints?filter[territory]={territory}

Step 2: Compare Against Index

For each territory:

your_index = your_price_in_usd / your_us_price
deviation = (your_index - premium_index) / premium_index × 100

Step 3: Generate Pricing Health Report

## Pricing Health Report — {App Name}

### Summary
- Territories analyzed: 175
- Optimized: 42 (24%)
- Potentially overpriced: 58 (33%)
- Potentially underpriced: 75 (43%)

### Top Opportunities

#### Overpriced (may hurt conversions)
| Territory | Your Price | Recommended | Potential Impact |
|-----------|------------|-------------|------------------|
| Brazil    | $9.99      | $4.99       | +45% conversions |
| India     | $6.99      | $2.99       | +120% conversions |
| Turkey    | $7.99      | $1.99       | +85% conversions |

#### Underpriced (leaving revenue on table)
| Territory | Your Price | Recommended | Potential Impact |
|-----------|------------|-------------|------------------|
| Switzerland | $9.99    | $14.99      | +50% revenue |
| Norway      | $9.99    | $12.99      | +30% revenue |
| UAE         | $9.99    | $11.99      | +20% revenue |

---

Workflow 3 — Generate Localized Price Recommendations

Create a complete price schedule optimized for each territory.

Input Required

1. Base price — Your price in a reference territory (usually USA)
2. Product type — App, subscription, or in-app purchase
3. Strategy — Conservative, balanced, or aggressive localization

Strategy Options

| Strategy | Description | Index Multiplier | |----------|-------------|------------------| | Conservative | Minimal variation, prioritize simplicity | 0.3× PPP adjustment | | Balanced | Moderate localization (recommended) | 0.6× PPP adjustment | | Aggressive | Full PPP alignment, maximize reach | 1.0× PPP adjustment |

Step 1: Calculate Target Prices

for territory in territories:
    ppp_factor = get_ppp_factor(territory)
    strategy_weight = get_strategy_weight(strategy)

    # Calculate adjustment
    adjustment = (1 - ppp_factor) * strategy_weight
    target_price = base_price * (1 - adjustment)

    # Ensure minimum viable price
    target_price = max(target_price, minimum_prices[territory])

Step 2: Match to Apple Price Points

Apple has ~800 fixed price points. Match each target to the nearest available tier:

GET /v1/subscriptionPricePoints/{base_point_id}/equalizations

This returns equivalent price points across all territories.

Step 3: Output Price Schedule

## Recommended Price Schedule — {App Name}

Base: $9.99 USD (Monthly Subscription)
Strategy: Balanced

| Territory | Currency | Current | Recommended | Price Point ID | Change |
|-----------|----------|---------|-------------|----------------|--------|
| USA       | USD      | $9.99   | $9.99       | pp_usa_999     | —      |
| GBR       | GBP      | £9.99   | £7.99       | pp_gbr_799     | -20%   |
| EUR       | EUR      | €10.99  | €8.99       | pp_eur_899     | -18%   |
| IND       | INR      | ₹799    | ₹299        | pp_ind_299     | -63%   |
| BRA       | BRL      | R$54.90 | R$34.90     | pp_bra_3490    | -36%   |
| JPN       | JPY      | ¥1,500  | ¥1,200      | pp_jpn_1200    | -20%   |

---

Workflow 4 — Apply Pricing via API

Automate price updates using App Store Connect API.

Prerequisites

• App Store Connect API key with appropriate permissions
• JWT token generation capability
• See apple-pricing-api.md for auth setup

For Subscriptions

POST /v1/subscriptionPrices
{
  "data": {
    "type": "subscriptionPrices",
    "attributes": {
      "startDate": "2024-02-01"  // Optional: schedule future change
    },
    "relationships": {
      "subscription": {
        "data": { "type": "subscriptions", "id": "{subscription_id}" }
      },
      "subscriptionPricePoint": {
        "data": { "type": "subscriptionPricePoints", "id": "{price_point_id}" }
      }
    }
  }
}

Repeat for each territory.

For In-App Purchases

POST /v1/inAppPurchasePriceSchedules
{
  "data": {
    "type": "inAppPurchasePriceSchedules",
    "relationships": {
      "inAppPurchase": {
        "data": { "type": "inAppPurchases", "id": "{iap_id}" }
      },
      "manualPrices": {
        "data": [
          { "type": "inAppPurchasePrices", "id": "${placeholder-0}" },
          { "type": "inAppPurchasePrices", "id": "${placeholder-1}" }
        ]
      },
      "baseTerritory": {
        "data": { "type": "territories", "id": "USA" }
      }
    }
  },
  "included": [
    {
      "type": "inAppPurchasePrices",
      "id": "${placeholder-0}",
      "relationships": {
        "inAppPurchasePricePoint": {
          "data": { "type": "inAppPurchasePricePoints", "id": "{point_id}" }
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Safety Checks

Before applying prices:

1. Preview changes — Show before/after comparison
2. Require confirmation — User must explicitly approve
3. Validate price points — Ensure all IDs are valid
4. Check for scheduled changes — Avoid conflicts with pending updates

---

Workflow 5 — Competitor Price Intelligence

Analyze how competitors price across territories.

Step 1: Identify Competitors

GET https://itunes.apple.com/search?term={category}&media=software&limit=50

Or user provides specific app IDs.

Step 2: Fetch Competitor Prices

For each competitor, fetch prices across key territories:

key_territories = ['USA', 'GBR', 'DEU', 'JPN', 'AUS', 'BRA', 'IND', 'KOR', 'TUR', 'MEX']

for competitor in competitors:
    for territory in key_territories:
        price = fetch_price(competitor.id, territory)

Step 3: Generate Comparison Report

## Competitor Pricing Analysis — {Category}

### Price Comparison (Monthly Subscription)

| App | USA | UK | Germany | Japan | India | Brazil | Turkey |
|-----|-----|-----|---------|-------|-------|--------|--------|
| Your App | $9.99 | £9.99 | €10.99 | ¥1,500 | ₹799 | R$54.90 | ₺149.99 |
| Competitor A | $7.99 | £6.99 | €7.99 | ¥1,000 | ₹349 | R$29.90 | ₺59.99 |
| Competitor B | $12.99 | £11.99 | €12.99 | ¥1,800 | ₹499 | R$44.90 | ₺99.99 |
| Market Avg | $10.32 | £9.66 | €10.66 | ¥1,433 | ₹549 | R$43.23 | ₺103.32 |

### Insights

- **India:** You're 45% above market average. Consider reducing to improve competitiveness.
- **Turkey:** You're 45% above market average. High-growth market, price sensitivity high.
- **Japan:** You're aligned with market. No immediate action needed.
- **USA:** You're 3% below market. Room to increase if value proposition is strong.

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Quick Reference — API Endpoints

| Task | Method | Endpoint | Auth | |------|--------|----------|------| | Lookup app price | GET | itunes.apple.com/lookup?id={id}&country={cc} | Public | | Search apps | GET | itunes.apple.com/search?term={q}&media=software | Public | | List subscription price points | GET | /v1/subscriptions/{id}/pricePoints?filter[territory]={cc} | JWT | | Get price equalizations | GET | /v1/subscriptionPricePoints/{id}/equalizations | JWT | | List IAP price points | GET | /v2/inAppPurchases/{id}/pricePoints?filter[territory]={cc} | JWT | | Set subscription price | POST | /v1/subscriptionPrices | JWT | | Set IAP price schedule | POST | /v1/inAppPurchasePriceSchedules | JWT | | List territories | GET | /v1/territories | JWT |

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Caching Strategy

To avoid rate limits and improve performance:

| Data | Cache Duration | Storage | |------|----------------|---------| | iTunes Lookup prices | 24 hours | Local file | | Premium Index | 7 days | Local file | | PPP data | 30 days | Reference file | | Territory codes | Permanent | Reference file | | Price points | 24 hours | Local file |

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Reference Files

| File | Purpose | |------|---------| | territory-codes.md | All 175 territory codes, currencies, and regions | | ppp-data.md | World Bank PPP conversion factors | | apple-pricing-api.md | API authentication and endpoint details | | index-methodology.md | Premium Index calculation methodology |