In fact, I believe people on HN are more likely to just buy the app so I didn't bother with freemium or in-app purchase. HN people mostly understand how much effort it takes to develop quality software and they're not poor either.

Now, for something like a reddit client, I would still expect them to be intolerant of ads, so in-app purchase would probably work better here. Reddit userbase, I expect, are less likely to purchase the app.

Then, there are apps geared towards the common people, a much much bigger crowd. Mctube is good example. They used to free with iap, no ads in both version. Then afterward, the dev switched to free completely and with ads. I suspect they're maybe a lot more money with the latter.

Direct ads may work, but you will need metrics on your users in order to prove the value to potential ad buyers. If you don't fall into either of these two categories, you're better off using either a nominal sum, if you think it's worth it, or doing a freeware version with some features and a paid "deluxe" version.

People will support reasonable prices for genuinely useful apps, but you have to taper your expectations and be prepared for criticism from some users. Even AAA quality apps have someone who "hates" it or thinks it's too expensive.

You only get responses from people who love or hate an app most of the time.

What do your DAU/MAU numbers look like? How much engagement is there with your app, and how much time do users spend per session?

Feel free to reach out to me if you need more specific advice.