Sure, you're right. But let's be fair, if you're a software engineer who downright doesn't want to take a job and doesn't want to do down the VC route and doesn't want to be a freelancer. What options does he/she have to make a living?
Start a sustainable business that reaches profitably quickly. And one of the ways of doing so, without much capital, is to provide a competent product a lot cheaper than some company exploiting their customer's is doing.
I have several apps/books making me little money every month (few hundred ish, not enough to cover living expenses yet, I am still working on it), it's okay to take the route of competing on price, but you will eventually lose to VC backed company which can provide their app for free or below operating costs as they have a lot money to burn. And offering lower than market price might make potential audience feel that your offering quality might not on par (eg: Walmart).
My advice would be to provide more value than existing offering or just downright give more shit/care about customers, you would be surprised how many software companies out there doesn't give a shit about customers / uses automated chat bot to reply support ticket (Google, I am looking at you). Replying to customer as a genuine person has a lot more impact than using the generic PR-ish polite sentences.
This is just my advice, of course you can try to compete with price, no harm trying it first!
Fore sure soulchild, I agree with you. Being from India, I think it's my first instinct to just try and compete on the price. I'm gonna keep what you said it mind, it also reminds me of SmugMug's story.
I'm gonna try and find your apps too from the link in your profile.
Start a sustainable business that reaches profitably quickly. And one of the ways of doing so, without much capital, is to provide a competent product a lot cheaper than some company exploiting their customer's is doing.