Devpost question How does KitKit make money, and why this model?
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I believe friendship and human connection should be free and accessible to everyone, wherever they live. When I built KitKit, I committed to keeping its core experience free and worth using on its own. The Peace Prize answer explains why that matters to me.
Building, running, and maintaining KitKit costs money, and those costs grow as more people use it. I chose a model with supporter subscriptions, one-time KitTicket purchases, and optional rewarded ads. Together, they offer ways to fund the service without requiring everyone to pay.
The free experience is the version of KitKit I designed people to enjoy. A small Circle, short calls, and time between KitCalls are choices I believe serve that experience. But people have different preferences, so I made room to adjust those limits.
That led to KitTickets, KitKit's in-app currency. You earn them by talking to your friends or choosing to watch a rewarded ad. You can spend them on additional Circle places, call extensions, and more direct or random calls after using the monthly allowance for calls you start yourself. An earned KitTicket has the same value as a purchased one.
This gives people a choice. They can save tickets through participation, or buy a pack to get them sooner without a recurring commitment. Earning through calls rewards the activity KitKit exists to encourage: spending time with your friends. Optional ads provide another route that supports KitKit without requiring the person watching to spend money.
For people who want to support the mission regularly, supporter subscriptions combine recurring KitTickets and gifts with supporter perks. Those include automatic call extensions and the option to receive KitCalls more often. Every supporter tier includes the same perks. Higher tiers increase the amount of tickets and gifts, rather than reserving more features for those who pay more. Ticket-funded extensions remain available without a subscription; automatic extension is a supporter convenience.
Most purchases also include gifts you can send to friends. That makes supporting KitKit another opportunity to reach out. The Design Award answer explains why these gifts and the conversations they start are part of the experience.
The goal is a business that can keep providing a worthwhile free experience as it grows. Someone who never pays should still get what KitKit was built for: more chances to talk to the people they care about. Paying helps sustain that experience and offers more flexibility and convenience within it.