Picture a forum post claiming an app costs US$9 while your own checkout, in Australian dollars, says something quite different. Nobody's lying. The gap has four separate causes.
1. Prices set country by country
Operators commonly set a different price for each market, based on what people there will pay and not on the cost of serving them. Same product, different number, purely a business decision.
This is routine in software, and it's why any price in a review only makes sense next to the country it was quoted in. The monthly prices we list are the ones published for our worldwide English edition, in US dollars: Sweetdream at US$10.00, Candy AI at US$12.99, Nomi at US$15.99 and Replika at US$19.99. Use them to compare apps with each other, not as a promise of what will hit your card.
2. GST at checkout
US prices are normally quoted before sales tax. In Australia, 10% GST applies to digital products and services sold to consumers by overseas businesses, so a figure that omits it understates what you'll actually pay.
So a US$12.99 headline can end up noticeably higher once GST is in, before any exchange rate is applied. Compare a tax-free number with a tax-inclusive one and an app looks about 10% dearer than it is, which explains many forum squabbles.
Check whether the total on the payment screen includes GST, and make sure you're comparing like with like.
3. What your bank charges
If the app charges in US dollars and your card is in Australian dollars, your bank handles the conversion and typically keeps 1.5% to 3%, sometimes with a flat foreign transaction fee too.
The app can't see this charge. It shows up only on your statement, so it's worth a one-off look. A card without foreign transaction fees saves a few percent on each renewal of every overseas subscription you have.
4. The app store's cut
Apple and Google take a share of what you spend in-app, and companies build that into their pricing. So a plan often costs more inside the app than on the company's site.
When both routes exist, the website is generally the cheaper one. For the trade-offs (who handles cancellations, who processes refunds, what appears on your statement), see browser or app store and refunds and chargebacks.
Why the VPN trick fails
The obvious idea is to look as though you live somewhere cheaper. It doesn't work, and the failure can be costly.
Your card gives you away. The price region usually follows the country that issued your card or your billing address, not your IP address. A VPN changes what the page shows and leaves the checkout alone.
It breaks the terms. Every major app store and nearly every operator prohibits it in plain words.
Flagged accounts get closed, along with any credits, chat history and characters inside. In a category where the value is the history you've built up, risking that to save a few dollars a month is a bad trade.
Refunds get harder. A dispute over a subscription you obtained by misrepresenting where you live is one you'll probably lose.
If the price where you live truly is too steep, switch to a cheaper app rather than disguise your account. There's a wide spread in our ranking, and the cheapest app on it also has the free tier we rate highest.
What to do instead
Look at the checkout, not the landing page. The only figure that counts is the one on the payment screen, in your country, with your card.
Find out whether the renewal price differs from the first period. In most cases that matters more than regional pricing; see what these apps cost.
Use a card without foreign transaction fees if the app bills in a currency that isn't yours.
Don't shop for prices across borders. The saving is small and the risk is your account.
