[dvdand]

You have a few other options as well - You could run ads - you could build premium options that help you recoup your investment, - you could absorb the costs with the idea that future payoff might be larger than your costs (risky assumption).

[bobthemaster]

Yeah, those are possibilities. I don't really want ads in there if I can avoid it though (especially with it being a paid app) - and a future payoff is exceedingly unlikely. It's the kind of app that could grow to the point where it costs me, but not where it would blow up to even a milli-Instagram.

I think some kind of premium option, whatever that may be, would be the best bet.