Random advice from the internet:

+ Don't offer a free tier because people who won't spend $1.99 to try something out are not going to spend $1.99 regularly.

+ Raise prices significantly. Nothing filters high demand low revenue users more effectively...and that's what a free tier attracts.

+ Don't waste time trying to make crappy user experiences. Just focus on making good experiences and price your products so that you can provide high quality.

+ When you have more than enough money, then you can give it away to deserving causes. That's more likely to be a food bank than software engineers. But maybe not.

Good luck.