How much would you pay to use your favorite apps, if a subscription fee were required? 

That question became more or a point of focus last year, when people started suggesting options as to how Facebook could build an alternate business model to advertising, in order to keep user privacy more secure. If Facebook's didn't need to use your insights for ad targeting, people wouldn't need to be so concerned about potential misuse, right?

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly dismissed that notion, saying that Facebook will always remain free to use - meaning ad-funded - but if you did have to pay a subscription fee, how much would be a reasonable amount? What would you pay to subscribe to YouTube or Google Maps? What about Instagram or Snapchat?

To glean more insight into this, the team from McGuffin Group recently surveyed 2,000 app users to get some insights into what they believe would be a reasonable price to pay for a subscription to their favorite apps.

And the results highlight some interesting findings.

As you can see, YouTube is the app users would pay the most to subscribe to, at more than $4 per month, followed by Google Maps and Drive. Facebook came in fourth - though interestingly, Facebook was also the app that the fewest users would be willing to pay to use.

Of particular note here is the question of utility versus recreation. As you can see, LinkedIn comes in at a higher potential price point than Instagram, Snapchat or Twitter, which likely reflects the real-world value of the platform as a job-seeking and professional networking tool. Meanwhile, WhatsApp has the highest amount of users who'd been willing to pay to use it, which underlines its value as a connective utility.

McGuffin's researchers also note that women would pay 20% more than men for Google Maps, Facebook and Pinterest, while Millennials would pay 78% more for Instagram than baby boomers. 

Of course, each of the results will be relative to the specifics of the user group you ask - but at 2,000 respondents, these are likely indicative numbers. The trends here would be reflective of broader usage, at least in some capacity. 

It's definitely an interesting consideration - if you had to actually pay, which apps and tools would provide the most value and benefit in your day to day life? Placing a monetary value on each would certainly make you question your usage, and how you can derive the most benefit.

There's no indication from any of these platforms that the would ever implement such charges, but as an experiment, even in your own usage, it's interesting to consider.

You can check out McGuffin's full report here.