---
name: mkurman/pricing-strategy
source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/mkurman-pricing-strategy@1/SKILL.md
source_sha256: d3f98a817d5a
---

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| **Subscription** | Recurring; monthly/annual; most SaaS |
| **Freemium** | Free tier + paid; adoption then conversion |
| **Usage-based** | Pay per use; API, credits |
| **One-time** | Perpetual license; some tools |
| **Hybrid** | Base + usage; tiered + overage |

**Variable-cost products** (compute, API, AI): When per-user cost varies widely (heavy users cost 10×+ light users), uniform subscription often fails. Use usage-based, credits, or tiered-by-usage; align price to cost structure.

## Tier Design

- **2–4 tiers** typical; avoid too many options
- **Differentiation**: Clear "best for" per tier; feature gates
- **Anchoring**: Lead with mid-tier or annual; make target option obvious
- **Value metric**: Align price to value (seats, projects, API calls)

## Anchoring & Presentation

- **Annual discount**: 15–25% for annual prepay; improves cash flow
- **Decoy**: Higher tier makes mid-tier look better
- **Most popular**: Highlight recommended plan
- **Price display**: Monthly vs annual; show savings

## When to Use Discounts

Discounts apply on top of base pricing. See **discount-marketing-strategy** for:

- Annual commitment discounts
- First-time / new customer promotions
- Lifetime deals (LTD)
- Seasonal (BFCM)
- Referral, contest, affiliate codes

**Principle**: Set base price for long-term value; use discounts tactically for acquisition, retention, or cash flow.

## Output Format

- **Pricing model** recommendation
- **Tier structure** (plans, features, price points)
- **Anchoring** approach
- **Discount** fit (when to use; reference discount-marketing-strategy)
- **pricing-page-generator** (page execution)

## Related Skills

- **discount-marketing-strategy**: Promotional pricing; when and how to discount
- **pricing-page-generator**: Pricing page content, structure, conversion
- **landing-page-generator**: Click-through to pricing
- **localization-strategy**: Pricing by market (true localization vs cosmetic); see Pricing Strategies section