Many SaaS companies are feeling the pressure to modernize their pricing models. With AI capabilities expanding, usage-based pricing gaining traction, and customers demanding more value, existing strategies often fall short. The challenge goes beyond choosing between subscriptions or consumption models. It is about aligning pricing with real customer value, creating predictability for finance teams, and supporting scalable growth.
Too often, companies focus on changing price points or copying competitors without addressing the underlying structure of their pricing model. Instead, what is needed is a structured framework that ties pricing decisions to customer needs, product usage, and value perception.
Here is a four-part framework designed to help SaaS leaders rethink and optimize their pricing strategies.
Step 1: Know Your Buyer Personas
Every pricing decision should begin with a deep understanding of who you are selling to. Buyer personas should not be superficial descriptions based on job titles or industries. Instead, they must reflect how different types of users extract value from your product and what they are willing to pay for.
Your pricing plans should map directly to the needs and behaviors of these personas. For example, one tier might support a startup’s basic workflows while another is built for a mid-sized team requiring integrations and automation. By solving a clear “job to be done” for each persona, your pricing becomes a tool for segmentation and conversion, not just a menu of features.
Step 2: Evaluate Usage and Consumption Patterns
The next step is to analyze how customers interact with your product. Look for metrics that reflect actual value delivery. This could include number of users, API calls, data processed, tasks completed, or other usage indicators.
Consumption data can reveal natural upgrade thresholds. For example, if a majority of users on a lower tier frequently hit certain usage limits, that may be an opportunity to introduce a new plan or create a consumption-based upsell.
Understanding usage patterns also helps you identify whether your pricing is too rigid. Pure license models can feel disconnected from value, while pure usage models may be unpredictable for buyers. A hybrid approach, which blends fixed and variable components, often offers the best of both worlds.
Step 3: Reassess Feature Packaging
Feature packaging is one of the most overlooked levers in SaaS pricing. A well-structured package can drive upgrades, reduce churn, and clarify the value of each tier.
One effective approach is to map your features on a matrix with two axes: user preference and willingness to pay. Features that are both highly preferred and monetizable should anchor your premium plans. Niche but high-value features can become add-ons. Core features that are widely used but not seen as differentiators may belong in all plans.
By adjusting how features are bundled, you can create clearer value differentiation between plans and open up new monetization paths without raising base prices.
Step 4: Pressure-Test Your Price Points
Price point is often the first thing companies want to change, but it should be the last step in your process. Once you have aligned your personas, usage thresholds, and feature packaging, pricing levels can be adjusted with greater confidence.
Use data from customer interviews, pilot offers, or A/B testing to validate new pricing. Be mindful of what your target market can bear and what competitors are charging, but do not let benchmarking be your only guide. Your price should reflect the unique value you deliver and the business outcomes you enable.
Conclusion: Price with Purpose
SaaS pricing is not just about capturing revenue. It is about signaling value, aligning with customer success, and enabling sustainable growth. This framework provides a structured approach to help companies move beyond reactive price changes and instead build a pricing strategy that supports their product vision and business goals.
As the market evolves and new monetization models emerge, the companies that win will be those that treat pricing as a core capability, not just a financial exercise.
How to Modernize Your SaaS Pricing Tech Stack
This article was inspired by insights shared during a recent webinar hosted by Tim Neil, and Rob Litterst as the guest, where they explored the evolution of SaaS pricing models, the impact of AI on monetization, and how companies can build more adaptive pricing strategies.
To hear the full conversation and gain additional context on the framework discussed above, we invite you to watch the on-demand webinar. It’s a valuable session for any SaaS leader rethinking their approach to pricing in today’s dynamic market.
As Sr. Director of Marketing at LogiSense, Tim is responsible for corporate brand messaging and digital assets ensuring that future customers understand the immense benefits that LogiSense Billing brings. Tim has over 20 years of Product Management and Marketing experience in the technology industry.
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