pricing-strategy

# Strategies: Pricing Guides pricing strategy and structure for SaaS, tools, and products. Covers pricing models, tier design, anchoring, and when to apply discounts. For pricing **page** content and layout, see **pricing-page-generator**. For **discount** and promotional pricing, see **discount-marketing-strategy**. **When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output. ## Initial Assessment **Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read it for product, value proposition, and competitors. Identify: 1. **Product type**: SaaS, tool, e-commerce 2. **Value metric**: What drives value (seats, usage, features) 3. **Market**: Competitor pricing; willingness to pay 4. **Goals**: Revenue, adoption, retention ## Pricing Models | Model | Use | |-------|-----| | **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 st...