12 min
Pricing in the AI Age
Build pricing around value delivered, protect margins with metering, and design the page to eliminate confusion. Ship, measure, iterate.
- Pricing in the AI Age
- 0) Non‑negotiables (AI reality check)
- 1) Your Value Metric & Metering
- 2) Pricing Models That Work Now (hybrids)
- A. Bundled AI usage (in plans)
- B. Credits (wallet)
- C. AI as Add‑on
- D. Outcome‑based
- E. Multi‑Model Bundling
- 3) Free: Trial vs Tier vs New Model Hype
- Reverse Trial (default)
- Classic Trial
- Freemium Tier
- New Model Launches
- 4) Discounts That Don’t Kill You
- 5) Seat vs Usage vs Outcome — When to Use Each
- 6) API & Platform Pricing (consumption‑based)
- 7) Page Anatomy That Converts (DNA)
- 8) Price Presentation & Nudges
- 9) Guardrails & Abuse Control
- 10) Metrics to Run the System
- 11) Enterprise & Security
- 12) Opinionated Playbooks (use as is)
- Startup ≤$1M ARR
- $1–10M ARR
- 10M+ ARR
- 13) Copy Blocks You Can Paste
- Appendix
- Free New Models
- Free trial
- Free tier
- Startup discounts
- Student Discounts
- Pay per month
- Per seat per Month
- “Most Popular”
- APIs (Consumption)
- Yearly Plan
- Collaboration
- Enterprise
0) Non‑negotiables (AI reality check)
- COGS aren’t zero anymore. Inference burns cash. Price to usage intensity and outcomes, not just seats.
- Meter or cap usage everywhere AI shows up (credits, rate limits, fair use, overages). Don’t let whales bankrupt you.
- Hybrid beats purity. Keep subscriptions for predictability; layer usage for fairness and margins.
1) Your Value Metric & Metering
- Pick a single, obvious value metric users grok in 5s (e.g., "generations", "resolutions", "documents summarized").
- Tie AI cost to that metric; map feature → cost class (light/medium/heavy) before launch.
- Offer tiers by scale/quality/automation level; gate higher‑cost models and long‑context features.
- Expose live usage counters in‑product. No "mystery burn".
2) Pricing Models That Work Now (hybrids)
A. Bundled AI usage (in plans)
- Each plan includes a fixed allowance (e.g., 1,000 generations / mo). After that: soft cap (slower, queue) or overage.
- Pros: simple to buy; predictable for finance. Cons: must explain overages clearly.
B. Credits (wallet)
- Plans ship with credits; users top‑up. Credits roll over for X months. Show unit cost equivalents.
- Use credits when different features burn compute unevenly. Avoid hidden conversion math; show "this task ≈ 24–40 credits".
C. AI as Add‑on
- "+AI" bundle per seat/org (unlocks set of AI features; sensible fair‑use). Great for existing SaaS with broad attach.
D. Outcome‑based
- Charge per resolution / lead / document shipped when outcome is clear, countable, and caps runaway usage.
E. Multi‑Model Bundling
- Instead of charging separately for each LLM/API, offer one price for access to multiple models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, etc.).
- Deliver via open‑router style aggregation or an internal orchestration layer; route requests to the optimal model for cost/quality.
- Sell it as a simplicity + savings bundle: one contract, predictable billing, best‑model routing.
- Price tiers by models included, context length, and routing intelligence.
- Great for buyers who want multi‑model optionality without the API billing chaos.
3) Free: Trial vs Tier vs New Model Hype
Reverse Trial (default)
- Start new free users on all premium features for 7–14 days (no card). After, drop to free with teasers + saved artifacts.
Classic Trial
- Short (7–14d). No CC. Auto‑save work; downgrade gracefully, never delete output.
Freemium Tier
- Purpose: learn, seed loops, enable light personal use.
- Limit via: credits, context length, queue speed, watermark/branding, no commercial use.
New Model Launches
- Free, time‑boxed spikes to drive adoption/training. Gate via waitlists, quotas, and benchmark challenges to earn more.
4) Discounts That Don’t Kill You
- Startup: time‑boxed (6–12 mo), clear usage caps, automatic review at renewal.
- Education/Student: 50–70% but non‑commercial, fixed duration; require verification.
- Never discount enterprise without removing cost drivers or scope.
5) Seat vs Usage vs Outcome — When to Use Each
- Per seat: collaboration tools where value scales with people; AI cost per seat roughly even.
- Usage/credits: heterogeneous workloads; fairness + margin control.
- Outcome: narrow, measurable impact (e.g., support per resolution). Avoid if outcomes are fuzzy or disputable.
6) API & Platform Pricing (consumption‑based)
- Sell compute‑aligned units (tokens / seconds / images / jobs). Offer bundles with volume price breaks.
- Auto‑replenish (opt‑in) with thresholds; webhooks for burn alerts; hard rate limits by key.
- Publish model matrix (quality, latency, price). Sunset old SKUs with generous migration.
7) Page Anatomy That Converts (DNA)
- Above‑the‑fold: clear value metric, simple plan grid, Most Popular flagged, monthly/annual toggle (+save %).
- Plan cards: one‑line who it’s for, 3–5 capabilities, explicit usage allowances, overage rate, fair‑use note.
- Sticky FAQ under grid: trials, overages, refunds, commercial use, data/privacy, SSO, export.
- Right rail: social proof (logos, short case metrics), and an objection killer block ("Will I blow my budget?" → explain caps).
- CTA stack: Start free + Talk to sales + Calculator.
8) Price Presentation & Nudges
- Default annual (show monthly equivalent and save 20–30%).
- Anchor with a premium tier; use decoy to steer to Most Popular.
- Usage calculator: sliders for team size & workload → shows monthly estimate + confidence range.
- Localize currency; show tax/VAT handling; transparent per‑add‑on pricing.
9) Guardrails & Abuse Control
- Per‑org rate limits; per‑user caps; high‑cost actions require confirmations.
- Quality‑tier throttling: high‑end models limited on lower plans.
- Kill switches: auto‑pause on anomalous spikes; instant key rotation; export usage audit.
10) Metrics to Run the System
- Trial → paid, Reverse‑trial → paid, Free → paid, Plan mix, Attach rate for AI add‑on.
- Unit economics: gross margin by plan, by workload cohort; overage revenue %; credits breakage.
- Abuse/variance: 95th/99th %ile cost per active; anomaly count.
- Page: pricing → checkout CTR, checkout → pay, annual vs monthly mix.
11) Enterprise & Security
- Public enterprise card with: SSO/SCIM, RBAC, data retention, private model routing, on‑prem/VPC, DPA, SOC2/ISO.
- Clear starting at price + contact. Enterprise calculator for committed‑use deals (prepaid credits + floors).
12) Opinionated Playbooks (use as is)
Startup ≤$1M ARR
- 3 tiers + AI add‑on. Reverse trial 14d. Credits in all paid tiers. Annual default (25% off). Student & startup programs.
$1–10M ARR
- Add outcome SKU if you have a crisp outcome. Ship calculator. Turn on overages with guardrails. Introduce enterprise commitments.
10M+ ARR
- Segment by vertical; private pricing for high‑COGS workloads; prepaid commit with drawdown; launch model‑specific bundles.
13) Copy Blocks You Can Paste
- Fair Use: "Premium AI features include a monthly allowance. We’ll warn you at 80%, then throttle or bill overage at $X per Y. Your work is always saved."
- Budget Safety: "Set a hard monthly cap. We’ll pause AI actions and notify admins when you hit it."
- Why Credits: "Different AI tasks burn different amounts of compute. Credits keep pricing fair—pay only for what you use."
Appendix
Free New Models
- Time‑boxed launches
- earn more usage via contributions
- Quotas + waitlist.
- Increase adoption
- Train the model
Free trial
- Prefer reverse trial.
- 7–14 days.
- No credit card required
- Strong upgrade moment when value is fresh.
Free tier
- Offer a taste of the product
- Keep forever‑free
- restrict credits, models, latency, commercial use
- watermark output
- upsell with saved work
Startup discounts
- 70-90% off
- Deep but time‑boxed
- Pay when you scale (6months to 1 year)
- verification
- cap usage
Student Discounts
- 50-70% off for students
- Limited period of time
- auto‑review.
Pay per month
- No commitment
- More usage
- Extensions or Integrations
Per seat per Month
- Keep seats where collaboration drives value
- add AI Add‑on or bundled credits
- publish overage
“Most Popular”
- or “recommended”
- Use it as the value anchor
- Promote a specific offer
- Price‑position the decoy just above it.
APIs (Consumption)
- Credits/top‑ups
- roll‑over window
- auto‑renew thresholds
- explicit unit prices
- model matrix
Yearly Plan
- 20–30% savings
- default selected
- show monthly equivalent
- easy upgrade/downgrade
Collaboration
- Highlight collaboration features per tier
- Features like: Software Systems, roles, etc…
- Centralized admin tools
Enterprise
- Custom pricing, custom sales process
- Custom support
- Advanced security
- Advanced RBAC
- Analytics