Company
Date Published
Jan. 27, 2023
Author
Kavyapriya Sethu
Word count
1339
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Usage-based pricing (UBP) is a strategy where customers are charged based on their consumption of goods or services. Common models include pay-as-you-go, per-unit pricing, and usage-tier pricing. UBP offers benefits such as customer satisfaction due to transparency, low barrier to entry, incentives for increased consumption, and higher net-dollar retention. However, it also presents challenges like sticker shock, potential loss of customers, and difficulty in predicting revenue accurately. Usage-based pricing is ideal for services that encourage customer growth, have fluctuating demands, or require precise consumption tracking, such as SaaS and IaaS. Strategies to overcome these challenges include implementing spending caps, user-access controls, and ensuring transparency about costs.