What are the best monetisation models you have seen so far?
For me, the best monetisation model is CapCut (especially that psychological side of that).
They let me use their free desktop version the whole time, so I started being dependent on them.
I made videos with this application for about 2 years, whether for clients or for myself.
The control was easy, with a wide selection of effects and customisation.
Until one fine day, they made my favourite and most used functions PRO features, one video export was without a watermark, and if you wanted to have the other videos without a watermark, you had to switch to the PRO plan.
So I was willing to pay €120 per year (and I would probably be willing to pay more in that situation).
On the contrary, the monetisation model that I hate – Adobe: they also charged me if I wanted to cancel my subscription.
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Can you share with us which monetisation model you found brilliant?
Replies
WeCooked
minimalist phone: creating folders
@imran_razak I partially agree – as a user, I enjoy that I can use DuoLingo and learn for free (tho someone added me to the family package, so I am enjoying it free anyway :D ). The only thing that could distract me was ads.
WeCooked
Haimeta
CapCut is indeed a product of ByteDance, and their other platform, Dreamnia, employs a similar business strategy. It’s undeniable that creating user dependency before introducing charges is a clever tactic. I find myself paying for certain products simply because I’ve grown accustomed to using them. What’s even more impressive is that as long as the pricing isn’t outrageous, I can easily convince myself to purchase it—just because I’m so used to it!
minimalist phone: creating folders
@gin_6078 I didn't know about Dreamnia. Do you know about any other solutions/products with a good pricing strategy?
Haimeta
@busmark_w_nika For me, effective commercialization is closely tied to the characteristics of the product. If a product is used frequently, a subscription model is often the best approach for commercialization. On the other hand, if the product is used infrequently, options like one-time purchases or tokens may be more suitable.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@gin_6078 One-time are my favourite (from the point of view of the customer). Unfortunately, it is not from a few of the companies. :D
DeepTagger
Hey @busmark_w_nika, you’re spot on about that dependency trick 😆👌I’ve seen the same playbook work wonders for Canva: you start with full free access, build all your designs around its intuitive tools, and then when you need those brand kits or premium assets, upgrading feels like the natural next step rather than a hard sell.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@talshyn yep, it looks so innocently, it almost looks like you won't pay anything, you press export and: "you are using premium elements in your design" 😂
Clay. It's an absolute money machine. Free + expensive (but worth it) subscription tiers + credit usage out the wahzoo.
here's a super interesting breakdown. https://goodbetterbest.substack.com/p/deconstructing-clays-pricing-strategy
minimalist phone: creating folders
@emikes919 I hear about them for the very first time, and dope, they have such a cool website!
@busmark_w_nika yeah they're insane. I've paid them alot of money and it's been totally worth it. SUPER powerful
Autumn
I think about this a lot (disclaimer: our company helps founders manage their pricing models, so we're very close to people here).
One that's super popular is cursor's pricing, especially for AI apps. They offer a lot of flexibility in:
A reasonable free tier
Allowing people to subscribe, which uses up messages and credits
Allowing people to bring their own key if they don't want to subscribe
It's a good mix and each option suits a different type of developer!
Pokecut
Totally agree with you! 🙌 CapCut’s approach is genius — letting users get hooked with a fully functional free version and then introducing PRO features feels natural and fair. It’s smart psychology at work! 🎥✨
For me, I love Spotify’s freemium model 🎧: you get tons of value for free, and the seamless upgrade to premium for ad-free, offline listening is super smooth. It really respects the user’s choice while encouraging subscriptions.
And yes, Adobe’s cancellation fees? 😤 That’s frustrating and feels like a trap rather than a customer-first move.
Thanks for sharing your experience! Would love to hear more thoughts from the community! 🚀
Totally get what you mean about CapCut - that gradual value build-up before asking for payment is really smart psychologically. For me, the “freemium with meaningful features unlocked” model works best when it feels fair and respectful of users’ time and effort.
I think the long intention build ups will work well for certain high priced products when people already expect to pay a lot. Will people stay engaged when they're only looking to pay a few bucks and can prompt their favorite AI like a consumer report? Those onboarding flows rarely generate a super custom product and just as rare to produce a bit of custom feedback.
I'd argue we will see sharper, smarter ads that hit us at the right buying moments with the exact price we are willing to pay. Unfortunately the most bootstrap founder can't deploy all the ai and content tools in the world. This probably crowds out some people who had a chance to win market share before. Definitely this is one area I want to be proved wrong and I am always looking at PH just for that reason, finding the makers who built something i really need as a founder.