Pricing my B2B SaaS is breaking my brain - looking for feedback
I've spoken to several customers and BETA users trying to determine the correct pricing model for Hello Inbox.
Originally I thought a pay-as-you-go system was the right approach, but after speaking to a few BETA users and customers it turns out maybe that isn't the best approach because several of my features require recurring use.
I thought about it for a few days and eventually settled on a monthly subscription model with limitations.
My ICP are professionals and solo-entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business and marketing teams.
So I eventually landed on this pricing model, see below screenshot.
Would love some feedback from the community here if I'm mistaken or if there's something I missed.
Questions:
1. Pay-as-you-go or subscription?
2. Is pricing too low or too high?
Here's some additional screenshots for context.
Replies
Oh I feel this so deeply. When I was figuring out pricing for my own B2B product, talking to beta users was the single best thing I did, so you're already ahead. One thing that surprised me: the customers who complained about price the most during beta were almost never my actual ICP. The ones who saw real value barely flinched. Have you segmented the feedback by who matches your ideal customer profile vs. who doesn't?
Hello Inbox
@ceciliatranΒ Yes, I did, and that's how I came up with my current pricing model. I do plan on testing different prices once I have more active users/customers. And honestly, I can probably charge more, especially for the business plan. I thought I would start a little lower ($129/m) and increase incrementally to see how it impacts conversions.
You've mentioned that you can more than double a customer's email-driven revenue, so that's your real pricing anchor. Find out what that incremental revenue actually is for a typical customer, then price as a share of that value. Then the real conversation isn't about whether $129 feels right, it's about what a fair percentage of the value you're creating looks like, and I'd bet it's a lot higher than where you are now. Worth keeping in mind too that it's always easier to price down than up.
It also seems like solo entrepreneurs and SMB marketing teams are very different buyers with very different budgets and stakes. It might be worth picking one and going deep rather than trying to serve both. My guess is SMB marketing teams feel the pain more acutely and have the budget to match.
Just my two cents as someone who's watched a lot of founders navigate this from the VC side, now building myself so very much still learning too!
Hello Inbox
@shanntltΒ hmm, good insight. Especially the part about picking one rather than trying to service both. Yes, I would say my best consulting clients are small marketing teams of 2-5 people (often including the founder), they have no issue spending hundreds of dollars a month for the right tools.
Hello Aria
Subscription is almost always the right call once your core use cases are recurring β PAYG creates budget anxiety that kills conversion, even when the actual spend ends up the same.
A few things to consider:
1. Your $0 tier will either attract your best leads or your worst support burden. Worth being intentional about which features are gated there.
2. The gap between Pro ($49) and Business ($129) is big. Make sure the value difference is obvious enough that users feel the jump β otherwise they'll stay on Pro forever and you'll fight churn when they outgrow it.
We went back and forth on the same question building Hello Aria (our AI productivity assistant for WhatsApp/Telegram/iOS, launching on PH April 10th). Eventually landed on a flat subscription + 3-month free trial β removes comparison paralysis and lets users get real value before committing. It's been a good call so far.
For B2B with professional and SMB ICP, subscription is the right move. Flat pricing signals confidence in your product.