A product without a price is a side project. The moment you put a number on a page, two things happen at once: people who would never pay reveal themselves, and people who would actually buy start asking real questions. Both are gifts.
You will not get the price right. That's fine. A wrong price you change next week beats no price for three months. Ship the number.
Three tiers cover almost every case. Build them in this order:
- Free or trial at the bottom. Low friction. No credit card if you can manage it.
- Middle tier for the person you imagined while building. Set it slightly higher than feels comfortable. You can always discount; you cannot re-raise on early adopters without anger.
- Top tier for the power user who wants more seats, more usage, or premium support.
Write what each tier includes in concrete language. Numbers, not adjectives. "5 projects, unlimited exports, 1 seat" beats "everything you need to grow." A "Start Free" or "Try for 7 Days" button on every tier closes the loop.
You don't need Stripe wired up on day one. A pricing page in Notion, Carrd, or your existing site is enough to start. Lemon Squeezy or Polar takes care of checkout once a real buyer shows up.
The reactions you get are the data, not the validation you wanted from your friends.
Bad: silence — nobody mentions the price either way
Good: "That's too expensive" — they're considering it; ask what they expected
Better: someone pays without asking — your middle tier might be too cheap
If three people in a row hesitate at the same number, you've found the ceiling for now. If nobody flinches, you're leaving money on the table. The wrong price teaches you something. No price teaches you nothing.
- Hiding pricing behind "Contact us" — you're not enterprise yet, and it kills momentum.
- Five tiers with overlapping features. Three is plenty. Decisions get harder as choices multiply.
- Copying a competitor's price without understanding their cost base or audience.
- Waiting for the "right" number. There isn't one until real buyers react to one.
Pick three tiers. Write the inclusions in plain language. Publish the page today.
A live pricing page on your site or a public Notion link, with 2-3 tiers, clear inclusions, and a free or trial entry point. A buyer can read it and decide without asking you a question.
A product without a price is a side project. The moment you put a number on a page, two things happen at once: people who would never pay reveal themselves, and people who would actually buy start asking real questions. Both are gifts.
You will not get the price right. That's fine. A wrong price you change next week beats no price for three months. Ship the number.
Three tiers cover almost every case. Build them in this order:
- Free or trial at the bottom. Low friction. No credit card if you can manage it.
- Middle tier for the person you imagined while building. Set it slightly higher than feels comfortable. You can always discount; you cannot re-raise on early adopters without anger.
- Top tier for the power user who wants more seats, more usage, or premium support.
Write what each tier includes in concrete language. Numbers, not adjectives. "5 projects, unlimited exports, 1 seat" beats "everything you need to grow." A "Start Free" or "Try for 7 Days" button on every tier closes the loop.
You don't need Stripe wired up on day one. A pricing page in Notion, Carrd, or your existing site is enough to start. Lemon Squeezy or Polar takes care of checkout once a real buyer shows up.
The reactions you get are the data, not the validation you wanted from your friends.
Bad: silence — nobody mentions the price either way
Good: "That's too expensive" — they're considering it; ask what they expected
Better: someone pays without asking — your middle tier might be too cheap
If three people in a row hesitate at the same number, you've found the ceiling for now. If nobody flinches, you're leaving money on the table. The wrong price teaches you something. No price teaches you nothing.
- Hiding pricing behind "Contact us" — you're not enterprise yet, and it kills momentum.
- Five tiers with overlapping features. Three is plenty. Decisions get harder as choices multiply.
- Copying a competitor's price without understanding their cost base or audience.
- Waiting for the "right" number. There isn't one until real buyers react to one.
Pick three tiers. Write the inclusions in plain language. Publish the page today.
A live pricing page on your site or a public Notion link, with 2-3 tiers, clear inclusions, and a free or trial entry point. A buyer can read it and decide without asking you a question.