

Ask HN: Does chargify's pricing make sense to you? - blaines

http://chargify.com/pricing-and-signup/<p>Start - 500 customers - ~$100/mo - ~20 cents per customer<p>Launch - 10 customers - $39 - $3.90 per customer<p>Why are they gouging the little guy's so much? They aren't the only ones that do this either. I know there's support costs and such, but there has to be a more sensible model, like amazon web services'. As customers utilize more units (i.e. storage) each unit costs less.<p>I'd much rather pay for what I'm using than getting something for free or feeling ripped off. What are your thoughts?
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jdg
If you're still figuring out whether or not people are willing to pay for what
it is you're doing, then just use PayPal. Or mail paper invoices. Seriously.

Why would you EVER invest a ton of time in a billing system when you're just
starting out? Billing is a HUGE time sinkhole. That applies to integrating
with another provider (Chargify) just as much as it applies to not rolling
your own.

Billing is not your product. Billing WILL make or break your product though,
so once you've figured out that a reasonable number of people are willing to
pay for it, then make sure your billing works and works well.

Also, if you can't afford $39/mo on a SaaS billing provider, then you're not
serious about your startup and it's still just a hobby.

~~~
blaines
I'm thinking from a startup's pricing standpoint, not necessarily from the
customer's perspective. As someone starting a web service does it make sense?
Contrast with basecamp's $1.60 per project on basic and $0.99 per project on
premium.

My opinion is Basecamp's pricing is much more stable, and makes sense, while
chargify still needs to figure things out.

Also, I've been using Google Checkout for my startup's billing so far and it
works reliably. They do have a subscriptions api and it works well. I
absolutely agree billing systems do take a huge amount of time to make, and
it'd be silly to concentrate on them instead of the product.

~~~
jdg
Basecamp is not critical to the success of your startup.

Billing is.

~~~
blaines
I don't think you're understanding me.

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pchristensen
They have fixed costs (most support comes at the beginning when people are
integrating) and low marginal costs. Once a merchant is integrated and using
Chargify successfully, only _then_ does it become inexpensive to add another
customer.

Besides, once you get your 11th customer, you're paying $9 apiece, not $0.20!
Lesson learned, if you have a small number of customers, Chargify maybe isn't
for you.

------
earl
For the love of god, give chargify a rest.

Decision process: does chargify work for you at a price that is better than
the competitors? Then use them. If they don't? Use a competitor or roll your
own.

This online shitfest about their pricing is the stupidest thing I've seen on
HN.

