
Ask HN: How to decide on the pricing model for SaaS? - rayalez
I am building a SaaS app(editor for screenwriters), and trying to figure out what is a good pricing model.<p>Should I use monthly subscription or one-time payment? How much should I charge?<p>Can you share some general advice on what is the best way to decide or what to avoid?
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Torwald
Well, being a screenwriter is not necessarily a stable business on of itself.
Therefore I would rather go with a one-time payment than staring on their
monthly expenses horror show. OTOH you will have to support them endlessly,
than again, this won't be that much more of a trouble; I am assuming.

The general advice is: testing. Drive traffic to your landing pages and see
which one converts the best. With that I mean: which source of traffic coverts
best AND which landing page design works best. HINT: hire a professional
copywriter, he will work wonders for you there.

In any case, test and thus find the best performing combo.

You should put some effort into the presentation of your company. Why should
anyone trust you with their data? This is a very big question, that you MUST
address. (Minor nitpick: I've come across websites of small firms and they
didn't even bother to tell in which city they reside. This is of course a form
of mindlessness, which told me everything I needed to know to not do business
with them. Details matter.)

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gus_massa
one-time payment is forever, and forever is a very long time for a SaaS. You
have monthly cost. In ten years you will have monthly cost for the users that
pay today $5.

I suggest to make a monthly plan, with an option to pay annually with a 1 or 2
month discount.

How much are other similar projects charging? Don't put a very low price.

Read some advice from patio11:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13843743](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13843743)
(The whole discussion may be useful
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13840282](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13840282)
)

