The most expensive pricing decision is the first one. Underprice and you train the market to undervalue you forever. The good news: even without a direct comparable, you can derive a defensible price in an afternoon.
Anchor to the alternative, not the competitor
If no competitor exists, your competition is a spreadsheet, a VA, a freelancer, or "doing nothing." Estimate the cost of the alternative. If your product saves a paralegal 6 hours per month at $80/hour, that's $480 of value. Price somewhere in 10–25% of that ($50–$120).
The "value-third" rule
A reliable heuristic: charge ~1/3 of the value you create. Less and you're leaving money on the table. More and renewals get fragile. This works across industries.
Pick a price ending in 7 or 9
$47, $79, $149. Sounds dumb, works empirically. Round numbers ($50, $100) feel arbitrary; odd numbers feel calculated and signal you've thought about it.
Three tiers, not five
- Starter (anchor low — but not free)
- Pro (the one you actually want sold — make it the obvious value)
- Team / Business (anchor high to make Pro look reasonable)
Five tiers paralyze. Three converts.
The "no free tier" default
For B2B SaaS in a niche, free tiers attract tire-kickers and burn support hours. A 7-day trial works better. Free is for products with viral mechanics, not first SaaS.
The under-pricing trap
Every founder has a "I felt bad charging more" moment in their first 50 sales. Push through it. Users who object on price are not your buyers. See Pricing from Day One.
The 90-day price test
Launch at your candidate price. After 30 paying users, raise it 25%. If conversion drops less than 25%, your old price was too low. Repeat until you find resistance.