Pricing Models
Standard Pricing
Fixed cost per unit. Simple and predictable. Every unit costs the same amount regardless of volume. If you charge $0.001 per token, the 1st token costs the same as the 1,000,000th token. Use cases:- Flat rate per token
- Fixed cost per GB
- Standard hourly rates
- Per-seat licensing
Dynamic Pricing
Price varies based on real-time conditions. Instead of setting a fixed price upfront, you specify min/max bounds. The actual price is determined when usage occurs - you pass the current rate with each usage event. Example: GPU compute that follows spot market prices. When demand is low, charge 5/hour. Use cases:- Spot instance pricing
- Market-based rates
- Time-of-day pricing
- Supply/demand adjustments
Percentage Pricing
Take a cut of transaction value. Charge based on the monetary value flowing through your platform. Set a percentage (like 2.9%) plus optional minimum and maximum caps per transaction. Example: Payment processing that charges 2.9% of each transaction, with a 100 maximum. A 0.30 (minimum applies), a 29 (2.9%), and a 100 (maximum applies). Use cases:- Revenue sharing
- Transaction fees
- Commission models
- Marketplace takes
Payment Terms
Control when customers pay - immediately or later.Instant Payment
Charge in real-time as usage occurs. Money moves immediately from customer accounts. Perfect for:- Pay-as-you-go services
- Prepaid consumption
- Small, frequent transactions
- Risk management
In Arrears
Accumulate charges and bill periodically. Generate invoices at month/year end. Perfect for:- Enterprise contracts
- NET payment terms
- Large transaction volumes
- Traditional invoicing
Combining Models
Mix different approaches within one plan to optimize for your business. Example: AI Platform- Base platform access: $499/month (standard, in arrears)
- Token usage: Market rate (dynamic, instant)
- Enterprise support: $5000/month (standard, in arrears)
- Storage: $0.02/GB-month (standard, in arrears)
- Queries: Spot pricing 2.00 (dynamic, instant)
- Data export: 1% of monthly bill (percentage, in arrears)
Design Principles
Start simple. Standard pricing covers 90% of use cases. Add complexity only when needed. Match customer expectations. B2C favors instant payment, B2B prefers invoicing. Consider cash flow. Instant payment improves working capital but may reduce enterprise sales. Plan for change. Prices are immutable - changing them requires creating new plans and migrating customers.Next Steps
- Report usage events to generate charges
- Manage accounts for payment collection