Your price metric (per seat, per user, per credit) decides how your revenue grows.
Your price metric is your fuel: it’s what allows you to scale with your customers.
It’s the only variable in your profit equation that you have full control over.
It’s a goldmine, really… But it takes some thinking to pick the right one.
If you have not done the work, what you charge for is most likely working against you.
Your price metric (per seat, per user, per credit) decides how your revenue grows. If it’s wrong, usage grows but revenue doesn’t, or buyers get scared of bills they cannot predict. With AI, your heaviest users can end up costing you more than they pay.
Price metrics also have a tremendous impact on acquisition and upsell: because some trigger customers’ price sensitivity, while others just remove most frictions at acquisition.
So how do you know if you picked the right one?
A few key questions to start the thinking:
1. Does your price metric reflect the value you deliver?
If two same-sized customers get completely different value from your solution… you’re leaving money on the table with one and risking churn with the other.
2. When AI or product usage grows, does revenue grow enough to protect margin?
If your heaviest users erode your margins… something needs to change.
3. Does your metric match how much budget predictability the buyer needs?
If some buyers value predictability highly, but you still offer the same usage-based, pay-as-you-go model to everyone… something needs to change.
