Freemium VS Cheapium Model? Which one to Go ?
Sreekanth PM
14 replies
As the title said, like to know the suggestions. We are a bootstrapped and self-funded startup. So no enough pockets to burn. Does freemium really value? or will it bring more overheads and bring more and more free users to the system?
instead, what if it will be a very small amount of chargeable plan to start with. Does that bring more value to the product and bring serious users to the platform.
Replies
Aaron O'Leary@aaronoleary
Product Hunt
Hard to answer without knowing the specifics but I'd do a free trial of a premium product see if you really need it and then get in touch with the company to see if you can work out a reduced rate
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@aaronoleary I agree to your points but it may depends on the market. We target specifically developers and agencies.
I cannot really answer your question if I don't know about your product/market.
What's working for someone might not necessarily work for you. Ask yourself questions about your product and your market:
-Is your market full of over-served customers?
-Are you competing in a hyper-competitive market?
-Is your market large enough to support a freemium model?
-Do you have the resources to support a freemium model?
-Can your onboarding be completely self-service?
Based on your answers, you will know the direction you should go and decide if you should provide free trials, or demos instead.
This video: & the book Product-Led Growth are covering the subject pretty well.
@bujold19 Thank you for the detailed reply. We are working on omnichannel content management with collaboration and workflow as its key focus. We are not VC funded. It is not a saturated market but competition are there.
But we are bringing atleast 3 to 5 unique features which we got to understand during interviewing some of the prospects.
Our target people are developers and digital agencies.
The problem with free mode is that, We will be exhausted with the resources for serving free customers. What i saw in most cases free users may need more support, and they bring more free people into the system.
@sreekanth850 You should probably focus on starting with lower plan, and up your pricing model up afterward. When the resources will be there (and that you'll have a good user-base), you can experiment offering a free plan, and see if you're getting traction with it. Keep in mind that a freemium model is all about getting users with the intention of upselling them, and that can be tough, especially for a early-stage startup. Good luck!
It depends on a few things but if you've already validated your idea and you know that your product is solving an actual problem, you should be comfortable charging money for it.
Sell on value, not on price.
I used to work at Prospect.io, a 100% bootstrapped SaaS startup. There's never been a free plan or a free trial. The only way to access the app has always been to pay upfront. And the company has been profitable from day 1.
Start with cheap/affordable plans, and then raise your price as your user base grows :)
@forster_perelsztejn1 Thanks for your great insights . :). It is always great to hear the strategy that worked. I was little worried about the outcome of no freemium. But now it seems to be the best to go with.
@forster_perelsztejn1 Precise to the point. We are planning in same way. To have a launch plan with less price and a money back guarantee. Plus a paid trial with a small amount.
@sreekanth850 Yep, money-back guarantee is an important point! Good luck, hope it works out!
I would go for a cheap first month, as a trial, and then ask for the real price to continue. That way you prevent just giving out the product or service for free, and suffering abuse from people who will create one account a month to get the full deal without paying for it.
@simplytedel Yeah, This what we also think. Also we are thinking of giving a money back guarantee with no question asked.
@simplytedel I echo this!
Worth doing this short quiz "Free Trial vs Freemium Quiz"- might help clarify the focus for your business. https://productled.com/quiz/