SaaS Pricing and Good-Better-Best Tier Research: Conditional Pricing and Menu-Based Choice
SaaS pricing research requires solving two linked decisions simultaneously: packaging (which features belong in Starter, Pro and Enterprise tiers, and which should be sold as paid add-ons) and monetisation (what price each tier and add-on can command without triggering churn or downgrades). Standard survey tools fail on SaaS pricing because a single price list across all tiers shows respondents absurd combinations like a £499 Starter plan or a £19 Enterprise plan.
Ordeen solves SaaS tier and add-on pricing by combining Conditional Pricing in CBC/ACBC (where each tier carries its own realistic price ladder without breaking orthogonality) and Menu-Based Choice (MBC) for modular add-on pricing, backed by a live market simulator with 95% credible intervals.
The Three Methodology Traps in SaaS Pricing Studies
The Prohibition Trap on Good/Better/Best Tiers. If you test Starter (£19–£49), Pro (£59–£129) and Enterprise (£249–£599) on one shared price attribute and add prohibitions to block cross-tier prices, tier identity and price become collinear—the estimator cannot tell whether buyers rejected Enterprise because of its features or its £499 price tag. Ordeen's conditional-pricing engine designs on balanced step indices (Step 1 = low, Step 2 = base, Step 3 = high, Step 4 = stretch), displays the true currency price for each tier, and estimates in tier-centred log-price space so every downstream share, elasticity and WTP interval is reported in real pounds or dollars.
Feature Bloat Beyond 7 Attributes. SaaS packaging often tests seat limits, API quotas, SSO, AI credits, support SLAs, storage, analytics and price (8–12 attributes). In Ordeen, any CBC design with more than 7 attributes automatically routes to Adaptive CBC (ACBC), letting buyers configure their ideal plan in a Build-Your-Own step before entering a focused tournament.
Forcing Modular Add-Ons Into Single-Choice Cards. If customers buy a core plan plus optional modules (e.g. Payroll, Advanced Security, Extra Seats), single-choice CBC is the wrong model. Ordeen's Menu-Based Choice (MBC) models each add-on as an independent take-or-leave decision with its own price elasticity and cross-item attachment rate.
Which Method to Use for Each SaaS Pricing Decision
SaaS Pricing Question | Recommended Ordeen Method | Primary Decision Output |
|---|---|---|
"How should we fence features and set prices across Starter, Pro & Enterprise?" (≤7 attributes) | CBC with Conditional Pricing | Per-tier demand curves, tier switching/cannibalisation, and Share-Holding WTP |
"Which of 10+ technical specs, usage caps and SLAs justify upgrading to Pro/Enterprise?" (8+ attributes) | ACBC with Conditional Pricing | Individual must-have/unacceptable rules, tier share of preference, and Focal-Buyer WTP |
"Which features should go in the core tier vs. sold as paid à-la-carte add-ons?" | Menu-Based Choice (MBC) | Per-module take rates at each price, bundle attachment rates, and expected ARPU |
"We have 25 roadmap features—which 5 do customers actually care about before we price them?" | Anchored MaxDiff | Absolute priority ranking above/below the buy threshold + TURF reach curve |
"We have one single-tier product and want a fast price-corridor check." | Van Westendorp (NMS) or Gabor-Granger | Acceptable price floor/ceiling (PMC/PME) and Juster-calibrated revenue curve |
Reading SaaS Willingness to Pay Honestly in the Simulator
When a SaaS PM asks "What is SSO worth?", the answer depends on who you ask. A small startup on the £29 Starter tier values SSO at £0; a 200-seat buyer on the £349 Enterprise tier may value it at £80/month. In Ordeen's Simulator, selecting the Enterprise tier as your Focal Product anchors WTP directly to the Enterprise feature baseline and price, and lets you toggle between Focal Buyers (respondents most likely to buy Enterprise), All Respondents, and Competitive Share-Holding Price Move (how much you can raise the Enterprise price after adding SSO without losing share to competitors).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you test Good/Better/Best SaaS tiers in conjoint without showing unrealistic prices? Use Conditional Pricing rather than prohibitions. Set a conditional price table where each tier (Starter, Pro, Enterprise) maps Steps 1–4 to its own realistic price corridor. Ordeen keeps the experimental design orthogonal on step indices while showing respondents real currency prices.
Can I survey my own SaaS users as well as an external B2B panel? Yes. You can distribute an Ordeen survey link directly to your own CRM or in-app user base (passing user or tier IDs in the URL at zero credit cost) and combine or compare results with external Prodege panel completes.
How do I share the SaaS pricing simulator with our CEO, CFO and VP of Product? Click "Share live simulator" in the project header to mint a password-protected link for up to 10 stakeholder emails. Viewers can test pricing and packaging scenarios live without needing a paid Ordeen seat.
Pricing a new SaaS tier or AI add-on? Book a 20-minute demo or email im@ordeen.com.
