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Frameworks, core principles and top case studies for SaaS pricing, learnt and refined over 28+ years of SaaS-monetization experience.
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In the hyper-competitive SaaS landscape, your pricing page isn't just another webpage—it's one of your most powerful conversion tools. Studies show that over a third of potential customers will comparison shop between your pricing page and competitors' before making a decision. Yet many SaaS companies treat pricing page design as an afterthought rather than the strategic asset it truly is.
When planning a pricing page redesign, benchmarking against competitors becomes crucial for ensuring your offering stands out while remaining competitive. But how exactly do you conduct this benchmarking effectively? Let's explore a comprehensive approach to evaluating and redesigning your SaaS pricing page with competitor analysis at its core.
Why Benchmark Your SaaS Pricing Page?
Before diving into the how, let's establish the why:
- Competitive positioning - Understanding where you stand helps you identify unique selling propositions
- Conversion optimization - Learning from competitors' successes and failures can improve your conversion rates
- Pricing strategy refinement - Competitor analysis often reveals pricing model gaps or opportunities
- Customer expectation management - Knowing industry standards helps set appropriate expectations
According to Price Intelligently, a leading SaaS pricing consultant, companies that regularly benchmark and optimize their pricing strategy see an average of 30% higher growth rates than those who set-and-forget their pricing.
Step 1: Identify Your True Competitors
Begin by creating a comprehensive list of competitors that fall into these categories:
Direct Competitors
These offer nearly identical solutions to yours. For example, if you're Asana, your direct competitors include Monday.com and ClickUp.
Indirect Competitors
These solve the same problem but with a different approach. For Asana, this might include Notion or even Trello, which approach project management differently.
Aspirational Competitors
Larger, more established players that you're aiming to compete with in the future.
"The most common mistake in competitive pricing analysis is focusing only on direct competitors while ignoring indirect ones that customers may be considering," notes Patrick Campbell, founder of ProfitWell.
Step 2: Analyze Competitor Pricing Page Elements
Create a spreadsheet to track these key elements across all competitors:
Pricing Model Analysis
- Subscription tiers (how many and what are they called?)
- Price points for each tier
- Annual vs. monthly pricing differentials
- Free trial or freemium offerings
- Enterprise or custom pricing options
Visual Design Elements
- Color schemes and emphasis techniques
- Location of CTAs and their wording
- Use of whitespace and hierarchy
- Mobile responsiveness
Feature Presentation
- How features are distributed across tiers
- Which features are highlighted vs. listed
- Use of tooltips or expandable sections
- How enterprise or advanced features are presented
Social Proof and Trust Signals
- Customer logos or testimonials
- Security badges or certifications
- Money-back guarantees
- Implementation or onboarding support
When Dropbox redesigned their pricing page after benchmarking competitors, they saw a 10% increase in conversion rates simply by reorganizing how features were presented across tiers, according to a case study by ConversionXL.
Step 3: Conduct Quantitative Pricing Analysis
Beyond the visual elements, you need to understand your position in the market from a pure pricing perspective:
- Calculate price per user for each tier to normalize comparisons
- Map feature availability across price points
- Identify price anchoring techniques (where a higher-priced option makes middle tiers seem more attractive)
- Analyze discounting approaches for annual commitments
- Evaluate add-on and upsell strategies
"The most successful SaaS pricing pages don't just show prices—they communicate value at each tier while creating clear upgrade paths," explains Lincoln Murphy, growth and customer success strategist.
Step 4: Evaluate User Experience Through Testing
Before finalizing your redesign:
Conduct Competitive Usability Testing
Have test users attempt to complete these tasks on both your current/proposed page and competitor pages:
- Find the price for X users
- Determine which plan includes a specific feature
- Understand the difference between two adjacent tiers
- Locate information about enterprise options
Use Heat Mapping and Session Recording
Tools like Hotjar or FullStory can reveal how users actually interact with your current pricing page versus their behavior on competitor pages (if available through public testing).
A study by the Nielsen Norman Group found that 80% of users expect to find pricing information easily, yet on 35% of SaaS sites, users struggled to understand the full pricing structure.
Step 5: Implement Your Redesign with Competitive Advantages in Mind
Based on your benchmarking, focus your redesign on these strategic elements:
Clear Differentiation
Highlight what makes your pricing model or feature distribution unique compared to competitors.
Value Articulation
Don't just list features—explain the value they deliver in ways your competitors don't.
Strategic Positioning
If you're more premium than competitors, emphasize quality and comprehensive features. If you're more affordable, highlight the value for money.
Simplification
If your research reveals competitors have overly complex pricing, make simplicity your advantage.
Intercom's pricing page redesign project resulted in a 60% increase in high-value conversions after they simplified their tiers based on competitive analysis and focused on communicating value more effectively than competitors.
Step 6: A/B Test Before Full Deployment
Before fully launching your redesigned pricing page:
- Split test key elements against your current page
- Measure impact on conversion rates for each tier
- Track changes in average contract value
- Monitor changes in upgrade/downgrade patterns
"The most effective pricing page redesigns are iterative, not revolutionary," notes Peep Laja, founder of CXL. "Test changes in small batches to understand exactly what moves the needle."
Step 7: Continuous Monitoring and Optimization
Competitive benchmarking isn't a one-time project:
- Set up quarterly competitive analyses to track changes
- Create alerts for competitor pricing changes (tools like Kompyte or Crayon can help)
- Conduct regular customer interviews to understand how they perceive your pricing versus competitors
- Schedule annual comprehensive redesign assessments
Conclusion: Beyond Simply Copying Competitors
The goal of benchmarking your SaaS pricing page against competitors isn't to copy them—it's to understand the competitive landscape so you can deliberately position yourself within it. The most successful SaaS companies use competitive insights to inform their unique approach, not replicate what's already in the market.
Your pricing page should ultimately reflect your unique value proposition and monetization strategy while meeting or exceeding the usability standards set by competitors. By following this benchmarking process, you'll ensure your pricing page redesign is strategic, data-informed, and positioned for maximum conversion.
Remember: your pricing page isn't just communicating cost—it's telling the story of your product's value in the context of your market position. Make it count.