How to Test Your Laboratory SaaS Pricing Strategy for Optimal Results

August 11, 2025

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In the competitive landscape of laboratory management solutions, finding the right pricing strategy can make or break your SaaS offering. Laboratory software companies often struggle with pricing optimization—balancing value perception, market positioning, and revenue goals. This challenge becomes even more complex when considering the unique needs of laboratories handling sample tracking and results management.

Why Pricing Strategy Matters for Laboratory SaaS

Laboratory software pricing isn't just about setting a number. It's a strategic decision that communicates your product's value, influences adoption rates, and ultimately determines your profitability. According to a study by Price Intelligently, a mere 1% improvement in pricing can yield an 11.1% increase in profits—substantially more impact than improvements in acquisition or retention efforts.

For laboratory management systems specifically, pricing strategy becomes particularly important because:

  • Labs operate with varying budgets depending on industry sector (academic, healthcare, pharma, etc.)
  • Purchase decisions often involve multiple stakeholders with different priorities
  • The perceived value of features like sample tracking and results management varies widely among user types

Common Laboratory SaaS Pricing Models

Before testing your pricing strategy, understand the standard models in the laboratory software market:

1. Per-User Subscription Pricing

This model charges based on the number of users accessing the system. It works well for laboratory environments where team size correlates with value received.

Example: LabWare LIMS offers tiered per-user pricing that scales with organization size.

2. Feature-Based Tiering

This approach segments pricing tiers based on feature access, often creating "Basic," "Professional," and "Enterprise" levels that unlock more sophisticated sample tracking and results management capabilities.

Example: BaseSpace from Illumina implements feature-based subscription pricing where advanced analytics features are available in higher tiers.

3. Usage-Based Pricing

Some laboratory SaaS providers charge based on actual system usage—number of samples tracked, tests run, or data storage consumed.

Example: Benchling's pricing incorporates usage elements like the number of experimental entries and sample records managed.

4. Hybrid Models

Many successful laboratory software providers use hybrid approaches, combining a base subscription fee with usage-based components or feature tiers.

How to Conduct Pricing Strategy Tests

Now for the practical implementation—how do you test which laboratory SaaS pricing approach works best? Here's a systematic approach:

1. Establish Clear Metrics

Before testing, define what success looks like:

  • Conversion rate (trial-to-paid)
  • Average revenue per user (ARPU)
  • Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
  • Customer lifetime value (CLTV)
  • Churn rate

These metrics will help you objectively evaluate pricing experiments.

2. Segment Your Market

Laboratory customers aren't homogeneous. A pricing strategy that works for pharmaceutical labs might fail in academic settings. Segment potential customers by:

  • Industry sector
  • Lab size
  • Core functions (research, testing, clinical, etc.)
  • Budget constraints
  • Feature priorities in sample tracking and results management

3. A/B Test Your Pricing Page

According to research by ConversionXL, A/B testing pricing pages can increase conversions by up to 25%. Consider testing:

  • Different price points for the same offering
  • Various pricing structures (monthly vs. annual)
  • Presentation of features in pricing tiers
  • Promotional offers and discounts

Implementation tip: Use tools like Optimizely or Google Optimize to direct different segments of your traffic to alternate pricing pages.

4. Conduct Customer Interviews

Quantitative testing should be complemented by qualitative insights. According to Price Intelligently, companies should conduct at least 30 customer interviews when establishing pricing strategy.

Ask specific questions like:

  • "What would you expect to pay for our laboratory management solution?"
  • "Which features of our sample tracking system provide the most value to your operation?"
  • "At what price point would our results management solution become too expensive to consider?"

5. Use the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter

This methodology helps identify optimal pricing by asking potential customers four key questions:

  1. At what price would you consider the product to be so expensive that you would not consider buying it? (Too expensive)
  2. At what price would you consider the product to be priced so low that you would feel the quality couldn't be very good? (Too cheap)
  3. At what price would you consider the product starting to get expensive, but you still might consider it? (Expensive/High Side)
  4. At what price would you consider the product to be a bargain—a great buy for the money? (Inexpensive/Good Value)

The intersection points of these responses provide valuable pricing thresholds for your laboratory software.

Case Study: How One Laboratory SaaS Company Optimized Their Pricing

BioTrack, a mid-sized laboratory management software company, struggled with pricing strategy until implementing a systematic testing approach. Their initial subscription pricing model was a flat $500/month regardless of lab size or usage.

After market segmentation research, they identified three distinct customer profiles with different needs around sample tracking and results management. They tested three pricing approaches:

  1. Tiered pricing based on user count
  2. Modular pricing allowing labs to pay only for needed features
  3. Base subscription + per-sample fee

The testing revealed that academic labs preferred option #2, clinical labs converted best with option #1, and research-intensive commercial labs saw the most value in option #3.

By implementing segment-specific pricing approaches, BioTrack increased their overall conversion rate by 32% and boosted ARPU by 47% within six months.

Implementation Guidelines for Pricing Tests

When testing laboratory SaaS pricing strategies, keep these principles in mind:

1. Test One Variable at a Time

Changing multiple pricing elements simultaneously makes it impossible to determine which change drove results.

2. Ensure Statistical Significance

According to pricing consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners, you need approximately 100 conversions per variation to draw statistically valid conclusions from pricing tests.

3. Consider the Full Customer Journey

Pricing doesn't exist in isolation. Monitor how changes affect not just initial conversion but ongoing satisfaction with your laboratory management solution.

4. Analyze by Customer Segment

Aggregate results can mask important segment-specific insights. Track how different lab types respond to your pricing tests.

5. Grandfather Existing Customers

When implementing pricing changes, consider maintaining legacy pricing for existing customers to avoid disruption.

Conclusion: Continuous Optimization is Key

Pricing strategy testing isn't a one-time exercise but an ongoing process of optimization. The laboratory software market continues to evolve, with changing expectations around sample tracking capabilities, results management features, and integration requirements.

The most successful laboratory SaaS providers approach pricing as a dynamic element of their product strategy, continuously testing and refining their approach based on market feedback and performance data.

By implementing a systematic approach to pricing strategy testing, you not only improve immediate revenue metrics but build a sustainable competitive advantage in the laboratory management software market.

Ready to optimize your laboratory SaaS pricing strategy? Start by segmenting your market, establishing clear metrics, and running controlled tests to discover the approach that best communicates your value to the right customers.

Get Started with Pricing Strategy Consulting

Join companies like Zoom, DocuSign, and Twilio using our systematic pricing approach to increase revenue by 12-40% year-over-year.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
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