For those running a freemium model, how do you prevent too many users from staying on the free plan forever and never converting to paid?

Below is a concise answer based on the insights from our pricing strategy book, Price to Scale:

Direct your product development roadmap so that the free version is valuable enough to attract users while the premium tier contains must-have features that truly drive additional value. As noted in Price to Scale (see page 137), the freemium model influenced the product development focus by encouraging teams to create features that entice free users to upgrade.
Create a clear functional split: ensure that the free plan satisfies basic needs, but reserve high-value or advanced functionalities exclusively for paid tiers. This helps maintain a user experience that is compelling enough to nudge users over the conversion threshold.
Consider adding incremental friction (or limits) on the free plan once users hit a certain level of usage, while simultaneously highlighting the benefits of your premium offerings. This strategy—when paired with continued enhancement of premium features—helps balance the number of free users and paid users.

In summary, to prevent too many users from remaining on the free plan indefinitely, Price to Scale recommends a dual approach: design your free offering to attract users and then deliberately develop premium features that create a compelling case for conversion.

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