What is tiered pricing?

The two meanings

In service proposals, tiered pricing usually means packages: a small, middle and large version of the offer at fixed prices. In software and wholesale it often means volume tiers, where the price per unit depends on how many units are bought. Stripe's pricing model documentation describes two volume forms, graduated pricing, where each band of units is charged at its own rate, and volume pricing, where the whole quantity is charged at the rate of the band it lands in. This page is mainly about packages.

Why packages work

A single price invites comparison with a competitor's single price. Three tiers shift the comparison inside your own offer: the client compares Starter with Growth, not you with someone else. Harvard Business Review's article on the good better best approach describes how a range of offers lets customers self select by what they value and are willing to pay, rather than the seller guessing. The middle tier often becomes the anchor that the other two are judged against.

How to design the tiers

Build the middle tier first around what most clients actually need. Strip it back to a genuine, smaller Starter that still solves the problem, and extend it to a Premium that adds things some clients really want, such as copywriting or ongoing support. Make each step up a clear reason, not a list of extras padded to justify the price. In the worked table, Growth adds a booking form and custom design, and Premium adds the writing and support that a busy clinic would otherwise do itself.

Common mistakes

Too many tiers, which turns a simple choice into research. Tiers that differ only in quantity, such as five pages against seven, which invites haggling instead of choosing. A Starter so stripped back that it fails the client, which damages the reputation of every tier. Prices that step up unevenly without a reason. And presenting tiers in a quote that the client cannot actually choose between without asking for a new document.

Where it shows up in the product

The proposals module puts exactly one pricing table in each proposal, and the client's only choices on it are optional items and editable quantities: optional items are selected by default and the client can untick them, and the totals update as they do. So packages are usually described in the proposal text with the chosen tier priced in the table, or built as a base package plus step up items marked optional. Items can carry a group label to keep each tier's lines together.

Questions people ask