Pricing & plans 101: Pricing models
Optimize your subscription plan architecture using Recurly’s five pricing models: fixed, ramp, tiered, volume, and stairstep. Learn how each subscription billing structure calculates unit charges, handles volume thresholds, and aligns recurring revenue directly with your product’s value metrics.
Acquire · Pricing & Plans 101
Pricing models
Recurly supports five pricing models — from flat fixed pricing to usage-based and quantity-scaled approaches. This page covers how each model works, how they calculate charges differently, and which fits which business scenario.
Navigation Menu
Navigate Home
Pricing models
The five pricing models
Pricing models are set at the plan level and determine how the charge amount is calculated each billing period. You select a model when creating a plan — it cannot be changed after the plan is created. Choose the model that matches how your product delivers value.
Fixed pricing
Available on all plansA set amount charged every billing period, regardless of usage or quantity. The simplest and most common model. Price is defined once on the plan; every subscriber pays the same amount.
Example: A streaming service charges $12.99/month. Every subscriber on that plan pays $12.99 regardless of how many hours they watch.
Best for: Any business where the product delivers consistent value independent of usage — media, SaaS tools, memberships.
Ramp pricing
Professional and Elite plans onlyA series of price points — called ramp intervals — that change automatically over a subscription's billing periods. Prices can step up (introductory offer that increases over time) or step down (loyalty pricing that rewards long-term subscribers). Up to 12 intervals per plan.
Example: A SaaS product charges $29/month for the first 3 months, then $49/month thereafter. The price increase happens automatically at the configured interval — no manual intervention required.
Best for: Reducing sign-up friction with an introductory rate; rewarding long-term subscribers with loyalty pricing.
Tiered pricing
Available on all plansUnits are charged at the rate of the tier they fall into. Each tier has its own per-unit rate — units in the first tier are charged at one rate, units in the second tier at a different (usually lower) rate. Different portions of the total quantity are priced differently.
Example: $1.00/unit for the first 100 units, $0.50/unit for units 101–500, $0.25/unit above 500. A subscriber using 300 units pays: (100 × $1.00) + (200 × $0.50) = $200.
Best for: Usage-based products where you want customers to feel a direct reward as they consume more — API calls, emails sent, transactions processed.
Volume pricing
Available on all plansThe entire quantity is priced at the rate of the highest tier reached — not just the units above the threshold. All units get the lower rate once the volume threshold is crossed, making this a stronger bulk incentive than tiered pricing.
Example: $10/seat for 1–20 seats, $9/seat for 21+ seats. A subscriber with 21 seats pays 21 × $9 = $189 — all seats at the lower rate, not just seat 21.
Best for: Per-seat or per-unit models where you want to incentivize bulk purchases and reward customers who commit to higher quantities upfront.
Stairstep pricing
Available on all plansA flat rate for a defined quantity range, regardless of the exact quantity within that range. The price jumps to the next step's flat rate when the quantity exceeds the threshold — the rate applies to all units, not incrementally.
Example: $50 for 1–10 seats, $100 for 11–20 seats, $150 for 21+ seats. A subscriber with 25 seats pays a flat $150 — the same as a subscriber with 50 seats in that tier.
Best for: Seat-based SaaS, storage tiers, or any scenario where customers select a package size and you want predictable, flat-rate pricing per tier.
Model comparison at a glance
The three quantity-based models — tiered, volume, and stairstep — are easy to confuse. Here's how they differ when a subscriber purchases 25 units, with tiers at 1–10, 11–20, and 21+:
| Model | Unit calcuations | Totals |
|---|---|---|
| Tiered | Units 1–10 at $5, units 11–20 at $4, units 21–25 at $3 | $50 + $40 + $15 = $105 |
| Volume | All 25 units at the 21+ rate of $3 | 25 × $3 = $75 |
| Stairstep | Flat rate for the 21–30 tier (if defined), regardless of exact quantity | Flat $X for the tier — exact quantity doesn't change the charge |
Because volume pricing applies the lower rate to all units once the threshold is crossed, customers who are close to a tier boundary have a strong reason to push over it. Tiered pricing rewards incremental consumption; volume pricing rewards commitment to a quantity level.
Choosing the right model
Decision guide
- Your product charges a consistent amount each period regardless of usage → Fixed pricing. Start here if you're unsure.
- You want to lower friction at signup with an introductory price that ramps up → Ramp pricing. Requires Professional or Elite plan.
- You charge based on consumption and want customers to pay less per unit as they use more — with different rates at different tiers → Tiered pricing.
- You charge per seat or unit and want everyone at a given quantity level to pay the same per-unit rate → Volume pricing.
- You sell in packages and want a flat rate per tier regardless of exact quantity → Stairstep pricing.
Once a plan is saved with a pricing model, you cannot change it. If you need a different model, create a new plan. Test your model in a sandbox environment before creating live plans with active subscribers.
Not sure which model fits your business?
Pricing model decisions have long-term implications for billing, reporting, and subscriber experience. Bring your scenario to Global Office Hours and work through it live with a Recurly CSM.
Register for Office Hours →