Subscription pricing — when value or usage pricing feasibly exists — is one of the biggest blind spots in businesses.
It’s like a comfort blanket that turns into a straitjacket. Safe, predictable, reassuring… but slowly constrains your ability to adapt and compete. Why? Because customers are paying for access, not usage. Sooner or later: (a) they’ll realise that, or (b) a competitor will.
- Instead of Netflix charging £13/month regardless of how much I watch, imagine a per-minute model with a cap I control. Flexible to my life, mood, or budget.
- Instead of gyms charging me to feel guilty for skipping leg day, let me tap in and out. Pay-per-visit. Per-minute, even. The tech exists.
- Instead of Google One charging a flat fee for 100GB when I use 10, charge me per GB. Let me set a budget. Warn me if I’m close.
These aren’t complaints. They’re cautionary tales of a system built on breakage.
Consumers are paying for what they don’t use. And many businesses aren’t just fine with that — they’re banking on it.
Why it matters
Flat subscriptions create behaviours not in customers’ best interests:
- People binge content they don’t care about, because they can, and to get their money’s worth.
- They hoard subscriptions out of inertia, then resent them.
- They avoid trying new services, because doubling up feels financially reckless.
If you’re clinging to a blunt subscription model, you’ll forever be in a churn war.
Flip it. Pick a different battle.
Instead of a churn war, opt for a usage war: “How do we get customers to use this more?” (Easy answer: give them more value.)
What current subscription businesses can do
1. Re-evaluate your value unit. What are customers really paying for? Is there a more direct way to charge for that? Time, actions, usage, outcomes?
2. Pressure-test feasibility. Could a usage-based or hybrid model work with your current delivery, even imperfectly? Don’t dismiss models just because of today’s limitations. Those are solvable.
3. Talk to customers. Would they prefer it? What concerns would they have? What features — usage caps, real-time alerts — might you need to build to make it safe and empowering?
4. Pilot with a segment. Start with a usage-based tier or “lite” plan. Analyse activation, engagement, and LTV, not just top-line revenue.
5. Manage pricing like product. Iterate. Test. Kill what doesn’t work. Price is a feature. Treat it like one.
The frame shift
Pricing isn’t just how you capture value. It’s how you signal value, and how you invite usage.
This is the swap worth making:
- Lock-in → opt-in
- Nudging for retention → earning it through usage
- Flat-rate fiction → flexible pricing that reflects reality