The Mistake
We launched at $9/month because it felt accessible. We thought low price = more customers = more growth. The opposite happened.
At $9/month we attracted customers who:
- Needed a lot of support for every tiny feature
- Churned the moment they hit a limitation
- Asked us to add features we didn't want to build
- Complained constantly about value
Six months in, we had 200 customers paying $9. That's $1,800 MRR with a churn rate of 18% monthly. We were running backwards.
The Experiment
We raised the price to $29/month for all new customers. Kept existing customers at $9.
First month at $29: Signups dropped 40%. We panicked.
Revenue went up 60%. The customers who signed up at $29:
- Asked better questions
- Needed less support
- Stayed longer
- Gave better feedback
What Actually Happened to Churn
At $9: 18% monthly churn (customers don't think twice about cancelling — it costs less than a meal)
At $29: 6% monthly churn (people actually try to get value before leaving)
The Pricing Principle We Learned
Price communicates positioning. $9 says "cheap tool." $29 says "I should use this properly." Your price shapes how customers treat your product.
The right question is not "what can I charge without losing customers?" It is "what price attracts customers who will actually succeed with my product?"
What We'd Do Differently
Start at $49. Not $9. Not $29. $49. Then offer a 14-day free trial instead of a free tier. Free tiers attract non-buyers. Trials convert real buyers who need a deadline.
