An indie SaaS at $49/month with healthy retention is worth roughly $1,500 to $2,500 per customer to a potential acquirer. The same $49 sold as a $199 lifetime is worth $199 once.

Lifetime buyers also have the highest support cost-to-revenue ratio – they own the product forever but stopped paying years ago.

If your goal is one-time cash injection (not LTV), the right tool is a tripwire ($1 to $27 one-shot), not a lifetime core offer.

Should I Charge Monthly or Lifetime? (Answer)

No

Verdict

No to lifetime – lifetime kills the asset's compounding revenue.

TL;DR

Question: Should I charge monthly or lifetime?
Verdict: No – No to lifetime – lifetime kills the asset's compounding revenue.
Category: pricing
Last verified: May 22, 2026

Direct answer

As of May 22, 2026, the answer is: Charge monthly. Lifetime pricing is a one-shot cash injection that destroys the compounding LTV that makes SaaS valuable. The exception is a deliberate lifetime promo during launch to seed early users and testimonials – capped at 50 to 100 buyers and run for 14 to 30 days only. Beyond that, lifetime structurally caps the business's value.

Why

An indie SaaS at $49/month with healthy retention is worth roughly $1,500 to $2,500 per customer to a potential acquirer. The same $49 sold as a $199 lifetime is worth $199 once.
Lifetime buyers also have the highest support cost-to-revenue ratio – they own the product forever but stopped paying years ago.
If your goal is one-time cash injection (not LTV), the right tool is a tripwire ($1 to $27 one-shot), not a lifetime core offer.

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