Swipe file
Pricing Table Swipe File
A pricing table sells the middle option by setting up the high and low options around it. The job isn't to list plans; it's to make one obvious choice obviously correct. Founders who treat it as a feature matrix lose buyers to analysis paralysis.
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TL;DR
As of , the short version is: A pricing table sells the middle option by setting up the high and low options around it. The job isn't to list plans; it's to make one obvious choice obviously correct. Founders who treat it as a feature matrix lose buyers to analysis paralysis.
Pricing Table Swipe File TL;DR
- Element
- Pricing tables
- TL;DR
- A pricing table sells the middle option by setting up the high and low options around it. The job isn't to list plans; it's to make one obvious choice obviously correct. Founders who treat it as a feature matrix lose buyers to analysis paralysis.
- When to use
- When traffic reaches /pricing but conversion stalls. When founders have three tiers but the same plan converts at roughly the same rate as the cheapest one, indicating the table failed to anchor.
- When NOT to use
- When the offer isn't clear yet. A pricing table is downstream of a clear offer; rebuilding the table without fixing the offer is rearranging deck chairs.
- Brunson lens
- Offer
- Patterns
- 12 named patterns with formula + example + structural notes
- Last verified
- May 21, 2026
When to use
Rewrite this when
When traffic reaches /pricing but conversion stalls. When founders have three tiers but the same plan converts at roughly the same rate as the cheapest one, indicating the table failed to anchor.
Do NOT touch when
When the offer isn't clear yet. A pricing table is downstream of a clear offer; rebuilding the table without fixing the offer is rearranging deck chairs.
12 named patterns
Pattern 1
Anchor-Decoy-Target
Formula
<Decoy: too cheap>, <Target: best value>, <Anchor: high>
Example
Starter $1 / Core $49 (highlighted) / Concierge $499. Core is highlighted; Concierge anchors the value.
Why it works
The high anchor makes the middle feel reasonable. The low decoy frames the middle as 'real product'.
Pattern 2
Two-Column Outcome
Formula
<Solo plan> vs <Team plan>
Example
Founder plan ($49/mo) vs Small Team plan ($149/mo). Two columns, outcome-named, no feature matrix.
Why it works
Two clear cohorts beat three muddled tiers. Naming the cohort on the column header does the qualifying.
Pattern 3
Single Column + Stack
Formula
<Plan> – everything included, full stack listed
Example
One plan, $49/month. Includes: diagnostic, playbook, weekly office hours. Total value: $497, paid as $49/month.
Why it works
When the offer is good, simplicity beats choice. The stack does the value-justification.
Pattern 4
Tripwire + Core
Formula
<Tripwire: $1-$27> + <Core: $49+>
Example
Diagnostic $1 (one-time) + Playbook $49/month. Tripwire seeds the buyer relationship.
Why it works
Splits the conversion: the visitor commits at $1, then upgrades. Avoids the binary signup-or-leave choice.
Pattern 5
Monthly / Annual Toggle
Formula
<Monthly> / <Annual at 17% discount>
Example
$49/month or $490/year (2 months free). Toggle defaults to annual.
Why it works
The discount frames annual as the smart choice. Default to annual to bias toward higher LTV.
Pattern 6
Per-Seat with Floor
Formula
$<price> per seat, minimum <N> seats
Example
$15 per seat per month, minimum 3 seats. Bills $45 base.
Why it works
Floor protects unit economics on small teams. Per-seat scales with the customer's win.
Pattern 7
Usage-Based with Free Tier
Formula
Free up to <threshold>, then $<price> per <unit>
Example
Free up to 100 diagnostics/month, then $0.10 per additional diagnostic.
Why it works
Activation is free, monetization scales with usage. Threshold should be high enough for real validation.
Pattern 8
Outcome-Tier Naming
Formula
<Outcome 1 name> / <Outcome 2 name> / <Outcome 3 name>
Example
Validate / Launch / Scale. Each tier is named by the outcome it delivers, not by the user type.
Why it works
Outcome-named tiers earn higher upgrade rates. Buyers move 'when I'm ready to launch', not 'when I'm a Pro user'.
Pattern 9
Highlight + Tag
Formula
<Middle tier> with 'Most popular' or 'Best value' tag
Example
Three tiers, middle one has 'Most popular' badge and a colored border.
Why it works
Social-proof signal without proof. Use only if it's actually the most popular tier; lying here is a trust kill.
Pattern 10
Trial + Money-Back
Formula
<Plan price> with <14-day free trial OR 60-day money-back>
Example
$49/month with a 60-day money-back guarantee. No trial, just refund if you don't ship.
Why it works
Money-back beats trials for SaaS where activation takes weeks. Avoids the trial-period-ending churn cliff.
Pattern 11
Capacity-Based
Formula
<Plan> – up to <N> <unit>
Example
Starter: up to 1,000 monthly diagnostics. Pro: up to 10,000. Scale: unlimited.
Why it works
Clear delineation, no feature-checkmark matrix. Upgrade trigger is hitting the cap, which is observable.
Pattern 12
Founder-Discount Bridge
Formula
Public price <$> / Founder price <$> (early-stage discount)
Example
Public $99/month. Founders price: $49/month for life if you sign up before [date].
Why it works
Cohort-specific pricing builds an identity tier. Works for the first 100-1000 buyers; retire the bridge after.
Common implementation mistakes
- Five tiers when three would work. Each extra column drops conversion by adding decision load.
- Highlighting the most expensive tier as 'most popular' when it isn't. Trust kill if a buyer asks support.
- Feature checkmarks without grouping. Visitors need to scan checkmark patterns; group features into 3-5 outcome groups.
- Annual savings expressed in dollars rather than months free. '$98 off' lands softer than '2 months free'.
- Pricing only in dollars when 60 percent of buyers are international. Use a currency switcher or show local price via Geo-IP.
Real examples from indie SaaS teardowns
Pattern names above are illustrative. These are real, named, dated funnels from the Unlock SaaS teardown set where the pricing table demonstrates the pattern in a shipping product. Funnel-hack the real ones.
offer lens
Tally – Price ladder where the floor is the offer
Tally turns the freemium ceiling into the headline. The funnel is the price line.
Price ladder where the floor IS the offer. Free tier is not a trial, it's the product.
From the teardown: The free tier is not a trial. It is the offer. The paid tier is a small upsell for users who already shipped a form and discovered which Pro feature they want. This inverts the standard SaaS funnel: instead of leading with a paid plan and discounting, Tally leads with the free plan and lets usage expose the paid tier's value.
offer lens
Cal.com – Hosted plus self-host two-track
Cal.com sells the open-source alternative to Calendly. The repo IS the trust signal.
Hosted plus self-host two-track. Both paths are first-class, not 'enterprise vs SMB'.
From the teardown: Same dual-track as Plausible: hosted SaaS for the easy buyer, self-host for the principled buyer. Most self-hosters return to the hosted tier when the maintenance cost exceeds the subscription cost. The two-track offer captures both buyer types without forcing a choice at first contact.
offer lens
Mintlify – Free for open source plus seat-based for teams
Mintlify made beautiful docs a category. The funnel demos itself.
Free for open source plus seat-based for teams. Cohort-tiered pricing without forcing the matrix.
From the teardown: Free for open-source projects acquires the developer credibility flywheel; seat-based pricing for teams captures the paid revenue. The free tier produces the visible customer aesthetic that sells the paid tier.
offer lens
Loops – All-in-one priced like a single SaaS tool
Loops sells the SaaS-specific email job. The funnel ignores marketers and talks to founders.
All-in-one priced like a single SaaS tool. Three columns would have diluted the positioning.
From the teardown: Bundling transactional and marketing email at one price escapes the per-feature comparison against Postmark plus Mailchimp. The bundle pricing is the differentiator, not the feature parity.
offer lens
Polar – Single price line for a bundled outcome
Polar bundled MoR plus creator monetization into a single sell. The funnel targets the open-source maintainer specifically.
Single price line for a bundled outcome. The bundle does the value-stack math implicitly.
From the teardown: Pricing is a single percentage with MoR included. There is no per-feature breakdown to compare against Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, or GitHub Sponsors directly. The single line forces the buyer to evaluate on the bundle outcome.
Which Brunson job does this element do?
This element sits in the Offerlens. Knowing the lens tells you what the element is supposed to accomplish, not just what shape it takes – so you don’t rewrite a Story element using Hook tactics or vice versa.
People also ask
What is a pricing table swipe file?
A pricing table sells the middle option by setting up the high and low options around it. The job isn't to list plans; it's to make one obvious choice obviously correct. Founders who treat it as a feature matrix lose buyers to analysis paralysis.
When should I rewrite my pricing table?
When traffic reaches /pricing but conversion stalls. When founders have three tiers but the same plan converts at roughly the same rate as the cheapest one, indicating the table failed to anchor.
When is the pricing table not the right thing to fix?
When the offer isn't clear yet. A pricing table is downstream of a clear offer; rebuilding the table without fixing the offer is rearranging deck chairs.
Questions founders ask about pricing table copy
Should I show pricing publicly or behind a 'contact us' button?
Show it publicly for any plan under $1,000/month. Hidden pricing under that threshold signals 'too small for us' and costs more in lost trust than it gains in qualified leads.
How many pricing tiers is too many?
Three is the working maximum for self-serve SaaS. Four or more multiplies decision load without adding qualified buyers. If you need a fourth tier, it belongs in a separate 'Enterprise' surface.
Should the annual discount default to 'on' in the toggle?
Yes for SaaS aiming at higher LTV. The annual default frames it as the normal choice. Buyers who specifically want monthly will still find the toggle.
Related Brunson terms
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