Swipe file
Value Stack Swipe File
A value stack is the offer's accounting: you list everything the buyer gets, name a credible per-item value, sum the total, then state the asking price as a fraction of that total. The patterns below differ in tone, item count, and how the math is anchored.
Verified · editorial policy
TL;DR
As of , the short version is: A value stack is the offer's accounting: you list everything the buyer gets, name a credible per-item value, sum the total, then state the asking price as a fraction of that total. The patterns below differ in tone, item count, and how the math is anchored.
Value Stack Swipe File TL;DR
- Element
- Value stacks
- TL;DR
- A value stack is the offer's accounting: you list everything the buyer gets, name a credible per-item value, sum the total, then state the asking price as a fraction of that total. The patterns below differ in tone, item count, and how the math is anchored.
- When to use
- When the buyer reaches the price and the price feels untethered (no reference for whether $49 is cheap or expensive). When the offer has multiple deliverables but they read as a feature list rather than a stack.
- When NOT to use
- When there's only one deliverable. A single-product offer doesn't stack; it just has a price. Forcing a stack on a one-item product reads as marketing theater.
- Brunson lens
- Offer
- Patterns
- 12 named patterns with formula + example + structural notes
- Last verified
- May 21, 2026
When to use
Rewrite this when
When the buyer reaches the price and the price feels untethered (no reference for whether $49 is cheap or expensive). When the offer has multiple deliverables but they read as a feature list rather than a stack.
Do NOT touch when
When there's only one deliverable. A single-product offer doesn't stack; it just has a price. Forcing a stack on a one-item product reads as marketing theater.
12 named patterns
Pattern 1
Total Vs Asking
Formula
'Total value: $<sum>. Today: $<asking>.'
Example
'Total value: $497. Today: $49. (90% off until June 30.)'
Why it works
The classic Brunson stack. Sum needs to be 5-10x the asking; the discount needs a real reason.
Pattern 2
Named + Priced List
Formula
'<Item 1, named> – $<value>. <Item 2> – $<value>. <Item 3> – $<value>.'
Example
'Diagnostic – $99. Playbook – $199. Weekly office hours – $199/month.'
Why it works
Each item gets a named value the buyer can verify (or at least imagine the alternative price for).
Pattern 3
Outcome-Per-Line
Formula
<Stack item 1> → <Outcome 1>. <Stack item 2> → <Outcome 2>.
Example
'Diagnostic → labels what's broken. Playbook → tells you what to fix first. Office hours → walks you through it.'
Why it works
Each line names an outcome, not a feature. Avoids the 'features list' trap.
Pattern 4
Time-Equivalent Stack
Formula
'<Item> – saves <time>. <Item 2> – saves <time>.'
Example
'Diagnostic – saves 4 weeks of guessing. Playbook – saves 6 weeks of trial-and-error. Office hours – saves 2 weeks of stuck.'
Why it works
Time-equivalent values for founders who hate dollar-anchoring. 'Saves 12 weeks total' lands harder than '$497 value'.
Pattern 5
Bonus Stack
Formula
'<Core product> + <Bonus 1> + <Bonus 2> + <Bonus 3>'
Example
'Playbook ($49) + Diagnostic ($99 bonus) + 30-day email checklist ($49 bonus) + Founders Discord ($19/month bonus).'
Why it works
Bonuses framed as additions. Each bonus needs a name and a value to count.
Pattern 6
Stack With Strikethrough
Formula
Stack items + visible strikethrough totals + final asking
Example
$497 $99 $19 $49 = ~~$664~~ → $49 today.
Why it works
Visual stack with strikethrough. Buyers see the math without reading the bullets.
Pattern 7
Cohort-Tailored Stack
Formula
'For <cohort>, the stack includes: <cohort-specific bonuses>.'
Example
'For SaaS founders, the stack also includes the SaaS-specific email sequence pack ($49 value).'
Why it works
Cohort-specific stack additions. Avoids one-size-fits-none stack lists.
Pattern 8
Lifetime Vs Recurring
Formula
'<Lifetime value> ÷ <Months> = $<per-month equivalent>.'
Example
'$2,940 lifetime value (5 years × $49/mo). Or $49/month, cancel anytime.'
Why it works
Long-term math for subscription products. Pairs with the cancel-anytime guarantee.
Pattern 9
Comparison Anchor
Formula
'<Competitor / alternative> charges $<higher price>. We charge $<asking>.'
Example
'A growth marketer charges $4,000 for an audit. Unlock SaaS does the diagnostic for $49.'
Why it works
External anchor instead of internal stack. Works when there's a recognizable comparable.
Pattern 10
Conditional Stack
Formula
'If you buy today, you also get <conditional bonus>.'
Example
'If you buy before May 31, you also get the live cohort call ($199 bonus).'
Why it works
Conditional stack item. The condition must be real (e.g. cohort closes).
Pattern 11
Stack + Risk-Reversal
Formula
<Stack> + <Money-back terms>
Example
'$497 of value for $49. 60-day money-back guarantee.'
Why it works
Stack paired with the guarantee. Both work harder together than separately.
Pattern 12
Founder Time Stack
Formula
'<Stack item> includes <founder time>'
Example
'Includes 1 hour of founder time per quarter ($497/hour). $1,988 of founder time per year, included.'
Why it works
Founder time priced explicitly. Works when the founder is genuinely available; fails if they're not.
Common implementation mistakes
- Value stack that adds up to less than 3x the asking price. Visitors expect at least a 5-10x stack-to-price ratio to feel like a deal.
- Inflating stack line values to absurd numbers ($10,000 worksheet). Buyers spot fake valuations and the stack loses all leverage.
- Stack items that aren't actually delivered. If the line is 'access to community ($297 value)' and there's no community, that's a one-strike trust kill.
- Listing the asking price between stack items instead of at the end. The math doesn't compound visually.
- Stack without a strikethrough or 'normally vs today' line. Without the contrast, the stack is just a feature list.
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 value stack demonstrates the pattern in a shipping product. Funnel-hack the real ones.
offer lens
Lemon Squeezy – Bundled compliance plus tooling
Lemon Squeezy sold a category swap (MoR), not a feature. The funnel reframes payments into compliance relief.
Explicit bundled value – the offer is 'payments + tax + compliance + analytics' in one stack-line.
From the teardown: Pricing bundles checkout, subscriptions, licensing, customer portal, and global tax compliance into one fee. The bundle hides the per-feature comparison and lets the buyer evaluate on outcome (compliance handled) rather than parts.
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. The stack math is implicit in the comparative anchor.
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
Beehiiv – Monetization stack as the upsell ladder
Beehiiv positions against Substack on creator monetization, not features. The funnel sells the upgrade path.
Monetization stack as upsell ladder. Each rung is a value-stack item priced separately but framed as one offer.
From the teardown: Each monetization feature (ad network, paid subscriptions, boosts) is positioned as a future-state benefit that grows with the creator. The reader signs up for a free newsletter platform and is then walked up the monetization ladder as the audience grows. The product itself IS the value ladder.
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 math the buyer would otherwise have to do.
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 value stack swipe file?
A value stack is the offer's accounting: you list everything the buyer gets, name a credible per-item value, sum the total, then state the asking price as a fraction of that total. The patterns below differ in tone, item count, and how the math is anchored.
When should I rewrite my value stack?
When the buyer reaches the price and the price feels untethered (no reference for whether $49 is cheap or expensive). When the offer has multiple deliverables but they read as a feature list rather than a stack.
When is the value stack not the right thing to fix?
When there's only one deliverable. A single-product offer doesn't stack; it just has a price. Forcing a stack on a one-item product reads as marketing theater.
Questions founders ask about value stack copy
How big should a value stack be relative to the asking price?
5-10x. Below 5x, the deal doesn't feel like a deal; above 10x, the math starts looking fabricated. Sweet spot is roughly 7x for indie SaaS at the $49-$199 tier.
How many items should a value stack have?
3-6 items. Fewer than 3 doesn't read as a stack; more than 6 starts feeling like marketing theater. Each item needs a name and a credible value.
Should the stack values be exact or rounded?
Specific over round. $199 reads more credible than $200; $1,747 reads more credible than $1,800. Round numbers signal fabrication.
Related Brunson terms
Apply these patterns to your live page
The free 90-second Launch Diagnostic checks whether the value stack is actually the broken step on your page, or whether the bottleneck is upstream.