Most SaaS products converge on 3 tiers: Starter / Growth / Enterprise. Here is what separates products that convert well from those that confuse buyers.
The 3-tier structure
Starter — designed to get users started quickly, often self-serve. - Price: $0–$49/month - Goal: activation, not revenue - Limits: usage caps that hit at the point of getting real value (e.g. 5 projects, 1,000 contacts)
Growth — designed for teams who have validated the product. - Price: $49–$249/month - Goal: expansion revenue, team adoption - Features: collaboration, integrations, priority support
Enterprise — designed for custom contracts and compliance requirements. - Price: custom / $1,000+/month - Goal: large contracts, security, SLA, dedicated support
Feature gating principles
- Gate on collaboration — solo users stay on Starter; teams upgrade
- Gate on volume — usage limits that hit when ROI is already proven
- Never gate on value-core features — if the core job-to-be-done is gated, free users never get the aha moment
- Transparent upgrade prompts — show the limit, show the value, show the price
Use the pricing tier comparison tool to model the revenue impact of different tier structures.