B2B SaaS Pricing: Value Over Cost

B2B pricing shouldn’t reflect your costs. It should reflect the value customers receive. If your tool saves a company $100,000 in labor, pricing at $5,000 is cheap for them and lucrative for you.

Value-Based Pricing Logic

Businesses buy outcomes. They’re not paying for your server costs or development hours. They’re paying to increase revenue, reduce costs, or eliminate risks. Your price ceiling is a fraction of the value you create.

A tool that identifies sales leads drives revenue for its users. A tool that automates manual processes saves labor costs. A tool that prevents security breaches eliminates risk. Each value type supports different pricing anchors.

Case Study: BuiltWith

BuiltWith analyzes websites to identify their technology stacks. One employee. $14 million annual revenue.

The product isn’t selling technology data. It’s selling sales leads. B2B sales teams use BuiltWith to find prospects using specific technologies, then pitch related products. The subscription price reflects the value of those leads, not the cost of running website scans.

Usage-Based Models

API products naturally align with usage-based pricing. More API calls mean more value extracted. Pricing per request or per compute unit ensures customers who benefit more pay more.

Usage-based models also reduce purchase friction. Customers start small, scale as value proves out, and naturally expand their spending as their needs grow.

Avoiding the Low-Price Trap

Payment processor fees include fixed components. Stripe’s $0.30 per transaction means low-priced products surrender high percentage to fees. A $5 product loses 8% to fees; a $50 product loses under 4%.

B2B customers are less price sensitive than consumers. They’re buying with company money for business productivity. A $29/month tool that saves an hour per week pays for itself instantly. Price for the value delivered, not the minimum customers might accept.

Enterprise Upsells

Self-service products at $20-50/month can identify enterprise users through their usage patterns. A company using your tool extensively across many seats represents an upsell opportunity.

Convert these high-value users to enterprise contracts with custom terms, dedicated support, and premium pricing. The base product qualifies leads; enterprise sales capture maximum value.