Basecamp's pricing page is worth “stealing”
1/ Sets customer expectations
2/ Creates comparison
3/ Anchors customers to higher price
Really smart. If I ran an “all-in-one” SaaS product I'd be tempted to “steal” this :)
But, judging by the comments make up your own mind. Marketing would be boring if everyone agreed 😂
Trending on Indie Hackers
Protect your momentum like your life depends on It
Opsgenie vs. Splunk: Choosing the Right Incident Management Solution
If this was purely a sales/marketing page, cognitive overload world definitely apply. But it’s not a sales page. This page is a utility.
People view a pricing page because they want to know what it will cost them. Then in their head they’re going to be making comparisons based on what they know of other products... this is a lot of cognitive load because they’re trying to visualize what’s not there.
But on this page, the cognitive load is reduced because they’ve anticipated your need to compare prices and delivered the info for you.
I think it’s brilliant. And I’m a staunch minimalist.
Well said. They do a great job of showcasing the value that the all in one solution will provide. Also, they show you how adding users to those other products will increase the price. Something the average person might not immediately think about.
didn't think of this either. point well made Dustin
Feels like SaaS products now fall under two categories: "simplify your tool stack with this all-in-one" vs "improve your existing workflow with this tool that integrates."
I agree with you that this layout does a good job presenting the all-in-one argument in terms of pricing. I also agree with others that it does feel like cognitive overload, a common theme across all of Basecamp's marketing pages. You'd think that would show up in Basecamp's AB testing, but maybe there are SEO perks that outweigh the overload and they get signups based on search and demos.
Hmm, maybe the cognitive overload is intentional and brings more sign-ups. I know the common wisdom is that it results in paralysis. Yet, I can think spontaneously of two reactions in those situations.
Maybe it's like this "add a lot of numbers and information"-thing which persuades people.
Would love to see some tests on that.
Can you give some example products on "improve your existing workflow with this tool that integrates." ? and any idea what is driving that category?
Just curious.
Nice summary.
I don't think there's any SEO perks. This pricing section is actually quite far down the page.
I'm also not a huge fan of this, I think it could be much simpler. I'd be curious to know if Basecamp had A/B tested this and found success with it.
Emphasizing the fact that it's $99 total for all users might be more impactful, so perhaps that could be more prominently displayed?
And I guess that the vast majority of people who sign up for Basecamp don't immediately cancel their Slack, Dropbox, Asana, and Google all on the same day, so it creates a disingenuous comparison.
There are 13 different numbers displayed when all that's needed is one.
@cbartlett - well put. Could not agree more.
A simple table mentioning for 5 users - we cost $99 and it costs $200+ spread amongst 5 application should be the start.
All very valid points, there Colin. Cheers. I'm unsure whether they've A/B tested.
My rebuttal would be $99 on it's own has no context. As a customer I don't whether that's a lot or a little. The comparison gives it context. It walks the customer through the purchase.
In my experience A/B testing can lead to some very intuitive and surprising results.
I once saw results from several A/B test which heavily favored conversions on an extremely outdated and what almost anyone would consider ugly design on an ecommerce site.
Turns out the users who saw attractive design perceived it as a premium offering and thus assumed premium prices. When users saw a bunch of 1998 looking html/css, they assumed the business was poorly run, everything out of date, and the offerings were at the discount end of the spectrum and presumably good deals. The prices were the same on both designs.
Good point! Maybe some simpler or even more direct comparison would work better. Showing just the price comparison to Asana would be interesting. Or maybe a little calculator where you drag your number of users up would convert well.
Also not a fan of it. It is a decent comparison page for the items you pointed out, but for a pricing page it immediately gives the Prospect a reason to disagree with Basecamp because of the major assumptions this page makes.
Example; I may not use one of those other tools and I may not be able to give up Gsuite because it is also for my email, making the cost about the same. So I immediately disregard the numbers stated and I might even have some distrust for the brand as it is trying to convince me of it's value, which I now disagree with, instead of simply showing me the software's price which is all I want to see when I go to the page
haha! more valid points. Cheers. I'm exhausted. But I do love how much phycology there is to a pricing page. I wouldn't have thought of this myself.
Definitely an interesting setup, and you did a great job commenting on the strong points of it.
I can also see it work well as a 'below the fold' section on a pricing page to not distract from the main Price and Features and instead be more additional information for the curious
Thank's for sharing, interesting to hear how people comment on this.
About being a cognitive overload I agree. For me it's (-3).
But, the Basecamp rebelness and going against the rules for me is (+10).
So I end up still loving what they do quite a lot (+7).
A lot can be learned from them, for sure. Plus, the numbers and movement behind this brand is something that cannot be ignored.
Gheez, I haven't used Basecamp since 2015! The pricing page is a cool way of boasting their pricing strategy but might not always be applicable. What if I use Google Drive vs DropBox.....or not all the apps? Trello is a free alternative to Asana.
It could be a hit or miss in its appeal.
I have a hypothesis -- their anchoring doesn't work as well as it should normally.
Companies that are using those 4 products (and paying for them) most likely have the need and/or budget for those products.
Basecamp historically targeted SMBs, users who don't need those four products, or get 3/4 of them for free (asana has a very limited free plan).
They are saying "pay Basecamp $99 vs. hypothetical $200 elsewhere," but it doesn't work because they are not comparing apples to apples.
First class ticket on Emirates costs $25,000 , but you can fly there in coach for only $499. You are getting a deal! But saying that you can also take a cruise, and spend 3 months in the sea, for a small price for $1499, that doesn't sound as appealing.
Just a theory...
Basecamp is a unique company that is able to provide extreme value even against large competitors all the while still being profitable. I don't think this will be applicable for most startups and also risky to blindly "steal" stuff.
I can see how it would resonate for customers who are tired of random pricing and just want something more fixed or ratable.
Interesting seeing other peoples opinion though, shows that there is no 1 size fits all!
also what I've realised
I always loved how 27 Signals, now BaseCamp does things. They did not follow anyone and instead rewrote the rules. There are many things great about their website. It only serves to sign people up.
this is how i feel. but obviously a lot of people think there's too much going on
I love the Basecamp books, but have never been a fan of their products or design.
This feels like serious cognitive overload, same as the Basecamp homepage, just full of overwhelming clutter.
Everyone has an opinion when it comes to pricing 🤣
I think the flat rate is the biggest standout of this. Looks so simple and yet goes most of the pricing advice out there.
I like the idea, but it feels like it can be done better. Convey the same information in a more simple and clean way.
Totally agree. I like their strategy, it's amazing!
I really like the concept here and there's a lot I love about their pricing page, the comparison table especially. But the entire page is information overload and text heavy with not enough spacing and breaks between sections (IMO).
Having a dynamic comparison calculator would be something cool to include for teams.
This comment was deleted 2 years ago.
fair point - there is a lot going on (although, personally I'm still a fan)
Perhaps my highlights add to the overload. I've shrunk the width also to make the diagram fit.
This comment was deleted 2 years ago.
How is it cognitive overload? Seems pretty simple to me...
This comment was deleted 2 years ago.
Everyone can have their opinion. If you don't understand the value of basecamp pricing pages, your refrence became useless.
And they got a lot customer from their cognitive overload pricing pages:)
This comment was deleted 2 years ago.