"Just $19/month!"
You've seen this pitch a hundred times. A shiny new tool promises to solve your problems at an unbeatable price. You sign up, integrate it into your workflow, train your team, become dependent on it.
Then, 18 months later: "We're excited to announce new pricing!"
Your $19/month plan is now $79/month. Or it's been discontinued entirely. Or it now charges per user, per post, per platform, per breath you take.
This is the SaaS bait-and-switch, and it's burning small businesses across the industry.
The SaaS Pricing Playbook (And Why We Hate It)
Here's how most SaaS companies think about pricing:
Phase 1: The Land Grab
- Price aggressively low to acquire customers
- Burn venture capital money to subsidize growth
- Get users locked in and dependent
Phase 2: The Trap
- Wait until users are deeply integrated
- Wait until switching costs are high
- Wait until you "need" the tool
Phase 3: The Squeeze
- Announce "updated pricing" (always increases)
- Grandfather existing users temporarily (for now)
- Force upgrades through feature gating
- Add usage-based pricing that's impossible to predict
Phase 4: The Extraction
- Maximize revenue per customer
- If customers churn, that's fine—new customers pay more
- Focus on enterprise clients who can't leave
This isn't speculation. This is the documented playbook for VC-backed SaaS companies.
Real Examples (We Won't Name Names, But You Know Them)
Example 1: The Social Media Scheduler
- 2019: $15/month for unlimited posts
- 2021: $29/month, limited to 100 posts
- 2023: $49/month, limited to 50 posts, per user
- 2024: $79/month, 30 posts, pay extra for video
Example 2: The Email Marketing Tool
- Started free for 2,000 subscribers
- Added "pay for premium features"
- Increased prices 3 times in 4 years
- Now charges based on email sends, not subscribers (unpredictable bills)
Example 3: The Project Management Tool
- $9/month per user
- Removed features from cheap plan
- Forced upgrades for integrations
- Now $15/user minimum, plus add-ons
These aren't bad companies. They're following the VC-backed growth playbook. But it's not sustainable for small businesses.
Why This Hurts Small Businesses Most
Large companies can absorb price increases. Small businesses can't.
The Real Cost Isn't Just Money
Switching costs are brutal:
- Time to learn a new tool (hours to days)
- Migrating your data (sometimes impossible)
- Training your team again
- Risk of losing historical data
- Workflow disruption
Result: You're trapped. Even when pricing becomes unreasonable, leaving feels worse.
The Trust Erosion
Every price increase sends a message:
- "We got you locked in"
- "Your loyalty doesn't matter"
- "We're optimizing for investors, not customers"
This breeds cynicism. Small business owners expect to be squeezed. They budget for inevitable price increases. They never trust the listed price.
This is broken.
The Postle Approach: Fair Pricing, Forever
When we built Postle, we made a commitment: transparent, fair pricing that won't change based on our fundraising needs or growth targets.
Here's what that means in practice:
1. Prices That Make Sense
Free Plan: $0/month
- 1 social account
- 10 scheduled posts per month
- Perfect for testing or personal use
Starter Plan: $29/month
- 6 social accounts
- 100 scheduled posts per month
- Analytics, video scheduling
- Everything most solopreneurs need
Growth Plan: $79/month
- 6 social accounts
- Unlimited scheduled posts
- Team collaboration (10 users)
- Priority support
No hidden charges. No surprise fees. No "enterprise pricing" that means "call us for a quote."
2. No Surprise Increases
Our pricing is designed to be sustainable at scale. We're not subsidizing with VC money, planning to raise prices later.
Our promise:
- Price increases only with significant new features
- Existing customers grandfathered at current price
- At least 6 months notice for any changes
- Option to keep old plan if you prefer
Why we can make this promise: We're not trying to become a unicorn. We're building a sustainable business that serves small businesses well.
3. No Feature Gating Nonsense
All plans include core features:
- Multi-platform scheduling
- Video support (TikTok, Reels, Shorts)
- Calendar view
- Basic analytics
The difference between plans? Capacity, not features.
You don't need to upgrade to "unlock" video scheduling. You upgrade when you need more posts or accounts.
4. Simple, Predictable Limits
Our limits are simple:
- Social accounts: How many platforms/profiles you connect
- Scheduled posts: How many posts you schedule per month
- Team members: How many people can access the account
No surprising usage charges. No per-post fees. No "credits" that expire.
If you hit your limit, we notify you. You can upgrade or wait until next month. Your choice.
Why Fair Pricing Is Better Business
You might think, "Isn't this leaving money on the table?"
Maybe in the short term. But here's what fair pricing gets us:
1. Lower Churn
Customers stick around when they trust us. Our churn rate is 3-4% (industry average is 5-7%).
Every customer who stays is:
- Predictable monthly revenue
- No acquisition cost to replace them
- Potential referral source
- Case study and testimonial
2. Word-of-Mouth Growth
Happy customers tell friends. Burned customers tell everyone.
We grow through referrals because:
- Our pricing doesn't embarrass users who recommended us
- Users trust us not to screw over their friends
- Price stability means recommendations age well
3. Long-Term Relationships
We're optimizing for customers who stay 5+ years, not customers who stay 6 months.
Long-term customers:
- Provide more lifetime value than churned customers
- Give better product feedback
- Become advocates and case studies
- Create community and culture
4. Sustainable Growth
We grow at 15-20% per month. Not 100% per month.
That's fine. We're profitable. We're sustainable. We're not burning someone else's money.
Sustainable growth means:
- We can maintain quality
- We can hire for culture fit, not desperation
- We can invest in reliability, not just features
- We won't be forced to "pivot" or shut down
The Hidden Benefits of Transparent Pricing
When pricing is clear and stable, interesting things happen:
Customers Budget Confidently
You can plan your business finances knowing Postle costs $29 or $79/month. Period.
No surprise bills. No "your usage this month was higher." No budgeting buffers for price increases.
Customers Refer Without Hesitation
When you recommend a tool, you're putting your reputation on the line.
If that tool doubles prices next year, your recommendation looks bad.
With stable pricing, you can confidently refer Postle knowing the price your friend sees today will still be reasonable next year.
Customers Invest in Learning
When you trust a tool won't rug-pull you, you invest more deeply:
- Take time to learn all features
- Integrate into your workflow
- Train team members
- Build processes around it
This creates a better experience, more value captured, and more success for your business.
We Get Better Feedback
When customers trust us, they tell us what they actually need.
Not "make it cheaper" or "don't raise prices"—real feature requests and improvements.
This makes the product better, which helps everyone.
What Fair Pricing Doesn't Mean
Let's be clear about what we're NOT saying:
It Doesn't Mean "Cheapest"
We're not the cheapest option. Tools that charge $9/month exist.
But they often:
- Lack critical features (especially video support)
- Have reliability issues
- Charge hidden fees for necessary add-ons
- Will increase prices soon
Fair pricing means: Price matches value, and stays consistent.
It Doesn't Mean "No Growth"
We're growing successfully. We're adding features. We're hiring.
Sustainable pricing doesn't mean slow growth—it means profitable growth.
It Doesn't Mean "Never Change"
If we add major features (like AI video editing or advanced analytics), we might create a new, higher-tier plan.
But existing plans stay as-is, with the same pricing.
How to Evaluate SaaS Pricing
When evaluating any tool (not just ours), ask:
1. Is This Price Sustainable?
If a tool seems too cheap, it probably is.
Red flags:
- Recently raised massive VC funding (pressure to show growth)
- Prices far below competitors (burning money to gain share)
- Vague about future pricing
- Lots of "limited time" discounts
2. What Are the Limits?
Understand exactly what you're paying for:
- Usage limits (posts, emails, storage)
- Feature limitations
- User limitations
- Additional fees
Red flags:
- Vague limits ("fair use policy")
- Lots of add-ons that seem necessary
- Features locked behind enterprise pricing
3. What's the Upgrade Path?
How much will you pay as you grow?
Red flags:
- Huge jumps between tiers ($29 → $299)
- Per-user pricing that scales too aggressively
- Features you need are enterprise-only
4. What Do Current Customers Say?
Don't just read the 5-star reviews. Look for:
- Complaints about price increases
- Surprise charges or fees
- Support quality
- Reliability issues
Check:
- Reddit discussions
- Twitter complaints
- Product Hunt comments
- Comparison sites
The Alternative: Building a Sustainable Business
We believe there's a better way to build software companies:
Charge fairly from day one Price for sustainability, not land-grab
Serve customers well Retention over acquisition
Grow profitably Don't burn capital to subsidize growth
Optimize for long-term 5-year customers, not 6-month churners
This isn't revolutionary. It's how businesses worked before VC-backed growth became the default.
We're just applying it to SaaS.
What You Can Do
As a customer, you have power:
1. Choose Companies with Transparent Pricing
Support businesses that price fairly from the start.
2. Ask About Future Pricing
Before signing up, ask:
- "How often do you raise prices?"
- "What happens to existing customers when you do?"
- "Are there any usage-based fees?"
3. Plan for Switching Costs
Before you're locked in:
- Understand how to export your data
- Know what you'd lose if you left
- Have a backup plan
4. Give Feedback
Tell companies when pricing feels unfair. Vote with your wallet.
Our Commitment to You
Here's what you can expect from Postle:
✅ Transparent pricing: What you see is what you pay ✅ No surprise increases: Changes announced 6+ months in advance ✅ Grandfather existing customers: You keep your current rate ✅ No hidden fees: All costs shown upfront ✅ Simple limits: Easy to understand, easy to predict ✅ Fair value: Features that match the price ✅ Honest communication: We'll tell you why we make changes
We're building Postle for the long term. That means treating you fairly today, tomorrow, and five years from now.
The Bottom Line
Fair pricing isn't charity. It's good business.
When we treat you fairly, you stay longer, refer friends, and help us build a better product.
When we chase short-term revenue extraction, we might boost quarterly numbers, but we lose trust, customers, and ultimately, our business.
We choose sustainability over hypergrowth. We choose trust over tricks. We choose fair pricing over maximum extraction.
Because at the end of the day, we're not building a tool for investors. We're building a tool for you.
Want to see fair pricing in action? Try Postle.io free—no credit card required, no surprises later. Just social media management that actually works, at a price that actually stays fair.