How AI Is Rewriting SaaS Pricing
How AI Is Rewriting SaaS Pricing
The Nue Team
Description
In this episode of The Lift, host Mark Evans sits down with Dan Balcauski, founder of Product Tranquility and a leading SaaS pricing strategy expert, to unpack how pricing is being reshaped in today’s market.
They discuss the macro forces driving change, including the rise of AI and the end of the “growth at all costs” era. Dan explains how AI introduces new cost structures and forces companies to rethink pricing experiments, while finance leaders face pressure to manage unpredictable expenses tied to usage and model providers.
The conversation also dives into the shift away from traditional “bronze-silver-gold” subscription packages toward more dynamic, hybrid, and usage-based pricing strategies.
Dan highlights the importance of agility, experimentation, and revenue discipline as SaaS companies balance rapid innovation with the need to generate sustainable growth.
Transcription
Mark Evans: I'm your host, Mark Evans, and today we're talking about a topic that gets plenty of AI Is Rewriting the SaaS Pricing Rules — Are You Read attention, but not always the right kind: pricing.
It's easy to get caught up in competitive benchmarks, cost plus models or sales driven discounting. But truly effective pricing goes deeper. It's strategic, customer informed, and when done right, it becomes one of the most powerful levers for sustainable growth.
To help us get it right, I'm joined by Dan Balcauski, the founder of Product Tranquility, and one of the top pricing strategy experts in SaaS.
Welcome to the podcast, Dan.
Dan Balcauski: Good to be here, Mark. Thank you.
Mark Evans: Why don't we start with a big picture trend? A growing number of B2B SaaS companies [00:01:00] are moving away from flat fee subscriptions. The old model, the bronze, silver, gold package model towards more dynamic and hybrid pricing strategies.
What macro forces do you think are driving this shift, and what operational or system level implementations should finance and RevOps leaders be preparing for when they're rolling out things like usage-based pricing, milestone billing, or tiered hybrids?
Dan Balcauski: You packed a lot into that question.
Mark Evans: I certainly did.
I certainly did.