Subscription or Fix price?

Hi,

I'm creating an online learning tool and I'm thinking about the pricing model for it. So basically I can make it fix-priced so my users will have to pay once and they will have lifetime access to the tool or the other option is to make it subscription based where customers can buy access for a period of time.

I know I haven't given too much details, but if anyone has experience in these two pricing model, please share some pros and cons.

Thanks

 

Do you plan on making updates regularly? If so then Subscription with maybe a reduced renewal.

 

I assume you will update course/tool regularly because its online learning tool.
I would go with subscription model, if the value is great people will stay.
And you will squeeze more money out of them.
What about small subscription upfront and premium ad-dons/upgrades/tools backend?

 

Each pricing scheme has its positives and negatives to the seller. The positive of a fixed price is that you get your money upfront and it is the full amount. The negative is that you will not receive any more money from the customer who has bought the fixed price. The subscription model is nice because money keeps on flowing in from the same customer on a continuing basis. The downside is that the customer can leave at any point and you may not have received as much money from the customer as with the fixed price.

I have seen companies use a hybrid, in which the customer pays a fixed price and then can pay an annual "maintenance" fee to receive updates, new features, etc. In fact, you could have a fixed fee to get the basic service and then a small subscription fee to access the more advanced parts of the service.

 

Subscriptions means recurring, thus life time profits, no match to it.

 

provide the same product in different ways or parts and offer different pricing options for each part, version (beginner/advanced/pro/normal) or way
thus while you are trying more than 1 pricing model and maximizing your sales, your clients will be enjoying choosing the best option for themselves.

 

Hi dtommy,
How volatile is your market? What's the possibility that a competitor will spring up in the next 6 months to year? If there are competitors, I would recommend a lifetime model. Make sure to market the unique factors of your product to get the initial sale, then you will make much more revenue per customer. In my experience, customers like to hop around different products if monthly pricing is available.

 

Don't be fooled by subscription revenue. Most users will cancel within one month. I personally would build value with fixed pricing and offer subscription pricing for the majority.

For instance. Classes for $299 OR pay as you go with our $29.99 per month membership fee. This builds value. Most people won't bother paying you $300 but they would consider $30.