Using credits with your pricing model

When looking at pricing models for your product, some of the following will likely come to mind:

• paying a set amount per month
• a yearly amount that's slightly cheaper than 12 payments on the monthly plan
• higher tiers that offer additional perks
• a minimum charge, with additional fees for usage above a certain level

However, if you're offering some kind of digital product, a repeatable service, or a catalogue with items of value, credits can be something to consider including.

Here are some examples of how credits are used in some real products.

Splice

Splice is a music sample library. They offer 100 Sound credits on their lowest plan, 200 credits on the next plan, and 500 credits on the top plan.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud is a music community where artists can upload tracks. They have a Free plan and a Next Pro plan for artists. Most of Next Pro is an upgraded feature set; however, it does have one feature that uses credits: mastering. You get 3 mastering credits per month.

Audible

Audible allows members to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. The default plan offers 1 credit per month, with a 2 credit per month plan available too. Annual plans seem to offer more credits, but the ratio appears to remain at 1 credit per month.

What does good look like?

Use a transparent pricing model

A good starting point with any pricing model is to make it clear and easy to understand, with no hidden costs.

If your product includes credits, make sure users can clearly see how the number of credits awarded changes for each of the plans they can select. Audible's pricing model could do a better job of this.

Show a balance

If a user can acquire credits, spend them, and get more credits each month, it's good to make their credit balance easy to find.

I have an abundance of credits in Splice - but I can't see my mastering credits in SoundCloud until I actually go through the Mastering process.

Clearly label when credits expire

If a user cannot hold their credits from month to month, or they can but not forever, make it clear when credits expire.

SoundCloud doesn't do this well. A fresh set of 3 masters is given to you each month, but there's no warning about previous credits if you've not used them up in time. They do not roll over.

Offer a pause option

If credits are the primary thing a user pays for, allowing them to "pause" their subscription allows them to run down unused credits without continuing to pay the membership fee.

Splice has a short-term pause option, but after 2 months your account starts being charged again. The main issue here is Splice gives so many credits that I cannot use them all. A cheaper plan with half the credits might be better.

Explain what happens if you cancel

Many digital products want users to pay monthly, forever. What if you decide to cancel? What happens to unused credits - or already-purchased digital goods?

Depending on what your product offers, you may have users who only have an occasional use for your product. It's not a good experience if users lose access to previous purchases. But can you afford to leave access open for free users?

Summary

Credits can be a useful part of your product pricing model. When included, you can create a good product experience by being clear and transparent about the availability of credits, with a current balance and details of any expiring credits. Explaining what happens if you cancel will help users to understand how credits work in your product.