Pricing strategy
12 Usage-Based Pricing Examples (and What You Can Learn From Each Model)
By the Orvlin team · · 8 min read
Per-unit examples
The simplest structures:
- AI model APIs: price per million input and output tokens.
- Messaging APIs: price per message sent.
- Voice APIs: price per minute.
- Email delivery: price per 1,000 emails.
Tiered and volume examples
Unit price drops at higher volumes:
- Object storage: cheaper per GB above set thresholds.
- Data pipelines: lower rate per row after a monthly volume.
- Analytics tools: pricing by events tracked, with volume bands.
Credit and commitment examples
Balancing flexibility and predictability:
- AI apps: monthly credit packs spent on different actions.
- Cloud platforms: committed annual spend with discounted rates.
- Developer tools: free monthly allowance, then pay-as-you-go.
Hybrid and outcome examples
Combining models:
- Platform fee plus metered usage for B2B SaaS.
- AI support agents priced per resolved conversation.
- Seat price that includes a usage allowance.
Lessons for your pricing
Choose a metric that scales with customer value, publish clear rates, provide a free allowance to reduce friction and give customers real-time visibility. Orvlin lets you launch and test each of these models without rebuilding billing code.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the most common usage-based pricing model?
- Pay-as-you-go per unit, often combined with a free tier or a platform fee.
- What is token-based pricing?
- A usage model common in AI where customers pay per token processed by a language model.