How does the new pricing model work?
We had a few goals when we designed the new pricing model:
- it had to be easy to understand
- it had to accommodate a wide range of users. We were particularly concerned that we still had an offering which would enable casual web developers a place to do infrequent testing at a reasonable cost.
- it should reflect our cost structure and provide the financial funding our business needs to be viable and continue to grow
- it should still provide users a chance to try our the service before committing their $
The new model uses time not credits to handle billing. A screenshot is accounted in terms of seconds. You are only charged time when the screenshot is being taken, not for the start up and tear down time for an OS. Live sessions are also charged down to the second.
By using time we are much more accurate and you are only charged for what you use. If a screenshot fails, there is no charge.
Along with the time based billing we chose to use a subscription model. Every company in the cross browser testing industry currently utilizes a subscription model, and the subscription model is widely used across the internet in other industries. It does not need much explanation - people are used to it. For each package, we differentiate the packages based on the amount of time per month you need to use the system.
You can sign up and you get a week for free. If you do not like the service cancel it. Simple. No commitments.
Our service is still lower costs than our competitors. 20 dollars will not even get you a days worth of testing at other testing sites.
And finally if you are not satisfied at anytime we will refund your money for the current period and you can walk away. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
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Comments
Don't mind paying but I think
Don't mind paying but I think you should have a $10 price point.
not happy with lack of notification
I entered my credit card info awhile ago ... not sure of the exact date. My account says I'm being billed now, but I don't think I ever received any notification of exactly what day I signed up, or when I started being billed. It feels like you're luring people into paying for the service by not being clear about when the trial period ends, and when they're going to start being charged. Not nice!
I've looked back for emails from you about this and haven't found any -- no "thanks for signing up" emails, nothing. Maybe I'm looking for the wrong thing. I'm searching for "crossbrowsertesting.com". My apologies if I've missed something.
Laura S.
Hi Lori, Not trying to be
Hi Lori,
Not trying to be sneaky or nefarious. The trial ends after 7 days, and you are billed then. You can cancel anytime before that point to end your trial and not start a monthly subscription.
As an example, if you sign up today on 9/17 at 10:30am, your trial would be active until 9/24 at 10:30am. We would then bill for the first month's service. A month later, on 10/17, we would bill for the second month.
As far as sending emails, the only automated email we send is a 'registration' email which is sent when you first establish an account. This helps users in remembering their user info. Users are responsible for knowing when they signed up, and canceling before the end of the trial if they wish to cancel.
We do want to make sure we are being clear about what we are doing... We do not want people giving us money for our service that do not wish to - this is not who we are. We have the following statement directly above the 'Start Subscription' button on the screen where you enter your credit card and start your subscription:
Basic subscription details: 7 day free trial ( maximum of 60 minutes of usage ), then bill $19.95 / month. Plan includes 150 minutes of usage monthly.
We have also added (late last week, believe, so it probably was not there when you signed up) a page which is available on the pricing tab when you mouse over the free trial link - you can see the content of it here - http://dev.crossbrowsertesting.com/sites/all/modules/cbt_pricing_table/t.... Any ideas you have to make this more clear will be appreciated.
We also have a 30 day money back guarantee. I will be contacting you directly to see if you wish to get your subscription payment back.
Sorry for any confusion,
Ken
thanks ... emails would still be helpful
Thanks for your replies both public and private. I still think it would help to clarify matters if you sent an email to specify exactly *when* the trial period starts (and ends), so people have a point of reference. Who resorts to writing stuff down anymore?
Thanks for listening,
Laura
a little too expensive
I honestly love this service, and I've been looking for another alternatives but nothing like this one. Yet I don't see me paying $29 MONTHLY for it. I just think it's too much, I'll ever use 150 min a month. You should maybe come up with a lower rate (10 or less) and of course, less usage time as well (I'm not asking for free stuff)...
A pay as you go would be a good option too...
If you ever have a more affordable rate please let me know.
I think you have the cost wrong.... :)
The low plan is 19.95 and that is the 150 min a month.
So that is already 10 dollars less. You should sign up now. :)
Aww, that's a real shame
I am a super intermittent user - I don't come anywhere close to needing 150 minutes a month. I totally understand that you're in business and you're not a charity, but $20 a month is just way too much for something I use for tops 20 minutes a month. If you had some kind of 'mini' level - say 30 minutes for $5 a month - I might be able to do that, but without a cheaper option, I guess I'll just have to find another solution. :(
subscription fees
I agree. The ability to purchase a fixed block of minutes (once I understood how the service counted the minutes) is the ideal solution for me as the need is intermittent.
I would spend $30 a shot for a block of minutes, rather than commit to a monthly subscription as I don't need to use the service that often.
We liked the idea too when we
We liked the idea too when we started CrossBrowserTesting - it seemed the right thing to do. It did not, however, work well. There was continually a lot of confusion with our user base over the 'pay as you use it' plan. It made our pricing page for initial users very confusing, as we had a ton of different ways to buy - you had to 'study' our pricing plan - it was hard to understand. And, ultimately, it did not generate enough revenues to make for a viable business - the volume was just not there.
Our solution is to break out of the 'normal' $50/month minimal subscription plan of our competitors and put in place a plan that casual users can afford. It is restricted in time, but it should enable intermittent use at a reasonable cost. If you look at our competitors, their solution for intermittent use is a day pass... at $25/day. We feel our $20 month plan is a better option, particularly since you can cancel and restart it as you need it. It will also provide the funding necessary to maintain and grow the business.
Thanks,
Ken
Grandfather us in?
I'm another low-volume user. I probably use the system no more than 30 minutes a month, maybe less.
I totally understand where you're at with keeping the price points simple, yet sustainable. Apparently your billing system still supports the credit pricing, as my account is still functional. :) How about providing a simple interface where credit-block pricing is still available only to those who are already using it? Then, give us (and everyone else) incentives to generate more business for you via referrals. Credit-block users would get paid in credits, monthly subscriber users in free months.
Thanks for the great service. I'd really like to keep using it.
pricing
I just want to add myself as another person who wishes you offered cheaper plans for fewer than 150 minutes. ($5 for 30/$10 for 60?) I don't need anywhere close to 150 minutes, and I can't really justify spending $240 a year on something I only occasionally use. Stopping and restarting subscriptions is a big pain, and I usually end up getting overcharged because the cancellation didn't go through in time, or something--and resenting it. I try not to start a subscription unless I know that I'm committed to keeping it for a year.
I just found another site that's free, and seems to work pretty well for what I need. I'll keep your site in mind, but I might not come back.