SaaS Pricing in the New AI Economy

Remember when video stores charged late fees? Netflix didn't just eliminate them—they made the whole concept seem absurd. Today's marketing automation pricing feels just as outdated. 

Imagine Spotify charging you more when you discover new artists or WhatsApp making you pay extra for having more friends in your groups.

Sounds crazy, right?

However, that’s how most marketing automation platforms operate. They charge you more as your audience expands, cashing in on your success instead of celebrating it. 

But what if pricing was designed to scale with you, not against you? A model where you only pay for what you actually use, not for growing your audience. This shift is already happening in the SaaS world.

Let's explore how pricing is evolving and why the future is all about fair, usage-based pricing. 

The Hidden Tax on Growth

Traditional marketing automation platforms like Hubspot or pre-AI-wave companies like Klaviyo or Omnisend base their pricing on the amount of customer data stored. This means that the more successful your business is, the higher the prices will become. This model creates an artificial ceiling on growth, forcing businesses to make an impossible choice: delete valuable customer data or accept ever-increasing costs.

As businesses integrate AI into their operations, the volume of data they store and process has skyrocketed. This data fuels powerful insights—but at a cost. Traditional pricing models create a paradox: the more data you collect to power AI-driven insights, the more you have to pay. It’s like being charged extra for fueling the very engine that drives innovation.

Let's break down the typical cost structure:

This pricing structure makes it nearly impossible for businesses to predict their marketing automation costs as they scale. 

‍A New Approach: Credits That Make Sense

Remember how simple Netflix made it? One clear price, watch as much as you want. No penalties for watching more shows, and no extra fees for having a longer watchlist. That's exactly how marketing automation should work 

Your marketing budget should fuel your growth, not hold it hostage. After all, you wouldn't expect to pay more for a sales tool just because you're winning more customers, right?

That’s why at ZEPIC, we've stripped away the complexity. Customers just buy credits and start using the product, that's it. Here's what 1000 credits get you:

• Send 50,000 emails (that's like reaching everyone in a small city)
• Fire off 1,700 WhatsApp messages in India (or 350 in North America)
• Run 1M automation steps (enough to power personalized journeys for your entire customer base)

It’s like your phone's data plan—you know exactly what you're getting and can top up when you need more. No more mysterious bills. No more dreading success because it means higher costs.

Want to know the best part? Your credits never punish your growth. Doubling your customer base? Your credits stretch just as far. Launching a viral campaign? Your cost per message stays exactly the same. Yes, it's that simple.

Enable Growth, Do Not Penalize It

As AI transforms marketing automation, the focus should be on outcomes, not inputs. Traditional pricing models are stuck in the past, charging for data storage or user seats when that data is the fuel that powers AI-driven insights and personalization. It's like a restaurant charging you for the size of your table rather than the food you order.

Consider this scenario: Your holiday campaign is a massive success, doubling your customer database. With traditional platforms, your monthly costs would suddenly spike—right when you should be celebrating your growth. This creates a perverse incentive where success is penalized rather than rewarded.

Aligned Incentives & Transparency

Think of it like modern cloud computing: you pay for what you actually use, not what you might use someday. When Netflix transformed entertainment or AWS transformed software infrastructure, they didn't just change pricing—they changed how we think about value. That's what's happening in marketing automation right now.

Credit-based pricing aligns perfectly with how modern businesses operate:

• Pay for what you use, not what you store
• Scale up or down without penalty
• Predictable costs for campaign planning
• No surprises on your monthly bill
• Seasonal top-ups for any spike in usage

This is about more than pricing—it's about partnership. When your costs align with your actual marketing activities, you can focus on what matters: creating compelling campaigns, understanding your customers, and growing your business. Your marketing automation platform should be an accelerator, not an anchor.

Conclusion: The Future of SaaS Pricing is Usage-Based & Outcome-Driven

For businesses tired of watching their marketing automation costs climb with every new customer, the solution is clear: choose a pricing model that grows with your success, not against it. It's time for pricing that puts you in control, with crystal-clear costs and no hidden fees. 

The question isn't whether to make the switch to usage-based pricing but when. As the AI juggernaut is rolling at such high speed, the gap between traditional and usage-based pricing models will only widen.

The future of SaaS pricing isn't about how much data you store or how many users access your system. It is ultimately about putting customer’s interests first and adding value to them. Isn't it time your pricing reflected that?

Ready to learn more about how usage-based pricing can transform your business? Contact ZEPIC for a detailed analysis of your potential savings.