BugBug.io is a company that makes tools to help test websites automatically. Their platform helps developers and quality assurance (QA) teams make sure websites work correctly - faster and with less manual effort.
Initially, BugBug tried to handle their pricing and analyze competitors’ prices on their own. They aimed to offer lower prices than their competitors, but soon realized they needed expert help to set their prices right. That’s when they reached out to Valueships.
When implementing a new SaaS pricing strategy, it’s crucial to engage and retain existing customers and loyal customers, as they are key to long-term growth and customer retention. Communicating any price increases or raising prices transparently - especially when driven by rising operational costs—helps maintain trust and minimizes churn.
Initially, we tried to handle our pricing and analyze competitors' prices on our own. We aimed to offer lower prices than our competitors, but soon realized we needed expert help to set our prices correctly. After working with the Valueships team and following their advice, I noticed significant improvements in our business. We achieved a doubling of the company’s growth rate, fewer problematic clients from India, and more high-value clients from the USA, which positively impacted our overall client composition. Additionally, our market perception and credibility improved due to realistic pricing, countering the belief that "cheap” means low quality.
BugBug faced a problem that many early-stage SaaS companies run into: their pricing didn’t match the value of their services. But the challenges went much deeper than that.
The competitive landscape was confusing. BugBug fell in the middle of the pricing range, but it wasn’t fully comparable to competitors due to inconsistencies in value metrics. Most companies tried to build their SaaS pricing model around test runs, but they also used metrics like retention, users, or parallel tests. There was no clear value metric consensus in the market - which made competitive pricing analysis unusually difficult.
Many competitors attempted to differentiate their pricing but created user tiers that were not aligned with specific personas or actual use cases. This misalignment highlighted the need for more targeted and clear packaging for BugBug. SaaS companies often experiment with different pricing models, such as cost-plus, tiered, or usage-based approaches, and offer additional features to serve diverse customer needs and optimize profitability. Understanding customer segmentation is crucial for developing targeted pricing and packaging that resonates with specific user groups. Additionally, focusing on customer retention through effective pricing and feature bundling plays a key role in reducing churn and ensuring long-term SaaS success.
On top of the pricing issues, there was a perception problem. User interviews revealed that people struggled with understanding BugBug’s value proposition. They faced two main challenges: understanding how the platform supported a CI/CD approach and believing the claim of saving 70% of time. Day-to-day QA experts found these claims hard to accept. At first glance, competitors appeared more advanced and sophisticated technologically.
The bottom line: BugBug tried to beat competitors by offering lower prices, but this strategy backfired. It didn’t help their business grow, brought in low-value clients, and damaged their market credibility. In B2B SaaS pricing, being the cheapest option often signals low quality - exactly the opposite of what BugBug needed.
At first, they didn’t implement our initial advice. But later, they realized its importance and decided to fully engage in a project with us to fix their SaaS pricing strategy.
The main goals were clear:
This wasn’t just about charging more. It was about pricing BugBug in a way that reflects its actual value, attracts the right customers, and positions the company for credible, sustainable growth. Optimizing your SaaS pricing strategy is essential for achieving long-term business success and ensuring sustainable growth.
The project began with a comprehensive competitive pricing analysis. We compared BugBug’s pricing structure with their competitors to identify gaps and opportunities - analyzing how competitors priced their services and what features were included at different price points. Setting a competitive price requires careful analysis of competitor prices and market standards to ensure BugBug remains relevant and attractive to potential customers.
The challenge was that the market had no standard value metric. Some competitors charged per test run, others per user, others per parallel test. We needed to normalize these different models into a comparable framework to understand where BugBug actually stood. This analysis allowed us to map the pricing corridor and position BugBug’s services effectively within the competitive landscape, ultimately informing the optimal selling price based on perceived value and customer willingness to pay.
We spoke with eight potential users, including QA testers and platform owners, to gather insights into what these users value most in a testing platform. The interviews provided a deeper understanding of customer needs, expectations, and willingness to pay for specific features.
By analyzing customer data from these interviews and usage patterns, we were able to make more informed decisions about our pricing strategy. The willingness to pay research revealed critical insights that shaped the entire new pricing strategy. We discovered what features users considered table stakes versus differentiators, and what they’d actually pay for. This is where value-based pricing strategy moves from theory to practice - you stop guessing what customers value and start measuring it.
The team then calculated the true value of BugBug’s services by considering factors such as platform quality, customer satisfaction, and market demand. This analysis uncovered four critical findings:
Unseen value gap. A significant portion of the actual value created by BugBug remained invisible to customers. They weren’t being fully informed about the product’s value, which directly affected their perception and willingness to pay.
Value erosion. Even when customers recognized some value, the communicated benefits weren’t compelling enough to justify higher prices - leading to lower willingness to pay than the product deserved.
Price setting failure. The target price wasn’t aligned with customers’ actual willingness to pay, resulting in a realized price that was far too low. Cost based pricing, which involves adding a profit margin to production costs, is a common starting point for SaaS pricing strategy, but it may not capture the full value perceived by customers. Relying solely on production costs for pricing decisions can limit profitability and overlook market dynamics.
Transactional discounting impact. The realized price was further reduced by discounting practices that undermined potential revenue.
These four findings gave us the complete picture: BugBug was creating far more value than it was capturing, at every step of the pricing chain.
We meticulously reviewed BugBug’s pricing pages to determine where improvements could be made. The goal was to make the pricing structure more transparent and clearly communicate the value of different service levels. Unclear or complex pricing structures can confuse potential customers, leading to hesitation or lost interest, so it was essential to ensure clarity and simplicity.
The pricing pages were redesigned to highlight key features and benefits that justified the new pricing. This step is often overlooked in SaaS pricing strategy projects, but it matters enormously - your pricing page is where perception meets decision. If the page doesn’t communicate value clearly, even the best pricing model underperforms.
Detailed discussions were held with BugBug’s management to align the pricing strategy with overall business goals and ensure it addressed the core challenges - particularly attracting high-value clients and reducing problematic ones.
Prices were then adjusted to match market expectations and the perceived value we had measured. When raising prices or implementing price increases, we carefully considered factors such as operational costs, market conditions, and product improvements, and planned transparent communication with existing customers to maintain trust and minimize churn. By doing this, BugBug’s pricing remained competitive while accurately reflecting its true worth. The subscription prices were effectively doubled - a bold move that was backed by every piece of data we had gathered.
The new SaaS pricing strategy brought remarkable improvements:
Importantly, the pricing changes were carefully managed to retain existing customers and loyal customers, ensuring that the strategy improved customer retention and minimized churn. The new pricing model also contributed to increased recurring revenue and improved conversion rates, further strengthening the business.
This is one of the clearest examples we’ve seen of how to raise SaaS prices without losing customers - or rather, how to raise prices, lose a small number of low-value clients, and attract significantly more high-value ones. The net effect was a complete transformation of BugBug’s growth trajectory.
The case also proves something counterintuitive about B2B SaaS pricing: being too cheap can actively hurt your business. When BugBug raised prices to match their value, they didn’t just make more money per customer - they attracted better customers, improved their reputation, and accelerated growth.
Pawel Bylina shared his satisfaction with the results, noting that the project had a significant positive impact on their business and proved the importance of expert pricing strategies. His recommendation was featured in a video by Bogusz Pekalski on the Startup My Way channel.
Choosing the right SaaS pricing model is one of the most important decisions a SaaS company can make. The pricing strategy you adopt not only determines how much customers pay, but also shapes your brand perception, customer base, and long-term revenue growth. With so many SaaS pricing models available, understanding the differences—and knowing which one fits your business—is essential for success.
The most popular SaaS pricing models include:
Each SaaS pricing model has its own strengths and challenges. The key is to align your pricing structure with your product’s value proposition, your target market’s needs, and the way customers assign value to your solution. Market research, customer feedback, and competitive analysis are all critical in selecting the right pricing model and price points.
Ultimately, the best SaaS pricing strategy is one that evolves with your business, adapts to changing customer preferences, and supports both customer acquisition and retention. By understanding the landscape of SaaS pricing models, you can build a pricing page and structure that not only attracts potential customers, but also maximizes customer lifetime value and drives sustainable business growth.
Doubling growth rate
Enhanced market credibility
More high-value clients from the USA
Expert in B2B pricing, monetization and value-based selling strategies. Over the past year, he has completed over 40 consulting projects in Europe. Prior to founding Valueships, he worked at McKinsey & Company, mainly in the TelCo, software, and banking industries. He completed his doctorate in pricing in SaaS start-ups at the University of Economics in Wrocław, where he also lectures.
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Expert in B2B pricing, monetization and value-based selling strategies. Over the past year, he has completed over 40 consulting projects in Europe. Prior to founding Valueships, he worked at McKinsey & Company, mainly in the TelCo, software, and banking industries. He completed his doctorate in pricing in SaaS start-ups at the University of Economics in Wrocław, where he also lectures.
