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Hi, author of the page here. I didn't expect this to end up so high on HN. You're right that there is a place for free plans, the article I wrote is probably t

Hi, author of the page here. I didn't expect this to end up so high on HN. You're right that there is a place for free plans, the article I wrote is probably too one-sided. I planned on adding an extra section near the end for some cases when a free plan does make sense (I will wait until it is no longer discussed here). Other than the "influencer" angle you mentioned, it also makes sense for products where you can offer the first X units for free, and many will have the desire for more (2 free designs for a website builder, or the first 10 levels free in a video game).

burning_hamster 6y ago
On a different note, why does your website look so refreshing (for lack of a better word)?! Beautiful design (non-design?).
jonpurdy 6y ago
No worries; there’s always a balance between being overly verbose and not covering every edge case. The core point of your article was still clear, and as a result generated interesting discussion and follow up for an update.
6510 6y ago
It depends on what the service costs to run. I really don't like a model where one customer pays for the other but promoting a new service is getting more expensive every year. It might be worth the insanity of large numbers of low tier customers. One thing is for sure, no one likes a service that changes prices with free > paid being the least likable. (paid > free as the nr 2?) I think you can get away by describing the situation properly in advance. i.e. what might happen with the free service in the future. Something like: Guaranteed to be free for 6 months (12 months if you register now). If we fail to reach an audience by offering a free plan it will be x dollar per month/year/query. We will contact you 3 months in advance. It seems the free pony! era has to end. Downtime from cleaning up after a vanishing free service is to annoying.

burning_hamster 6y ago

On a different note, why does your website look so refreshing (for lack of a better word)?! Beautiful design (non-design?).

jonpurdy 6y ago

No worries; there’s always a balance between being overly verbose and not covering every edge case. The core point of your article was still clear, and as a result generated interesting discussion and follow up for an update.

6510 6y ago

It depends on what the service costs to run. I really don't like a model where one customer pays for the other but promoting a new service is getting more expensive every year. It might be worth the insanity of large numbers of low tier customers. One thing is for sure, no one likes a service that changes prices with free > paid being the least likable. (paid > free as the nr 2?) I think you can get away by describing the situation properly in advance. i.e. what might happen with the free service in the future. Something like: Guaranteed to be free for 6 months (12 months if you register now). If we fail to reach an audience by offering a free plan it will be x dollar per month/year/query. We will contact you 3 months in advance. It seems the free pony! era has to end. Downtime from cleaning up after a vanishing free service is to annoying.