Re:Ask YC: Anyone have any subscription service tips/experie...
by trevelyan on Saturday December 06, 2008 @10:00PM
(#388570)
You can give materials away without having a "free plan". This may seem like a stupid distinction, but if it's free it isn't a plan. Don't muddle the waters. You want to spend your text promoting the paid services, not explaining what people get for free.
My own advice would be to have only one paid plan. Some sites have multiple plans at multiple prices and try to segment their user market. It will save you a lot of time hassle in development if you just have one premium plan to start. When you are a success you can look at user segmentation.
Also - be aware that if there is a community element to your service multiple plans can cause discord.
I certainly like the idea of not offering a free plan at all and it's definitely the way I'm intending to go (at least initially). One of the advantages I can see is that it positions your service as a serious app targeted at professionals (which, in a way, encourages professionals to use it). Also, even if free users cost you nothing up front, you still have to store their data and support them. I'd rather 10 paying customers than 1000 free + 10 paying.
As you mentioned, if free users contribute (perhaps, depending on the context, by making their data public) then a free plan becomes more useful.