There’s one part of a SaaS product that’s both incredibly revealing and tragically underdesigned:
The pricing page.
It’s where value meets clarity. Or confusion. Or cowardice.
And it’s usually the page that gets the least love – stuck in Notion, half-baked by a product marketer, or styled like it’s still 2014.
We’ve seen it all. The infinite scrolling grids. The footnotes. The asterisks. The dreaded toggle between monthly and annual (that moves the CTA button just enough to be annoying).
Let’s talk about what’s broken – and how we’d fix it.
What Pricing UI Says (Whether You Mean It or Not)
Your pricing page is more than a table. It’s a statement. And like any good interface, it speaks volumes – even when you don’t intend it to:
- “We’re scared to commit” – when every feature is hidden behind a tooltip or vague label.
- “We don’t understand our users” – when tiers are arranged by internal logic, not real use cases.
- “We’re desperate” – when every plan includes everything because someone said “no friction.”
- “We copied our competitor” – when the entire layout looks like a Notion clone with blue buttons.
In short: your pricing page often says more about your confidence than your product does. It reflects how much you trust your offer, your positioning, and your audience.
Common Sins of SaaS Pricing UX
1. Feature Creep Tables
Tables with 30+ rows of micro-differentiators don’t help anyone. They introduce confusion and encourage anxiety. Users feel like they need to squint and compare checkmarks rather than choose based on value.
2. Tooltip Bingo
Every feature has a hover state with legal disclaimers, usage limits, or nested exceptions. It’s like a digital game of “gotcha.” If it takes more than two seconds to explain – it shouldn’t be there, or it should be explained elsewhere, clearly and confidently.
3. CTA Paralysis
Too many buttons. Too many choices. “Book demo,” “Try free,” “Compare plans,” “Talk to sales,” “Get started” – all on the same fold. This is not flexibility – it’s noise.
4. Upsell Ambushes
Users pick a plan, sign up, and hit a wall in week one: “Upgrade to unlock this feature.” You might win an upgrade today – but you’ll lose trust tomorrow. People remember being tricked.
5. Copy that Whispers
Pricing pages should sell. If your headlines sound like terms & conditions, you’ve lost the room. Confidence comes from clarity – not meek qualifiers and “may vary” asterisks.
What Good Pricing UX Looks Like
Let’s flip it. Here’s what we love to see:
- Clear tiers based on outcomes, not headcount
Instead of “Starter,” “Pro,” and “Enterprise,” try: “For launching,” “For growing,” “For scaling teams.” Speak in goals, not roles. - Default recommendations that make a decision feel safe
Highlight the most popular plan. Add microcopy like “Best for most teams.” Don’t force a guess. Eliminate friction where possible. - Feature grouping that tells a story
Group by value clusters (“Collaboration Tools,” “Automation,” “Insights”) – not random alphabetic order. The structure should educate. - Transparent pricing logic
If pricing is usage-based, explain it simply. If it’s tiered, say what changes and why. Build trust by showing your math. - Smart upgrade pathways
Don’t just upsell – create clear signals when a user is growing into the next plan. A little foresight makes every plan feel less risky. - No surprise math
Don’t hide final cost behind input fields. Show examples. Let users estimate what they’ll pay without a calculator.
Case Study (Sort of): The Pricing Page That Almost Worked
We once worked with a SaaS company whose pricing page looked good on first glance: clean grid, decent copy, colour-coded buttons.
But churn was high. Demos were slow. People didn’t convert.
The fix? Not a redesign. A rethink.
We restructured the tiers to match actual user journeys.
We rewrote feature descriptions in plain English.
We introduced light prompts: “Not sure which plan? Answer 3 questions.”
We also killed the upsell bait. Every feature listed was actually included.
No A/B tests. Just clarity.
Result: conversions up 22% in six weeks. Support tickets down. Founder slept better.
The Cost of Confusion
Most pricing pages fail not because the pricing is wrong – but because the experience is unclear. Founders spend months on pricing strategy, and minutes on the interface that delivers it.
And that disconnect shows up in all the wrong places:
- Users who churn after a week because they didn’t understand what was included.
- Prospects who bounce mid-signup to “ask a friend” or “check the FAQ.”
- Sales teams who have to explain the plans on every single call.
A good pricing page does that work for you.
A Note for Founders
Your pricing page isn’t just where the money comes in.
It’s where the trust is built.
If your page hasn’t been touched in a year – or was built by someone who’s no longer at the company – it’s probably costing you more than you think.
Not just in missed revenue.
But in confusion. Hesitation. Abandoned signups.
Make it count.