Ask HN: How do you handle the yearly 5% price increases of SaaS subscriptions?

2 pointsposted 13 hours ago
by hbarka

Item id: 49494291

4 Comments

magicalhippo

10 hours ago

From the other side of the table kinda, as a SaaS provider, wages here have risen by about 5% each year. And wages is the greatest expense we have.

That said, I'm just an employee so not my call either way.

toomuchtodo

13 hours ago

Be prepared to move elsewhere if they attempt to raise the price. Create an artifact like a spreadsheet to model whether moving is worthwhile (considering the time and effort required to migrate) if asking for a concession on a price increase is unsuccessful. Also, use price/cost intelligence vendors to understand what others are paying for the SaaS when possible for negotiation purposes. Treat your vendors like they are commodities whenever possible to defend against vendor lock in risk. Long term contracts (~3 years) with capped increases tied to inflation are also a potential option if your vendor offers it.

The counterparty with the most leverage and who cares the least is the one who usually wins. Be that counterparty when you can.

hbarka

12 hours ago

Thank you. I’m about to ask AI who the price/cost intel providers might be. It might be the answer for creating the idea of leverage with a counterparty. How far to take this proposition of a competitor to the current vendor? The incumbent is embedded deeper every year and knows it.