free-tier-strategy
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How to install free-tier-strategy?
jonathimer/devmarketing-skills/free-tier-strategy
$npx -y skills add jonathimer/devmarketing-skills --skill free-tier-strategyDesign free tiers that convert to paid without creating resentment or abuse. Trigger phrases: free tier design, freemium model, free trial strategy, free tier limits, developer free plan, open source commercial, feature gating, upgrade triggers, free tier conversion
SKILL.md
| 1 | # Free Tier Strategy |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Design free tiers that let developers build real things, demonstrate value, and convert naturally—without feeling like a trap or creating resentment. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | ## Overview |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Developer tools need free tiers. Developers expect to try before they buy, and they expect the trial to be meaningful—not a 14-day timer or a feature-locked demo. But free tiers also need to sustain your business. Get this wrong in either direction: too restrictive kills adoption, too generous kills revenue. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | The best free tiers feel generous to individual developers while naturally scaling into paid tiers as projects grow. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ## Before You Start |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Review the `/devmarketing-skills/skills/developer-audience-context` skill. Free tier design varies significantly based on whether you're targeting hobbyists, startups, or enterprises. Also understand your unit economics—what does each free user actually cost you? |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ## Free Tier vs Free Trial vs Freemium |
| 16 | |
| 17 | ### Definitions |
| 18 | |
| 19 | **Free trial:** Time-limited full access (14 or 30 days) |
| 20 | - Best for: High-touch enterprise sales |
| 21 | - Worst for: Developer tools with self-serve motion |
| 22 | |
| 23 | **Free tier:** Permanently free with usage/feature limits |
| 24 | - Best for: Developer tools with self-serve adoption |
| 25 | - Requires: Careful limit design |
| 26 | |
| 27 | **Freemium:** Free tier plus premium features for payment |
| 28 | - Best for: Tools with clear hobby/pro distinction |
| 29 | - Requires: Obvious value in premium features |
| 30 | |
| 31 | **Open core:** Free open source with commercial additions |
| 32 | - Best for: Infrastructure and platforms |
| 33 | - Requires: Active open source community |
| 34 | |
| 35 | ### Choosing Your Model |
| 36 | |
| 37 | | Factor | Free Trial | Free Tier | Freemium | Open Core | |
| 38 | |--------|-----------|-----------|----------|-----------| |
| 39 | | Sales motion | High-touch | Self-serve | Self-serve | Mixed | |
| 40 | | Time to evaluate | Weeks | Months | Months | Unlimited | |
| 41 | | Conversion pressure | High | Low | Medium | None | |
| 42 | | Community building | Low | Medium | Medium | High | |
| 43 | | Support costs | High | Low | Medium | Variable | |
| 44 | |
| 45 | **Developer tools almost always need a permanent free tier, not a free trial.** Developers build side projects, evaluate tools for future use, and recommend tools to others—all of which require long-term free access. |
| 46 | |
| 47 | ## Usage Limits That Make Sense |
| 48 | |
| 49 | ### Good Limit Dimensions |
| 50 | |
| 51 | **API calls/requests** |
| 52 | - Developers understand and can track |
| 53 | - Scales naturally with application growth |
| 54 | - Example: 10,000 requests/month |
| 55 | |
| 56 | **Compute resources** |
| 57 | - Clear relationship to cost |
| 58 | - Predictable for developers |
| 59 | - Example: 500 build minutes/month |
| 60 | |
| 61 | **Storage** |
| 62 | - Easy to understand |
| 63 | - Natural upgrade trigger as data grows |
| 64 | - Example: 1GB storage |
| 65 | |
| 66 | **Seats/users** |
| 67 | - Makes sense for collaboration tools |
| 68 | - Natural upgrade for team growth |
| 69 | - Example: Up to 3 team members |
| 70 | |
| 71 | ### Bad Limit Dimensions |
| 72 | |
| 73 | **Time-based trials disguised as free tiers** |
| 74 | - "Free tier expires after 90 days of inactivity" |
| 75 | - Creates anxiety and resentment |
| 76 | |
| 77 | **Arbitrary feature combinations** |
| 78 | - "Free: 3 projects with 2 environments each, max 5 databases per environment, 100MB per database" |
| 79 | - Too complex to evaluate |
| 80 | |
| 81 | **Limits that punish success** |
| 82 | - "Free up to 100 monthly active users" |
| 83 | - Your most successful free users hit limits fastest |
| 84 | |
| 85 | ### The Goldilocks Zone |
| 86 | |
| 87 | Free tier limits should: |
| 88 | 1. **Allow meaningful usage** - Build and run a real side project |
| 89 | 2. **Cover hobbyist use cases** - Personal projects should never require payment |
| 90 | 3. **Trigger on growth, not time** - Upgrades happen because projects succeed |
| 91 | 4. **Be easy to predict** - Developers should know when they'll hit limits |
| 92 | |
| 93 | ### Example: Good Limit Structure |
| 94 | |
| 95 | **Vercel:** |
| 96 | - Unlimited personal projects |
| 97 | - 100GB bandwidth/month |
| 98 | - Serverless function limits |
| 99 | - Hobby use stays free forever |
| 100 | |
| 101 | **Supabase:** |
| 102 | - 500MB database storage |
| 103 | - 2GB bandwidth |
| 104 | - 50,000 monthly active users |
| 105 | - Social auth unlimited |
| 106 | |
| 107 | **PlanetScale:** |
| 108 | - 1 database |
| 109 | - 1 billion row reads/month |
| 110 | - 10 million row writes/month |
| 111 | - 5GB storage |
| 112 | |
| 113 | ## Feature Gating Strategies |
| 114 | |
| 115 | ### The Free Features Principle |
| 116 | |
| 117 | Free tiers should include everything needed to: |
| 118 | 1. Evaluate the product thoroughly |
| 119 | 2. Build and ship a real project |
| 120 | 3. Operate in production at small scale |
| 121 | |
| 122 | ### Features to Keep Free |
| 123 | |
| 124 | - Core functionality |
| 125 | - All integrations and SDKs |
| 126 | - Standard authentication |
| 127 | - Basic monitoring and logs |
| 128 | - Documentation and community support |
| 129 | - Development and testing environments |
| 130 | |
| 131 | ### Features to Gate Behind Paid Tiers |
| 132 | |
| 133 | **Collaboration features:** |
| 134 | - Team members beyond the solo developer |
| 135 | - Access controls and permissions |
| 136 | - Audit logs |
| 137 | |
| 138 | **Scale and performance:** |
| 139 | - Higher rate limits |
| 140 | - More compute/storage |
| 141 | - Premium infrastructure (dedicated instances) |
| 142 | |
| 143 | **Enterprise requirements:** |
| 144 | - SSO/SAML |
| 145 | - SLAs and up |
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