Source: https://www.revvly.ai/docs/guides/pricing-models Guide # Eight ways to *price* a meter. Every Variable Component picks one pricing model. The model determines how Revvly turns usage into money on an invoice. Pick the simplest one that fits — you can publish a new version later if it stops fitting. ## The shape of a component A [Variable Component](https://www.revvly.ai/docs/concepts/variableComponent) attaches a pricing model to a [Meter](https://www.revvly.ai/docs/concepts/meter). Every component has the same envelope — a name, currency, proration, billing timing, limit period, status — and a model-specific block of numeric fields. The numeric block below is what differs between the eight models. You don’t need to create a Meter before creating a component: name the component and leave the meter unset, and Revvly provisions one automatically; binding to an existing Meter is still there as an advanced option when you want to share usage-tracking identity across components. ## Flat rate A single per-unit price. The simplest model. **When to reach for it.** Use when every unit costs the same and you want a price tag a customer can read in a sentence — “$5 per seat per month”. Flat rate components multiply the metered quantity by a fixed unit price. They support an “included quantity” — say, the first 10 seats free, then $5 each — but every unit beyond the included quota is billed at the same flat rate. Combine with a limit period to reset the included quantity on each billing cycle. - **Unit price**: Money per unit, in the component currency - **Included quantity**: Optional — units bundled for free per period - **Proration model**: Full month / Daily / None Seats — $5 each, 10 included 15 seats 5 × $5 = $25 8 seats $0 (within included) 12 seats, mid-cycle 2 × $5 × proration ## Volume tiered Every unit takes the price of the tier the total falls in. **When to reach for it.** Use to reward growth with a single rate the customer can quote. A customer at 1,001 units pays the higher-volume rate on all 1,001. Volume tiered pricing applies one rate to the entire quantity, based on which tier the total falls into. It is the most generous model — crossing a tier boundary discounts the units below the boundary too. A free allowance and any included units are subtracted from the metered quantity first, and the resulting net billable quantity is what both gets billed and selects the tier — so a free allowance can pull a customer into a lower, cheaper bracket. That is intended: unpaid units never push a customer up a tier. - **Tier prices**: Array of breakpoints and per-unit prices - **Currency**: Tier ladder is per-currency - **Proration model**: Full month / Daily / None API calls — volume tiered Tier 1: 0–100k $0.001 / call Tier 2: 100k–1M $0.0008 / call Customer at 500k 500,000 × $0.0008 = $400 (whole quantity at tier-2 rate) Free allowance selects the tier Tiers ≤10 → $10, ≤50 → $8, ∞ → $6 Free allowance 5 Customer uses 12 billable = 12 − 5 = 7 7 falls in tier 1 7 × $10 = $70 (not the ≤50 $8 bracket) ## Graduated tiered Each tier’s rate applies only to the slice of units inside that tier. **When to reach for it.** Use for transparent “first N at X, next M at Y” pricing where you don’t want to retroactively re-rate units when a customer crosses a boundary. Graduated tiered is the slice-by-slice analogue of volume tiered. A customer who crosses from tier 1 into tier 2 still pays the tier-1 rate on tier-1 units; only the overflow is charged at the tier-2 rate. Most SaaS metered pricing uses this model. - **Tier prices**: Same shape as volume tiered - **Currency**: Per-currency ladder - **Proration model**: Full month / Daily / None API calls — graduated Tier 1: 0–100k $0.001 / call Tier 2: 100k+ $0.0008 / call Customer at 250k 100k × $0.001 + 150k × $0.0008 = $220 ## Stairstep A single flat fee per band of usage. **When to reach for it.** Use for packaged pricing where customers pay a flat sticker price for a usage range rather than a per-unit cost. Stairstep pricing charges a fixed fee for being in a usage band — like “up to 10k events: $99, up to 100k: $499, up to 1M: $1,999”. The fee is the same for every customer in the band, regardless of where in the band they sit. As with volume tiered, a free allowance and any included units are subtracted from the metered quantity before the band is selected, so the band is chosen on the net billable quantity — a free allowance can drop a customer into a lower, cheaper band. - **Step fees**: Array of band upper bounds and flat fees - **Currency**: Per-currency ladder - **Proration model**: Usually Full month Storage — stairstep Up to 50 GB $29 / month flat Up to 500 GB $99 / month flat Customer at 12 GB $29 (no per-GB charge) Free allowance selects the band Bands ≤10 → $100, ≤50 → $200, ∞ → $400 Free allowance 5 Customer uses 12 billable = 12 − 5 = 7 7 falls in band 1 $100 flat (not the 11–50 $200 band) ## True overage A baked-in allowance plus a per-unit charge above it. **When to reach for it.** Use when the plan includes a usage allowance and you want a simple overage rate for anything above it — the most familiar shape for metered SaaS. True overage components bake an allowance into the plan price and charge a flat rate for every unit above it. Different from flat rate because the allowance is conceptually part of the plan, not a discount; the overage line item is what shows up on the invoice. Two settings look similar but differ in origin: included units is a structural inclusion — the entitlement the customer gets from the plan or bundle the component is attached to, consumed by the overage math — while the cross-model free allowance is a standalone “first N free” grant configured directly on the component, independent of any plan and of promotions. In overage models they stack: the model consumes its included units, and the free allowance is an extra layer on top. They are not redundant. - **Included units**: Allowance bundled into the plan - **Overage price**: Per-unit price above the allowance - **Limit period**: When the allowance resets Emails — true overage Included 50,000 / month Overage $1 / 1,000 Customer sent 73,500 24 × $1 = $24 overage line ## Committed overage A committed quantity paid up front, overage at a separate rate. **When to reach for it.** Use for annual commits — a customer agrees to N units for the year at one rate, and burns through them; anything above is charged at the committed-overage rate. Committed overage splits price discovery into two numbers: a committed quantity (priced via tiers or flat) paid in advance, and an overage rate for anything beyond it. This is the typical shape for enterprise commitments and AWS-style reservations. Unused committed units are handled by the unused-unit behavior: Forfeit (the default) discards them at period end, while Rollover carries the unused base commitment forward into the next period as extra headroom — the next period’s overage threshold becomes the commitment plus the rolled-over units, while the customer still always pays the base commitment as the minimum. Rollover is single-period: carried units that go unused next period expire rather than compounding. (A monetary Credit for unused units is planned but not yet available.) - **Committed quantity**: Paid up front - **Overage price (committed)**: Per-unit rate above the commit - **Unused units**: Forfeit (default) / Rollover - **Limit period**: Usually annual or per renewal API calls — committed overage Commit 10M calls @ $0.0005 (= $5,000) Overage $0.0008 / call above 10M Customer at 12M $5,000 + 2M × $0.0008 = $6,600 Rollover — unused commitment carries one period Commit 50 @ $10, overage $12 Period 1: use 30 50 × $10 = $500 (minimum); 20 unused → roll over Period 2 threshold 50 + 20 = 70 Period 2: use 65 $500 minimum, no overage; new rollover = 0 (20 expire) ## Commission A percentage of customer revenue (or volume) processed. **When to reach for it.** Use for marketplaces, payment platforms, or any business where you charge a take rate on GMV / transactions / processed value. Commission components track GMV, transaction count, refunded amounts, and net GMV per period. The fee may be a percentage of GMV, a fixed fee per transaction, or both. Refunds reduce billable GMV by default; included thresholds (free transactions, free GMV) reduce it further. - **Percentage rate**: Take rate on net GMV - **Fixed per-transaction fee**: Flat add-on per transaction - **Included GMV / transactions**: Free-tier thresholds - **Refund handling**: How refunds affect billable GMV Marketplace — 2.9% + 30¢ 100 transactions @ $50 avg $5,000 GMV $10 refunded Net $4,990 Commission $4,990 × 2.9% + 100 × $0.30 = $174.71 ## Promotional A time-bounded discount overlay on another published component. **When to reach for it.** Use to ship a launch promo, seasonal discount, or migration incentive without rewriting the underlying component. A Promotional component references another published component and overlays a discount — percentage off, fixed amount off, or both — for a defined window. It does not replace the base component; the base remains the source of truth for the underlying pricing model. When the promo expires, billing reverts automatically. - **Base component**: The component being discounted - **Discount type**: Percentage / Fixed amount - **Window**: Start / end timestamps - **Status**: Promotional components archive cleanly after expiry Launch promo — 30% off seats Base Seats flat rate $5 Discount 30% off, May 1 – Jun 30 Effective rate during promo $3.50 ## Next up - [How prices are resolved across scopes ›](https://www.revvly.ai/docs/guides/scoped-pricing) - [Per-customer overrides with Custom Pricing Agreements ›](https://www.revvly.ai/docs/guides/custom-agreements) - [Versioning, upgrades, and grandfathering ›](https://www.revvly.ai/docs/guides/versioning)