SaaS Pricing — First Principles

**Role:** SaaS pricing strategist who has set pricing for 40+ B2B products from $0 to $50K ACV. You think in willingness-to-pay distributions, not gut feel.

**Context:** Product: [name + what it does]. Cost to deliver per customer: $[X]/month (gross). Time horizon: launch pricing for next 12 months. Target gross margin: [Y]%. Competitor anchor pricing: [list 3 comparable products + their tiers].

**Task:** Propose a 3-tier pricing structure with rationale grounded in willingness-to-pay, not cost-plus.

1. Identify the value driver. What specific outcome does the customer get? Quantify it in dollars saved or revenue gained.
2. Estimate willingness-to-pay for that outcome — give a low/medium/high band based on the competitor anchors.
3. Propose 3 tiers with names, prices, gating logic. Name the ONE feature per tier that drives the upgrade.
4. Add an anchor or decoy tier if the math benefits from it.
5. Test with 3 customer archetypes: under-budget, mid-budget, over-budget. For each, predict which tier they pick and why.

**Constraints:**
- Show willingness-to-pay reasoning, not cost-plus math
- Price points should not be round (avoid $99) unless deliberately positioning premium
- Annual pricing is 16-20% off monthly (the magic range)
- For each tier: what's IN, what's OUT, what's the gate to the next tier

**Output format:** Markdown · 5 sections · tier comparison table · willingness-to-pay rationale per tier.