Will it know I'm B2B vs B2C, my ACV, my stage?

Yes. Onboarding captures stage, business model, ACV range, and target customer. Every pricing framework is filtered through those — Lemkin's 'charge from day one' maps to low-ACV B2B; Verna's freemium playbook applies when you're PLG-prosumer. The page literally won't show you the wrong framework.

What if Campbell and Lemkin disagree on my situation?

That's the whole point. Gavel shows you both positions side-by-side, then makes a call for your context — and tells you why. You see the disagreement, the reasoning, and which one fits. You can override either. This is what generic LLMs can't do: they collapse disagreement into 'it depends.' We surface it.

Can I upload my pricing page or competitor pricing for analysis?

Yes — Plus tier ($19/mo) includes file upload and framework-driven analysis. Drop in your pricing page screenshot or a competitor's, and Gavel will audit it against Campbell's anchoring framework, Lemkin's tier-simplicity rule, and Ramanujam's WTP segmentation.

How is this different from running a Van Westendorp study myself?

If you have 50+ customers to survey, do the Van Westendorp — Gavel tells you exactly how to run it. If you have 4 paying customers (or zero), survey data won't help you. That's where named-operator frameworks come in: when you can't measure, you reason from principles + cited precedent.

What if I'm already paying for ChatGPT Plus?

Keep it for general work. Open Gavel when the decision matters — pricing, launch, repositioning. ChatGPT will give you a textbook summary; Gavel gives you Campbell's actual call with a working source link to the original artifact.

SaaS Pricing Advisor — Cited Frameworks from Operators

Why pricing decisions are different

The most consequential decision you'll make this quarter

Get pricing wrong and you bleed margin for years. Generic AI can't help — pricing is judgment, not pattern-matching.

73%

of SaaS companies underprice on launch

— ProfitWell pricing research. Most founders pick $9 or $19 because it "feels right," then can't unwind it.

~30%

average revenue lift from one structured pricing review

— Madhavan Ramanujam, Monetizing Innovation. The leverage is real — but only if you're applying the right framework.

"It depends"

what ChatGPT tells you when you ask

Generic LLMs hedge on pricing because their training data hedges. You need a position, not a parade of considerations.

The 3 pricing decisions Gavel handles

Not theory. The actual call, with named operators behind it.

Pre-launch

"Should my Plus tier be $19, $29, or usage-based?"

Patrick Campbell — ProfitWell

"Anchor your highest tier at 3x what you want most people to pay. The middle tier becomes obvious."

When it fits: You have a clear price ceiling in mind ($29). Anchor by adding a $89 "Pro" tier — most buyers stop at $29, but a few will self-select up.

Jason Lemkin — SaaStr

"At under $50/mo, freemium kills you on B2B. Charge from day one — even $20 — to filter for buyers."

When it fits: You're B2B with low ACV. Card-on-file at $20 is worth more signal than 100 free signups. Skip usage-based until you've got 100 paying.

Picking a model

"Freemium, free trial, or paid from day one?"

Elena Verna — Growth Advisor

"For dev tools and prosumer SaaS, freemium works because users need to try extensively before paying. Design the free tier to create habits, not just trial usage."

When it fits: Self-serve, daily-use products with PLG motion. Generous-but-limited free tier with usage-based upgrade triggers.

Lenny Rachitsky — Lenny's Newsletter

"Free trials work better when your product has clear aha-moments within 14 days. Freemium attracts tire-kickers who never convert."

When it fits: Products with a clear "wow moment" inside 2 weeks. 14-day trial with activation checklist, no credit card required.

Tier structure

"How many tiers, and what's the value metric?"

Madhavan Ramanujam — Monetizing Innovation

"Segment by willingness-to-pay first. Then build tiers around the features that map to each segment's value perception."

When it fits: Multi-segment markets (SMB + mid-market). Run Van Westendorp before you draw tier boundaries — the data dictates the cuts.

Kyle Poyar — OpenView

"Find the value metric that scales with customer success. Seats, events, projects — whatever grows when your customer wins. Price that, not features."

When it fits: PLG and usage-driven products. Hybrid tiers (small flat fee + usage above threshold) often beats pure subscription.

These are 3 of ~40 pricing scenarios in the corpus. Gavel picks the framework that fits your context — and tells you which expert's view to follow, and why.

The pricing operators in your corner

Cited frameworks. Real practitioners. Working source links.

Not a "thought leader" list. These are the names you'll see cited under every Gavel pricing answer.

PC

Patrick Campbell

Founder, ProfitWell

38,000+ pricing studies. The 3x anchoring framework. Value metric methodology.

Source: Pricing I/O · ProfitWell blog

JL

Jason Lemkin

SaaStr

B2B SaaS pricing playbook. The "charge from day one" rule. Freemium vs trial economics.

Source: SaaStr.com archives

MR

Madhavan Ramanujam

Simon-Kucher · Monetizing Innovation

Willingness-to-pay segmentation. Van Westendorp methodology. The 4-question pricing study.

Source: Monetizing Innovation (book)

KP

Kyle Poyar

OpenView · Growth Unhinged

Usage-based pricing playbook. PLG pricing patterns. Value-metric design for SaaS.

Source: OpenView reports · Growth Unhinged

Cheaper than a single hour with a $500/hr strategist

Simple, transparent pricing

Start free. Upgrade when your decisions start to matter.

Free

Get started

$0 /month

~10 quick decisions / month
All 8 domains, all experts
Retrievable expert citations
No file upload
No persistent memory

Recommended for solo founders

Plus

For founders mid-decision

$19 /month

~750 decisions / month — covers heavy weeks
File upload & framework-driven analysis
Persistent memory — knows your business
All expert frameworks, all domains

ChatGPT Plus is $20 too. They give you a textbook. We give you a named operator's actual call.

Pro

For builders integrating expertise

$49 /month

~2,000 decisions / month
Everything in Plus
Priority responses
API access
MCP integration (Claude Code, Cursor)

How Gavel stacks up

ChatGPT Plus

$20/month

Generic, hedged answers. Hallucinated citations. No memory of your business.

Reforge

$1,995 / year

Async cohort-based courses. Excellent for learning. Not on-call when you're stuck Sunday night.

Strategist / coach

$500 / hour

High signal. High cost. Calendar-blocked. Doesn't remember last week's call.

Gavel Plus

$19 / month

Cited frameworks from named operators. Persistent memory. On-call 24/7.

1 credit = 1 question. File analysis uses 3 credits. Cancel anytime.

Frequently asked questions

The objections founders raise before they sanity-check a pricing decision.

Before you ship
that pricing
get a real sanity-check

The most consequential decision you'll make this quarter

Not theory. The actual call, with named operators behind it.

"Should my Plus tier be $19, $29, or usage-based?"

"Freemium, free trial, or paid from day one?"

"How many tiers, and what's the value metric?"

Cited frameworks. Real practitioners. Working source links.

Simple, transparent pricing

Free

Plus

Pro

Frequently asked questions

Get a real sanity-check in under 5 minutes

Before you ship that pricing get a real sanity-check

The most consequential decision you'll make this quarter

Not theory. The actual call, with named operators behind it.

"Should my Plus tier be $19, $29, or usage-based?"

"Freemium, free trial, or paid from day one?"

"How many tiers, and what's the value metric?"

Cited frameworks. Real practitioners. Working source links.

Simple, transparent pricing

Free

Plus

Pro

Frequently asked questions

Get a real sanity-check in under 5 minutes

Before you ship
that pricing
get a real sanity-check