Subscription pricing

Clients pay monthly for continuous access to a defined service.

Best for: Predictable revenue from maintenance, support, or always-on work.

Avoid when: There's no genuine ongoing need and you'd be charging for nothing.

How it works

A recurring fee buys ongoing access rather than a finished deliverable — hosting, maintenance, support, updates. Unlike a retainer it's usually productized and priced the same for everyone, which makes it something you can sell without a conversation.

What it looks like

£150/month for hosting, monitoring, security updates, and up to an hour of small changes.

Example project

Care plans for past web clients

Twelve former project clients pay £150 a month for hosting, backups, security updates, uptime monitoring, and an hour of small changes. That's £1,800 a month of baseline revenue for roughly two days of actual work, with annual plans offered at £1,500.

Where it wins

  • Revenue compounds instead of resetting each month.
  • Low friction to buy compared with a big project.
  • Builds a business with value beyond your own hours.

Where it hurts

  • Churn quietly undoes your growth.
  • You're on the hook indefinitely.
  • Support load grows with every customer you add.

Subscription pricing: frequently asked questions

What can freelancers sell as a subscription?

#

Anything with a genuine ongoing need: hosting and maintenance, monitoring, support, content, small changes, or access to you. If the client wouldn't miss it next month, it isn't a subscription.

How do I price a monthly subscription?

#

Cost your genuine monthly delivery time, add your margin, then check the number against what cancelling would cost the client. Price it low enough to be an easy yes and high enough that thirty customers is a real business.

How do I handle churn?

#

Measure it, then attack the causes. Annual plans at a discount, onboarding that reaches value quickly, and visible monthly reporting all help. Assume some churn is permanent and price for it.

Should I offer annual subscriptions?

#

Yes, usually at a 10 to 20% discount. You get cash upfront and lower churn, the client gets a saving. The main cost is that a bad-fit customer is locked in with you for a year too.

Get the deep dives

Worked examples and scripts for every strategy. No spam.