Unit economics

Compare per-seat, usage-based and hybrid revenue for your customer mix.

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Unit economics
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Example customer mix and prices; replace with your own.
$
$
$
$
Per-seat MRR
$67,500
ARPA $675, ARR $810,000
Usage-based MRR
$29,400
ARPA $294, ARR $352,800
Hybrid MRR
$32,250
ARPA $323, ARR $387,000
Large-customer revenue share
53% / 61% / 44%
Seat / usage / hybrid, concentration check

Per-seat pricing earns the most for this mix ($67,500 MRR). Revenue is only one test, also weigh predictability for buyers and how each model tracks the value customers get.

About this calculator

Moving from per-seat to usage-based or hybrid pricing changes who pays what. Customers with few seats but heavy usage pay more; large teams with light usage may pay less. This calculator runs the same customer mix through all three models so you can see revenue and concentration before changing a price page.

How to use it

  1. Enter how many small, mid and large customers you have, with seats and monthly usage units for a typical customer in each segment. Defaults are editable examples.
  2. Enter the per-seat price and the price per usage unit.
  3. For hybrid, enter the monthly platform fee, the usage units included in it, and the overage price per unit above that.
  4. Compare MRR, ARPA and ARR per model, and the share of revenue coming from large customers.

Methodology

Per-seat revenue per customer = seats × price per seat. Usage revenue per customer = usage units × price per unit. Hybrid revenue per customer = platform fee + max(0, usage units − included units) × overage price.

MRR for each model = the sum over segments of customers × revenue per customer. ARR = MRR × 12. ARPA = MRR ÷ total customers.

Large-customer revenue share = large customers × their revenue per customer ÷ MRR, for each model. A higher share means more revenue depends on fewer accounts.

The model is static: it does not include churn, seat or usage growth, or how buyers react to a price change. Use it to compare structures, then test behaviour separately.

FAQ

When does usage-based pricing earn more than per-seat?

When usage per seat is high relative to the seat price. In this calculator, the higher model is whichever produces more revenue for your actual seat and usage numbers.

Why look at large-customer revenue share?

Usage pricing often shifts revenue toward the heaviest users. That can lift MRR but increase the risk if one large account churns or reduces usage.

What is a usage unit?

Whatever you meter: API calls, messages, records, compute minutes or transactions. Use one unit consistently for every segment.

Numbers looking off?

If the model says one thing and the pipeline says another, that gap is usually where the revenue is. A 30-minute call finds it.

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