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Ask HN: SaaS chatbot for free vs. charging users – what should I do?

2 points by ahmedaly ↗ HN
Hi, I am founder of chatbot startup - it's fast growing, we are getting a ton of users signups, and almost 0 churn rate!

As a founder, I am confused between 2 roads: a- make it fremium/free for the sake of increasing the number of users, and then gradually increase it year by year through the next 5 yrs.

b- Make free very limited, and start charging users from day one, just like other chatbots. But this means I will get a small number of users.

What should I do? I am really having hard time making that decision!

5 comments

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jppope
Split test it ;)

two options... split your traffic out OR create a different brand to test the theories

trcarney
I think it depends on what your goals for the startup are. If you want to bootstrap it and keep the company smaller, charge. It will keep your growth rate more manageable.

If you want to get VC money, go for the users.

rajacombinator
Is there some benefit to keeping it free and increasing users, like a network effect? Seems unlikely, so you should try to monetize from day 1.
ahmedaly
Yes there is a network effect, if you mean by that, that a user would bring more users in.... like Facebook or so.
Coviam
As a business, you must invest in chatbot technology, so that you don't have to see your customers departing to competition. Check out http://s.engati.com/142 and see how you can have an edge over others