Per-Seat Pricing

Also called: per-user pricing, seat-based pricing, per-license pricing, user-based software pricing

A software pricing model where the business pays a recurring fee for each person who uses the platform — costs grow as the team grows.

Per-seat pricing is the dominant model in business software: pay $X per user per month, multiplied by every employee who needs access. For a small business, this is often fine when the team is tiny. The problem emerges when the software is deeply embedded (you can't cut users without losing access to the tool) and the team grows — costs scale with headcount in a way that isn't tied to the value the software delivers. A trade company adding field techs can see its software bill double without any increase in revenue per user. Understanding per-seat pricing is important when evaluating software options: some tools offer flat-rate pricing (unlimited users, one price), which can be dramatically better value for businesses with growing teams.