# Price Plans

A price plan determines how you want to charge a customer for the consumption of a product. Each product can have multiple price plans, even a tailored plan per customer if this is how you go to market.

It's more common to reuse the same few plans across all customers. For example, you may have a standard plan for the product "Users" as well as a few custom plans for larger enterprise customers where individual rates have been negotiated.

## Usage-based pricing (UBP)

A usage-based price plan is a rate applied to a consumed unit metric defined for the [product](/plock-overview/guides/products-and-plans/products.md). Typical consumption metrics are seats, text messages, emails, storage, and API calls. Your customer pays for how much they use your product.

Plock supports four tier modes and a flat-rate option:

### No tiers (flat rate)

The same rate is applied regardless of consumed quantity — no volume benefits. Example: 5 EUR per seat per month, regardless of the number of seats.

<figure><img src="/files/aGEGUDouScwdT3CCxF9W" alt=""><figcaption><p>Usage-based pricing without tiers</p></figcaption></figure>

### Graduated ("for the first... for the next")

Each tier's rate applies only to usage within that tier's range — all tiers accumulate. Example: first 100 users at 5 EUR/user, next 900 at 4 EUR/user, anything above at 3 EUR/user. A customer with 150 users pays (100 × 5) + (50 × 4) = 700 EUR.

<figure><img src="/files/2ug0XbB8HspmgZUKHRur" alt=""><figcaption><p>Graduated pricing</p></figcaption></figure>

### Volume — from start ("from start, if the total is")

When a usage threshold is reached, that tier's rate applies to **all units from the first** — not just units within the tier. Example: 150 users falls in the 101–500 tier at 4 EUR/user → all 150 units at 4 EUR = 600 EUR. Better volume incentive for customers compared to graduated.

<figure><img src="/files/mEsGGKK2p3UPiYBDCubm" alt=""><figcaption><p>Volume pricing from first unit</p></figcaption></figure>

### Volume — from 2nd tier ("from 2nd tier, if the total is")

Like volume pricing, but the first tier acts as a **free allowance**. The matched tier's rate applies only to usage above the first tier's threshold. Example: first 100 units free, 4 EUR/unit above that. A customer with 150 units pays 50 × 4 = 200 EUR.

### Bulk — by tier ("by tier, if the total is")

The matched tier's rate applies only to usage **within that tier's range** — not from zero, not accumulated. Example: tier 101–500 at 3 EUR/unit → a customer with 150 units pays (150 − 100) × 3 = 150 EUR. Useful when customers should only be charged for consumption that exceeds a base included amount.

<figure><img src="/files/J8ayB0Tpp1qW0k7q31q2" alt=""><figcaption><p>Price plan visualisation</p></figcaption></figure>

### Flat fees per tier

Any tier mode can use a **flat fee** instead of (or in addition to) a per-unit rate. Instead of multiplying units by a rate, the customer pays a fixed amount for the tier they fall into. This makes it easy for customers to forecast costs — a new fee only kicks in when they cross into the next tier.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Tip:** Always check the impact of your price model across all volume tiers using Plock's price plan visual preview. It immediately highlights any revenue drops caused by tier boundary effects.
{% endhint %}

### Unit blocks

Any tier can optionally bill in block increments — for example, per 100 API calls rather than per individual call. Usage is rounded up to the nearest full block before the rate is applied.

## Fixed pricing

The most common model is a hybrid: a fixed fee for software access (a licence) plus usage-based charges for specific metrics. Fixed fees don't require any consumption data feed.

<figure><img src="/files/azfVB3Aj0QibK5nX7nC3" alt=""><figcaption><p>Fixed pricing</p></figcaption></figure>

### Price period (pricing interval)

Fixed-fee plans can set a **price period** — the time basis the plan price is expressed in — independently of the subscription's billing interval. Supported values: month, quarter, half year, year.

When a price period is set, Plock automatically scales the effective charge each billing cycle:

```
effective_amount = plan_amount × (subscription_billing_months / price_period_months)
```

This lets you define an annual list price once and reuse it across monthly, quarterly, and annual subscriptions without creating separate plans. For example, a plan with an amount of 1,200 EUR and a price period of "year" on a monthly subscription charges 100 EUR per month.

{% hint style="info" %}
Price period is only supported on fixed-fee (licensed) plans. Usage-based (metered) plans do not support it.
{% endhint %}

## Per-plan currency

Different price plans on the same product can be configured in different currencies. This allows you to offer localised pricing (e.g. EUR for European customers, USD for North American customers) without needing separate products per region.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.plock.io/plock-overview/guides/products-and-plans/price-plans.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.