I'll say it plainly: per-user pricing is a tax on growth. And somehow, it became the default in service business software.
You start at $49/month. Reasonable. Then you hire your second technician, your third dispatcher, a part-time admin. Suddenly you're paying $290/month for the same software. Nothing changed except the number of logins.
That's not pricing — that's a penalty for hiring.
What Is Per-User Pricing?
Per-user pricing means you pay a base subscription fee plus an additional monthly fee for each person who uses the software:
- Jobber: $29 per additional user
- ServiceTitan: $50-75 per seat
- FieldPulse: per user pricing
## The Real Cost of Per-User Pricing
> Note: Salesforce popularized per-user SaaS pricing in the early 2000s. Today the average Salesforce Enterprise customer pays $165/user/month - over $1,650/mo for a 10-person team.
Per-user pricing punishes growth. Every new hire increases your software cost.
## How Flat-Fee Pricing Works
Chillead's pricing:
- Starter ($49/mo): Up to 5 users
- Growth ($99/mo): Unlimited users
- Scale ($199/mo): Unlimited users + priority support
## Cost Comparison by Team Size
| Team Size | Jobber ($29/user) | ServiceTitan (~$60/seat) | Chillead (flat) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 user | $39/mo | $245/mo | $49/mo |
| 5 users | $155/mo | $545/mo | $49/mo |
| 10 users | $329/mo | $845/mo | $99/mo |
| 20 users | $619/mo | $1,445/mo | $99/mo |
| 50 users | $1,489/mo | $3,245/mo | $199/mo |
Per-user pricing taxes your growth. Flat-fee platforms remove that tax entirely, letting you scale your team without scaling your software bill.