REWORK Picking Pricing
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Dec 3, 2025 
David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried, co-founders of 37signals and creators of Basecamp, dive into the art of pricing strategies. They discuss the intuition behind setting prices, highlighting experiments with flat fees and hybrid models. David shares insights on avoiding complex enterprise deals, emphasizing the importance of serving small teams instead. Both reflect on Basecamp's $99 flat pricing test and the merits of keeping things simple. The conversation wraps up with lessons from their new venture Fizzy, focusing on straightforward upgrades.
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Early Pricing Experiments
- 37signals started as a web design firm charging per project and later tried a one-page redesign product called 37express for $3,500.
- They experimented with flat monthly SaaS pricing early on, like a $12/month product, because they didn't yet know demand.
Test Pricing With Real Buyers
- Many pricing rules don't generalize; you must test with your actual buyers and time horizons.
- Retest pricing periodically because secondary effects and market dynamics change over years.
Campfire's Scrapped Per-Room Plan
- Campfire was nearly launched charging per chat room, about $5 per room, but they scrapped it before release.
- They reverted to a fixed monthly price because they wouldn't buy a single-room product themselves.