Essay · About a 10 minute read

You Can Probably Stand To Charge More

Patrick McKenzie (patio11) · Kalzumeus Software Free Beginner

This is the classic counterweight to the first-timer instinct to price low out of nervousness. McKenzie's core argument is that price should reflect the value the customer receives, not the hours or ease it took you to build, and that most makers systematically undercharge because they see their product's flaws instead of its alternatives. Read it right after you draft a number, then ask honestly whether you flinched too low.

• Price on the value a customer gets, not on how long or how easily you built it: the demand curve is external to you.
• "Coder's remorse" (undervaluing your own work because you see its flaws) is the main reason founders set a price too low.
• Because software's marginal cost is near zero, you have far more room to price on value than you think.