Enterprise SaaS: Is Per User Pricing a thing of the past?

For a long long time now, I have been championing volume models over Per User Pricing models. We've been living in a world where seats and add-ons have dominated enterprise software. But now in my opinion we are moving into a new world of paying for what we use, when we use it rather than paying for what we need or what we are predicted to need based on a growth matrix from our technology providers.

Last June, I made a video as I walked through a field of Ballygannon Angus on my return from the Salesforce World Tour London and predicted that a move to volume based charging was coming sooner rather than later.

At Showoff, we’ve been delivering projects based on this approach for many years, one of the best examples is migrating My150 for MOEITS from Salesforce Communities to a Heroku based infrastructure and thus delivering a better level of product, flexibility and scalability whilst also allowing budgets to move from a dead user fee to a dynamic innovation fund that allowed for new functionality & benefits for the Union (Local 150) and their members alike to be continuously rolled out, delivering real tangible value.

So now in typical 2025 fashion, I have used a very well structured prompt to create a list of pros for adopting a Volume-based model over a PUP Model to your business. Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts and if you are looking at the potential of adopting a model of this nature for your enterprise, please get in touch with our team at Showoff.

In the world of cloud-based platforms, businesses often find themselves at a crossroads when choosing between a Volume-Based Model and a Per User Pricing (PUP) model. Each has its merits, but the volume-based model offers distinct advantages, particularly for organizations focused on scaling, leveraging data, and driving AI insights. This model is often better suited for companies that anticipate fluctuating usage patterns and need a pricing structure that adapts as they grow.

A volume-based pricing model charges customers based on usage metrics such as the number of transactions, data storage, or volume of API calls. For growing businesses, especially those with fluctuating demand, this model can be more cost-effective than a typical PUP model, where businesses pay a fixed fee regardless of usage.

Take Salesforce, a leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, as an example. Salesforce provides a PUP based solution that bundles features and functionalities into a fixed monthly fee. While this works well for stable organizations with predictable usage, it can become cost-prohibitive for companies that need to scale quickly or experience seasonal demand spikes. In contrast, a volume-based model would allow companies to only pay for the number of transactions or data they actually use, making it more aligned with business growth and usage patterns.

Volume-based models allow for greater flexibility, particularly when businesses are scaling up or down. Instead of committing to a long-term subscription with a fixed cost, businesses can easily adjust their usage based on current needs.

Platforms like Heroku, which is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering from Salesforce, provide businesses with a scalable cloud environment that complements the volume-based model. Developers can scale applications up or down depending on user demand without incurring fixed costs. Heroku’s add-ons and resource scaling are priced based on the actual consumption, making it an ideal partner for companies with rapidly fluctuating traffic or seasonal workloads.

A key benefit of both Salesforce and Heroku is their deep integration with data and AI capabilities. The volume-based model complements data-driven insights by aligning pricing with the actual consumption of data and computational resources. Companies that leverage data heavily can benefit from a pricing structure that reflects their needs, rather than a flat subscription fee.

Salesforce’s Einstein Analytics is an excellent example of how companies can tap into powerful AI insights. The platform analyzes vast amounts of customer data to drive decision-making and improve business operations. Businesses paying for what they use—whether it’s data storage or computing power—have a direct correlation between the resources consumed and the actionable insights they generate.



Heroku also plays a significant role in this data ecosystem. Developers can build data-driven applications that make use of AI and machine learning models by integrating Heroku with external data sources or databases. When combined with cloud-based data storage and AI tools, Heroku’s flexible infrastructure helps businesses optimize their applications to better leverage data and insights at scale.

A volume-based model is highly adaptable to various industries and use cases. For instance, in retail or e-commerce, demand can fluctuate significantly based on seasons, sales campaigns, or market trends. A volume-based model provides businesses with a way to pay based on their consumption, thus making it easier to manage costs and improve financial predictability.

Salesforce and Heroku’s seamless integration with other data platforms ensures that businesses can make the most out of their data at any scale. Whether they are looking to drive customer retention with targeted campaigns, build predictive analytics models, or scale applications to meet higher demand, these platforms make it easier to capture and utilize valuable insights efficiently.

A volume-based pricing model offers clear advantages for businesses focused on scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency. By pairing this model with powerful data-driven platforms like Salesforce and Heroku, organizations can unlock the full potential of their data while minimizing wasteful overhead costs. Whether it's improving customer relationships through AI-driven insights or scaling applications with ease, the volume-based approach enables businesses to thrive in dynamic environments.

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By Shane Byrne, CEO @ Showoff