41 software brands, 5 ways to charge for AI—and only 4 bill per outcome
Small_Luck8177 · reddit · 2026-10-19
AI Momentum Partners mapped the AI pricing models of 41 well-known software brands into 5 categories:
- Included (5): Google, Slack, Shopify bundle AI into existing plans at no extra fee
- Per-seat add-on (2): Dropbox, Microsoft
- Seat plus meter (21): the dominant model—Adobe, Anthropic, OpenAI, Cursor, Notion all pair plans with metered AI usage
- Usage-based (9): Datadog, Twilio, Snowflake, Replit bill per token, task, or conversation
- Per outcome (only 4): Fin, HubSpot, Sierra, Zendesk charge when a defined result occurs—outcome pricing gets the buzz, but seats and meters still do the billing
Notably, 18 of 41 brands have documented changes to their AI charges since January 2025, showing pricing models are still evolving fast.
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