A Freemium Model Owners Trust
Pricing, ethics, and upgrade cues for Google-Maps-first microsites.
Part of the series:
• Overview
• Do You Really Need a Website?
• Taming the Google Maps Wild West
• Where Bad Sites Come From
• PDF Menus → Microsites
• Time-Slot Deals for Any Business
• AI-Generated Instant Sites
• Curating Google Maps Listings
• The Microsite Flywheel
• A Freemium Model Owners Trust (you are here)
• Roadmap & Next Steps
1 | Why Pricing Matters More Than Features
Local businesses run on razor-thin margins and deep scepticism of “SaaS creep.”
The wrong pricing model will kill adoption faster than a broken PDF menu.
See Do You Really Need a Website? for proof that many owners still hesitate to pay for any web presence.
2 | Freemium Philosophy: Three Non-Negotiables
- Always-Free Core
- Business name, hours, menu/services, one booking link, and HTTPS hosting must remain free forever.
- Matches the baseline “PDF menu” cost (zero) described in PDF Menus → Microsites.
- No Third-Party Ads
- We will never inject unrelated banners or competitor links.
- Builds trust compared with ad-stuffed “free site builders” called out in Where Bad Sites Come From.
- Transparent Upgrade Triggers
- Usage limits and overages shown in-app, not buried in email.
- Prevents dark-pattern surprises that damage brand goodwill.
3 | Pricing Tiers at a Glance
| Tier |
Monthly Price |
What You Get |
Upgrade Cue |
| Free |
€0 |
Instant Site • 100 menu items • 1,000 monthly visits • Platform footer badge |
Hits 1,000 visits or 50 bookings |
| Starter |
€12 |
Remove badge • Custom domain • Basic analytics • 3 Time-Slot offers |
Tops 5,000 visits or wants booking deposits |
| Growth |
€39 |
Loyalty QR • Advanced analytics • A/B banner tests • Overlay pinning |
Needs cross-promo marketplace access |
| Pro |
€99 or 2 % GMV |
API, headless export, multi-location dashboard, SLA |
Expands to ≥5 locations or >€10 k GMV |
All limits are hard ceilings, never hidden soft caps.
Upgrade prompts follow the visual meter style shown in Curating Google Maps Listings.
4 | Ethical Revenue Drivers (No Dark Patterns)
- Soft-Gate Features – Lock advanced add-ons, not core data.
- Grace Period – Owners have 30 days to downgrade without losing data.
- No Credit-Card Wall – Free tier requires only Google OAuth verification.
- Local-Currency Billing – Eliminates FX fees for EU micro-merchants.
- Usage Emails, Not Alarms – Friendly nudges at 80 % of quota, never sudden cut-offs.
5 | Cost Structure Behind the Scenes
| Cost Driver |
Variable Cost per Unit |
Scaling Strategy |
| CDN traffic |
€0.06 per GB |
Image WebP conversion drops payload 35 % |
| AI tokens |
€0.002 per new microsite |
First rewrite only; edits reuse cache |
| Places API |
€0.003 per refresh |
2-tier cache (see AI-Generated Instant Sites) saves 42 % calls |
| Support tickets |
€3.50 per ticket avg. |
Community forum for Free/Starter |
Free tier is sustainable because AI and CDN costs are one-off or near-zero for low-traffic sites.
6 | Upgrade Triggers in Detail
- Traffic Ceiling – Visits counted by server logs, privacy-safe; meter resets monthly.
- Booking Volume – 50 free bookings then €0.10 each or move to Starter.
- Time-Slot Deals – Only 3 active deals on Free; power users move up (see Time-Slot Deals for Any Business).
- Marketplace Placement – Businesses appear in discovery carousel (The Microsite Flywheel) only from Starter up; drives organic demand that offsets the fee.
7 | Competitor Comparison
| Feature |
Our Free |
Wix Free |
Google Site |
Linktree |
DIY PDF |
| Mobile speed |
95+ |
70 |
80 |
85 |
20 |
| Structured menu schema |
Yes |
No |
No |
N/A |
No |
| Booking link |
Yes |
Third-party |
No |
No |
No |
| Ads |
None |
Wix ads |
None |
Heavy |
None |
| SSL |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
The no-ads stance and live schema give us a strategic wedge, building trust lacking in other freemium tools.
8 | Real-World ROI
| Business |
Tier |
Monthly Fee |
Incremental Monthly Revenue |
ROI |
| ClipJoint Barbers |
Starter |
€12 |
+€310 from weekday slots |
25× |
| Bella Roma Pizzeria |
Growth |
€39 |
+€740 direct bookings |
19× |
| Zen Wellness Spa |
Pro |
€99 |
+€2,100 membership upsells |
21× |
Revenue lifts are documented in Time-Slot Deals and AI-Generated Instant Sites case studies.
9 | Churn-Reduction Playbook
- Value Milestones – Auto-email “You gained 100 bookings!” moments.
- Seasonal Boosts – Temporary Growth-features unlock during holidays to let owners taste upsides.
- Exit Survey – Simple dropdown; collect feature gaps for Roadmap & Next Steps prioritisation.
- One-Click Downgrade – Protects reputation; many return within 90 days.
10 | Governance & Transparency
- Quarterly Pricing Review – Public changelog; no silent price hikes.
- Revenue Share for Referrers – 20 % of first-year fees to partner agencies.
- Open-Source Templates – Base theme code on GitHub; aligns with community trust.
- Impact Report – Annual disclosure of SMB savings vs. legacy 30 % aggregator fees.
11 | Key Take-Aways
- Freemium works only when core functionality is genuinely free and ad-free.
- Upgrade nudges should align with success events—traffic spikes, bookings, or marketplace leads.
- Transparent costs and ethical guardrails build long-term trust, unlike many DIY builders called out in Where Bad Sites Come From.
- A robust free tier fuels the Microsite Flywheel, which in turn drives paid conversions without predatory tactics.
12 | Next Reads
- AI-Generated Instant Sites – See what the Free tier delivers out-of-the-box.
- Curating Google Maps Listings – Pair your site with a polished Maps presence.
- Roadmap & Next Steps – Upcoming chain dashboard, demand forecasting, and partner plugins.
© 2025 — Share or remix with attribution.