How to read a software pricing page
The number is the least informative thing on it. Here is what to read instead.
Pricing pages are written to be compared favourably, which means the interesting information is arranged to be skimmed past. None of this is dishonest. It is just that the things which decide whether a plan works for you are rarely the things printed largest.
Find the unit before the price
Per seat, per project, per export, per credit, per thousand somethings. The unit determines how the bill behaves when your work grows, and growth is the only scenario where a pricing mistake actually hurts. Take your current month, multiply by three, and compute the bill. If that number is uncomfortable, the plan is wrong regardless of what it costs today.
Look for the word “fair use”
Unlimited plans that mention fair use, reasonable use, or a soft cap have a real limit that is simply not published. That is not automatically a problem — most people never approach it — but it means “unlimited” is a marketing word and not a number you can plan against.
Read the row that is greyed out
The comparison table's most useful column is the one showing what your tier does not include. Two features are worth checking every time: export formats and API or integration access. Both are common places to put a wall that you only meet mid-project.
“What happens to my files if I downgrade or cancel?” Ask support before you subscribe, in writing. The answer tells you how much leverage the tool will have over you later.
Price the exit, not just the entry
Cost of leaving is a real number: re-exporting assets, rebuilding templates, losing version history, retraining whoever else uses it. A cheap tool with an expensive exit is not a cheap tool. This is the whole reason a slightly worse product with clean exports is often the better buy.
Ignore the launch discount
A discount changes what you pay for one year. The unit, the caps and the exit change what you pay for as long as you use it. Decide on the structure, then let the discount be a bonus.