AI Product Marketing
Teardown

How to do a SaaS pricing page teardown

In our method, a SaaS pricing page teardown reads the words on a pricing page, not the prices. Quote every tier name, the line under it and each button, with the date read. Then run the Eight Reads. In our view, three matter most here: the category, the asks and the named features.

Last updated by Omair Dawood.

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What changes when the page is a pricing page

The Teardown method is ours, a nine-step process. Its scope covers homepages, positioning pages and pricing pages. The full method is in How to do a messaging teardown. On a pricing page, four of the nine steps change. Step 4 changes in three Reads, so the list below has six items, in the method's order.

  1. Capture every card, from hero to footnote (step 3). The method quotes the page word for word and dates it. On a pricing page, quote each tier name, the line under it and every listed feature. Add each button, the billing toggle and any footnote. Verify against the raw markup too. Feature notes that sit in the markup but not on screen are not the visible copy, so label them if you use them.
  2. Hold the category up to the homepage (step 4, Read 2). Read 2 fails when the hero claims one category and the pricing page claims another. So read the pricing page's category noun next to the homepage's title and hero, both dated.
  3. List every ask by tier (step 4, Read 4). Read 4 lists every ask in scroll order and fails when the ask costs more than the page has justified. On a pricing page, check what each card has shown before its button. In our view, a free sign-up needs little, and "Contact Sales" needs more.
  4. Count the named things (step 4, Read 6). Read 6 counts the named layers, tiers and modules. It fails when a first-time visitor cannot map a named thing to a job they need done. The method counts names in the nav and the hero. On a pricing page, we run that count on the cards too.
  5. Swap against rival pricing pages (step 5). The method fetches two dated competitor pages. In our view, a pricing page should be swapped against the rivals' pricing pages, because tier lines get compared side by side.
  6. Rewrite without inventing a price or a feature (step 7). Every replacement claim must be supportable from evidence already public on the company's own site. On a pricing page, that rules out new prices, new limits and features the page does not list.

The other Reads and steps run as written, including the fairness pass.

Worked sample: Notion's pricing page

"One tool to run your company."

"Essentials for staying organized."

"The AI workspace for work that matters."

Read on . Source: Notion pricing page

That is the H1 and the two headings that group the tiers: Free and Plus under the first, Business and Enterprise under the second. The Business card lists these first, under "Everything in Plus, and:":

"Notion Agent" · "AI Meeting Notes" · "Enterprise Search" "Beta" · "SAML SSO"

Read on . Source: Notion pricing page

What the copy does well. Every tier names a segment and a job. Business says "For growing businesses to streamline teamwork." Plus says "For small teams and professionals to work together." The tier names are plain words. Each card opens with what it adds: "Everything in Free, and:". The asks step up with the tiers, from "Sign up" to "Get started" to "Contact Sales".

The opinion. Ours, given 2026-10-14: "The Business card lists product names before jobs. From the card alone, a first-time visitor cannot say what Notion Agent or Enterprise Search does." It points at Read 6.

ReadMarkEvidence, quoted
1. The ReaderFails"For growing businesses to streamline teamwork." Each tier names a segment and a job, but no role. The method's test fails a page that names only "teams" or "businesses".
2. The CategorySoftH1 "One tool to run your company."; homepage title "The AI workspace that works for you." (Notion homepage, read 2026-10-14)
3. The ClaimHolds"One tool to run your company." Its negation, "it takes several tools", is a claim a rival could make.
4. The AskHoldsNav: "Get Notion free", "Request a demo". Cards: "Sign up", "Get started", "Get started", "Contact Sales"
5. The ClockFails"Save up to 20% with yearly" is a reason to pick yearly, not to act now.
6. The VocabularyFails"Notion Agent" and "Enterprise Search" carry no job line on the card.
7. The ProofSoft"There’s power in a single platform where you can do all your work out of. Notion is that single place." (Nick Erdenberger, GTM, OpenAI: no outcome or number)
8. The SwapSoft"For organizations to operate with scalability, control, and security."

Read 2 is soft because "AI workspace" heads only the two upper tiers. For Read 8 we fetched two rival pricing pages. Confluence describes its Enterprise tier as "Advanced analytics, scale and security for enterprises" (Confluence pricing, read 2026-10-14), close to Notion's Enterprise line. ClickUp's Enterprise card lists "Audit Log" and "Customer Success Manager" (ClickUp pricing, read 2026-10-14), as Notion's does. Lines carrying Notion's product names cannot swap, so Read 8 is soft.

The diagnosis. Read 6 is primary, because the opinion points there. "Enterprise Search" sits on the Business card, a tier below the tier called "Enterprise". Reads 1 and 5 fail too and become secondaries. In our sketch, a team lead comes from the homepage to choose between Plus and Business. The card does not say what Notion Agent adds, so they hover each line or leave for the help center.

The fair reading. In our view, the best reason for this card is that buyers compare feature checklists across vendors, and names make that easy. Notion's markup also carries a one-line note for each feature, and small app logos sit beside "Enterprise Search". The diagnosis still stands on the visible card text, where "Notion Agent" has neither.

The fix. The rewrite borrows Notion's own feature notes from the page markup, so nothing is invented. The H1, tier names and buttons stay.

Before: "Notion Agent" After: "Notion Agent: completes multi-step tasks using context from Notion, your connected apps and the web"

Before: "Enterprise Search" After: "Search Slack, GitHub and more from Notion (Enterprise Search)"

Common mistakes

  • Tearing down the prices. The method rewrites copy and never proposes a new price.
  • Skipping the homepage. Read 2 needs the homepage's category words beside the pricing page's.
  • Marking tier names and stopping. Read 6 counts modules as well as tiers. On Notion's page, the product names fail where the tier names hold.

Questions people ask

What should a SaaS pricing page include?

In our view, it needs words that pass the Eight Reads, as well as prices. Each tier should name its reader and use the homepage's category noun. Each button should ask no more than the card has earned. Every named feature should map to a job a first-time visitor recognises. Any proof should come from a named customer describing an outcome.

How should you name pricing tiers?

Run Read 6 on them. The method counts the named tiers and modules, and fails any a first-time visitor cannot map to a job. In our view, plain tier names with a "For ..." line under each, as on Notion's page, pass. The harder test is the product names listed inside each tier.

Sources

Tear down your pricing page with the Teardown tool

The tool asks three things: the page URL, why it fails in a sentence or two, and two competitors. Leave the competitors blank and it picks two. It fetches the page fresh and dates it. You get the page's copy quoted as it reads today and the Eight Reads, each marked Holds, Soft or Fails. Then come one primary failure with what it costs, and replacement copy line by line. It takes about 2 minutes of typing.

Tear down a pricing page and get replacement copy