Pricing Strategy¶

Substrate uses value-based pricing aligned with customer outcomes and expansion potential.

Pricing Philosophy¶

Core Principles¶

1. Align with Value Delivered
2. CodeGraft: Per-repo (complexity proxy)
3. Chronicle: Per-user (engagement proxy)

4. Enterprise: Per-asset/transaction (scale proxy)

5. Start Low, Expand Over Time

6. Free tier creates demand
7. Low entry price reduces friction

8. Natural expansion triggers built-in

9. Transparent and Predictable

10. No hidden fees
11. Clear usage limits

12. Monthly or annual billing

13. Expansion Built-In

14. Easy to start small
15. Natural growth paths
16. Volume discounts at scale

Pricing Tiers¶

Starter (Free)¶

Purpose: Developer adoption, community building

Included: - Read-only graph view - Basic GitHub integration - Community Discord access

Upgrade Triggers: - Multiple repositories - Team growth beyond 3 - Need for governance features

Team ($499/month)¶

Target: Engineering teams of 5-15

Annual: $5,988 (17% savings vs monthly)

Includes: - ✅ All core services - ✅ Institutional memory (WHY layer) - ✅ Simulation engine - ✅ SSH Runtime Connector - ✅ CI/CD blocking - ✅ 6 pre-bundled policy packs - ✅ Keycloak bundled - ✅ Email support (48h SLA)

Value Anchor: - Replaces: Backstage implementation ($50K+) + SonarQube ($15K) + manual reviews - At: $6K/year - ROI: 10x+

Scale ($1,499/month + $0.50/node)¶

Target: Growing organizations, multi-team

Base Annual: $17,988

Adds: - ✅ Multi-team isolation - ✅ Audit/evidence export - ✅ Org-private marketplace - ✅ Custom policies - ✅ Priority email (24h SLA)

Pricing Example: - 500 nodes × $0.50 = $250/month - Base: $1,499/month - Total: $1,749/month

Enterprise (Custom)¶

Target: Fortune 500, regulated industries

Range: $30K - $120K/year

Adds: - ✅ Any OIDC/SAML IdP - ✅ Custom LoRA adapters - ✅ Air-gap deployment - ✅ 99.9% financial SLA - ✅ Dedicated CSM - ✅ Phone support (4h SLA) - ✅ Professional onboarding included - ✅ Architecture review sessions

Add-Ons¶

Pricing Evolution¶

Year 1-2: Land¶

• Goal: Adoption > margin
• CodeGraft Pro: $499/month (below SonarQube)
• Willing to lose money on small customers
• Focus on product-market fit

Year 3-4: Expand¶

• Raise prices as value proven
• CodeGraft Pro: $799/month (+60%)
• Justify with: features, accuracy, case studies
• Grandfather early customers

Year 5+: Premium¶

• "The structural integrity platform" commands premium
• Enterprise deals: $500K-2M annually
• Competitive with Datadog, Wiz, LeanIX

Value Metrics¶

Customer ROI Calculation¶

Before Substrate: - Backstage implementation: $50K - LeanIX/Ardoq: $30K/year - SonarQube Enterprise: $15K/year - Manual architecture reviews: 2 eng days/sprint × $150/hr × 26 sprints = $62K/year - Post-incident overhead: $20K/year

Total: ~$177K/year

With Substrate Team: - Annual cost: $5,988 - Implementation: $2,500

Total: ~$8.5K/year

Net Savings: $168K/year (20x)

Expansion Economics¶

Typical Growth Pattern:

4-Year LTV: $125K+
Expansion Revenue: 70% of total

Discounts¶

Annual Prepay¶

• 17% discount (2 months free)
• Improves cash flow
• Reduces churn

Volume¶

• 500+ nodes: $0.40/node
• 1,000+ nodes: $0.30/node
• 5,000+ nodes: Custom enterprise

Non-Profit / Open Source¶

• 50% discount on Team plan
• Must apply and qualify
• Annual review

Startups¶

• Team plan at $299/month for first year
• Must be <2 years old, <20 employees, <$5M raised
• Convert to standard pricing year 2

Competitive Pricing¶

Positioning: Enterprise capability at mid-market price.

Billing¶

Payment Methods¶

• Credit card (monthly/annual)
• ACH/wire (annual only)
• Invoice (Enterprise, net 30)

Cancellation¶

• Monthly: Cancel anytime, prorated refund
• Annual: Cancel anytime, no refund
• Data export provided within 30 days

Overages¶

• Nodes: Billed monthly in arrears
• Users: Prompted to upgrade when exceeded
• Grace period: 7 days