Why the Most Expensive Plan Can Help Sell the Middle One
A pricey Premium tier can change how the other prices look. If a company offers a basic plan, a mid-level plan, and a much more expensive plan, customers may judge the middle option against Premium—not just against the basic version. The middle tier can then feel like a sensible compromise, even if it would have seemed costly on its own. This is price anchoring: a high figure becomes a reference point for evaluating lower ones.
That can be useful to a company even when relatively few customers choose the top plan. The Premium option may make the mid-tier subscription seem more attractive, nudging people toward a purchase or an upgrade. In some pricing designs, the top tier also makes the middle tier look like better value by comparison; this is often called the decoy effect.
The Top Tier Can Have Real Customers, Too
A high price is not necessarily just theater. Some customers—such as businesses or people who rely heavily on a service—may value features that casual users do not need: more storage, advanced controls, priority support, or permission to add a team. Charging more for those extras lets a company earn more from customers who are willing to pay for them without asking every user to cover the same cost.
The tradeoff is that a tier can look artificially inflated if its extra features are hard to understand or matter to very few people. A useful way to judge the menu is to compare what each plan actually adds, not just its name or price. The highest tier may be there to frame the middle one—but it may also be the right tool for a smaller group with more demanding needs.
