A study in feature gating
How SaaS products get their users to upgrade
I've been obsessing over feature gating.
I studied 12 SaaS products including Canva, Beehiiv, and Grammarly to learn how they nudge their users to upgrade to paid plans.
Below is a summary of my findings. You can access my entire research for free in this 29-page deck:
What is feature gating?
Feature gating is the practice of preventing a user from accessing features or capabilities until they upgrade their account. If you've ever experienced the following, you've been feature-gated:
"You need a Gold account to access this feature".
"Your free trial has ended".
"You've hit your XYZ limit".
Product teams implement widely different strategies and tactics to get their users to upgrade. This is what I've learned from studying 12 successful SaaS products.
1. If you are gating your product behind a usage limit, you should display your users' progress at all times.
In my deck, refer to: Todoist, Beehiiv
Some products become more valuable the more you use them.
For those products, a common practice is to offer a free (or cheap) plan with limited usage. This gets users going enough to make them successful, at which point they're less likely to leave.
Here's an example of this with Todoist, the to-do list management tool.
Todoist offer a free plan for users with up to 5 projects. This is enough to get going, feel the value, and eventually make purchasing a higher plan a no-brainer.
They are upfront about the usage limit. The reminder is always there, letting the user know of their progress towards the inevitable, and encouraging them to upgrade.
In my research, I found ChatGPT and Instapaper going against this best practice. ChatGPT limit your 4o searches, but they don't tell you by how many. Instapaper limit your notes but only warn you when you've crossed the limit.
Edit: In a Note, pointed out an excellent counter example & addendum👇:
2. A feature gate is a marketing opportunity. Don't miss it.
In my deck, refer to: Beehiiv
We've all seen some version of this:
Yep. That's a feature gate alright. I'm asked to upgrade. Yep, yep. Uhh, why should I upgrade again?
This is a huge missed opportunity. Your user is at their peak of curiosity over the feature behind this paywall. Why not provide (a lot) more context?
Here's an excellent example of this with Beehiiv:
When you reach a gated feature on Beehiiv, you're presented with a full-on marketing feature page. Inside the app. They don't just gate access to the feature and put their hands out: they sell it to you.
In my research, I found Carrd doing a poor job at this (see slide above). Tools like Canva and Trello offer a bit more context but could do better.
3. Add visual clues (so users know before they click).
In my deck, refer to: Buffer, Canva, and Trello.
You log into the app. You click around. You create a few things, move a few bits. Life is good.
You mouse over this exciting link in the nav bar. You've never noticed this link before. Is this new? Your heart is pumping. Your hand is getting a lil sweaty. Could this be the solution to all your problems?
Nooo...
Nothing more infuriating than getting tricked into clicking a link only to encounter a paywall. God damn it.
Instead, clearly show your users which feature(s) will require them to upgrade. Ideally, keep the visual clues consistent (same colour, same icon).
Here's an example with Buffer and their purple lightning icon:
In my research, I have found Beehiiv do a poor job of this. Most of their gated features appear as normal links in the side nav.
4. Hook the user and anchor the value throughout the upgrade process.
In my deck, refer to: Grammarly, Ahrefs, or Canva.
Upgrading to a paid account should be worth it.
While, to you, the value of the upgrade may be clear, your users need convincing. A lot of convincing.
In my research, I have found the products that do best follow a simple hook & anchoring process:
They announce and promise very specific value behind their paywall (hook), and,
they remind the user of that very specific value at each step of the upgrading process (anchor).
Grammarly is the best example of this:
While experiencing the free spell-checking features, Grammarly notifies the user that it has more excellent suggestions for them; one to be exact.
As the user clicks to upgrade, the (1) suggestion is recalled on the checkout page; all the way until they get the (1) suggestion promised.
Canva do this well, too. Their ‘Pro’ templates are visible at all times. Users can click them, explore them, and appreciate them. They just can't use them.
Until they upgrade and, bam, the value is delivered.
Additional reading
If you'd like to join my feature gating rabbit hole, you may enjoy these articles:
Pricing and feature gating are, obviously, very connected. Here's Patrick Campbell on pricing (Lenny)
Don’t forget to grab the slide deck at the top of this post!