Pricing sensitivity survey (Van Westendorp)

Ask "what would you pay?" and most people give you a low number on purpose. The Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter asks four softer questions instead: at what price it feels too expensive, getting expensive, a bargain, and too cheap to trust. Plot the answers and the places where the lines cross give you a price range to work from. The extra questions here show what buyers compare you against and what they already spend.

Best for: Anyone setting a first price for a new product, or checking whether a new plan is priced in the right range.

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At what price would this product be so expensive you would not consider buying it?

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The questions

1At what price would this product be so expensive you would not consider buying it?Short textThe "too expensive" question. It sets the top of the range.
2At what price would it start to feel expensive, but you'd still consider it?Short textThe "getting expensive" question. This is where people start to push back.
3At what price would it feel like a good deal, a real bargain?Short textThe "bargain" question. Buying at this price feels easy.
4At what price would it be so cheap you'd question its quality?Short textThe "too cheap" question. Below this, a low price makes people doubt the product.
5What were you using or doing to solve this before you found us?Long textTells you what people compare your price against, which the four price questions can't show.
6Roughly how much do you (or your team) already spend on this problem each month?Short textMoney already spent is a good check on the price answers.
7Who would actually approve this purchase?Single selectJust me / My manager / Finance or procurement. Who signs off changes what "expensive" means.

Sample replies, counted

These replies are made up to show the method.

Asked: What were you using or doing to solve this before you found us?

a google sheet with way too many tabsSpreadsheets
Excel plus a shared drive. It was free, so anything over $20 a month is a hard sell to my boss.Spreadsheets
We paid about $49 a month for a bigger tool and only used a fraction of it.Paid tool we outgrew
had a paid plan elsewhere at like $300/yr but it couldn't do approvals so we leftPaid tool we outgrew
A freelancer did it for us, around $400 each time we needed one.Paid someone to do it
Nothing, we just didn't do itWent without
notion template + a lot of copy pasteSpreadsheets

7 replies, one label each
Label	Replies
Spreadsheets	3
Paid tool we outgrew	2
Paid someone to do it	1
Went without	1

Three of seven people came from free spreadsheets, so their "too expensive" answers will run low. Plot them apart from the three who already paid a tool or a freelancer before you pick a price.

How to run it well

Ask the four price questions in the same order for everyone, so every answer was given in the same context.
Ask for one amount in one currency, not a range. You need clean numbers to plot the four lines.
Plot each answer as a cumulative line. Where "too cheap" crosses "too expensive" is the optimal price point. Where "bargain" crosses "getting expensive" is the indifference point.
Only survey people who match your real buyer. Someone browsing the free plan will pull the whole range down.
Read the price answers next to what people already spend. If the range sits well below current spend, people are likely lowballing.

When not to use this: Van Westendorp works best for something new. If you are pricing an established product against close rivals, a conjoint or split price test tells you more, and a market research survey can map the field first.

FAQ

Why not ask "what would you pay?" directly?

Because a direct question invites a low bid. Four indirect questions come at price from both ends, and where the lines cross gives you a range instead of one guessed number.

How many responses does a Van Westendorp survey need?

Enough from real buyers that the crossing points stop moving as new replies arrive. If the lines jump around, keep collecting before you set a price. Answers from people who would never buy only add noise.

What do the crossing points tell me?

Where "too cheap" meets "too expensive" is the optimal price point, the price that the fewest people rule out. Where "bargain" meets "getting expensive" is the indifference point, where as many people call it cheap as call it expensive. Treat both as a starting range, not a final answer.

Where the method comes from

Van Westendorp's Price Sensitivity Meter, Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Van Westendorp Pricing Model: Definition, How It Works, Examples, and More, Sawtooth Software (2024)sawtoothsoftware.com