Major Price Increases at a Glance
| Tool | Old Price | New Price | Increase | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bardeen Starter | ~$10/mo | $99/mo | ~890% | Make Core $10.59/mo |
| Ghost Starter | ~$9/mo | $18/mo | ~100% | beehiiv Launch (free) |
| Salesforce (all tiers) | ~$94/seat | $100/seat | ~6% | Pipedrive Lite $14/seat |
| Typeform Basic | ~$25/mo | $39/mo | ~56% | Tally (free, unlimited) |
| Mailchimp Free | 2,000 contacts (2019) | 250 contacts (2024) | 87.5% reduction | Kit free (10K subs) |
| Close CRM entry | ~$25/seat (Startup) | $49/seat (Essentials) | ~96% | Pipedrive Lite $14/seat |
Bardeen: The Most Dramatic Increase
Bardeen's paid plan went from approximately $10/month to $99/month — putting it in the same price range as enterprise automation tools with a fraction of the capability. The free tier remains (100 credits/month) but is barely functional. At $99/month, Bardeen now costs more than Zapier Professional ($29.99/month) and almost 10x more than Make Core ($10.59/month).
What to do: Switch to Make Core ($10.59/month for 10,000 operations) for general automation. For browser-specific automation, evaluate free browser extension alternatives before paying $99/month.
Ghost: Entry Price Doubled
Ghost restructured its pricing. The new Starter plan is $18/month, up from ~$9 for the previous entry tier. Publisher is $35/month. Business jumped to $239/month. Existing users are typically grandfathered for 1–2 renewal cycles. The self-hosted version remains free.
What to do:If you're technical, self-host Ghost for $0 plus ~$5–10/month server costs. If not, beehiiv Launch (free, 2,500 subscribers) or beehiiv Scale ($49/month, unlimited) covers most newsletter use cases with built-in monetization tools Ghost lacks.
The Pattern Behind Price Increases
- Post-acquisition increases: Mailchimp's decline started after Intuit acquired it for $12 billion in 2021. Expect similar patterns with any newly acquired tool.
- AI cost pass-throughs: Tools adding AI features (Notion AI at $10/user/month, ClickUp Brain at $7/member/month) are passing compute costs to customers through add-ons.
- Growth slowdown pressure: When SaaS companies can't grow fast enough through new customers, they extract more revenue from existing ones through price increases and feature gating.
- Free tier economics: Free tiers cost vendors real money. As investor pressure increases, free tiers shrink. Mailchimp went from 2,000 free contacts (2019) to 250 (2024).
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I protect against future price increases?
Lock in annual billing at current prices. Choose tools with published pricing and competitive markets (email marketing, PM tools). Consider open-source alternatives (n8n, Cal.com, Ghost self-hosted) that can't raise prices on you.
Should I switch immediately after a price increase?
Not always. Calculate the annual cost difference AND the switching cost (time, migration, retraining). If the price increase costs you $300/year but switching costs 20 hours of work, the math may not justify switching until your next contract renewal.