Takes the four Van Westendorp price-perception responses (too cheap, cheap, expensive, too expensive) and derives an Optimal Price Point, Indifference Price Point, and an acceptable price band. Run it before you publish a price — and only after you've surveyed 30+ people in your actual ICP. Under that sample, the curves don't stabilize and the output will look authoritative but lie to you.
Your numbers
Price below which buyers doubt the product is real.
Price that feels like a steal but still credible.
Price that needs justification but is still reasonable.
Price above which buyers walk away regardless of value.
The verdict
Indifference: $54.00
Wide band. Acceptable, but the price has 2×+ flexibility — you can probably charge more.
How this is calculated
This is the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter — a 1976 method that survives because it works. Each buyer answers four price questions; the calc converts the median answers into two key prices:
- Optimal Price Point (OPP) = (too_cheap + too_expensive) / 2. The price with the lowest combined "no" rate.
- Indifference Price Point (IPP) = (cheap + expensive) / 2. The price at which the buyer pool is roughly split.
- Acceptable band = [too_cheap, too_expensive]. Wider band = more buyer confusion about value.
For a true multi-respondent survey, the OPP is the intersection of cumulative "too cheap" and "too expensive" curves. This calc uses the median-cohort shortcut so a single 4-input dataset works.
Source: Peter van Westendorp, "NSS Price Sensitivity Meter" (1976). Still the most cited pricing-research method in academic marketing literature.
What this doesn't tell you
- Whether buyers will actually pay. Stated price isn't the same as willingness to pay — buyers under-estimate what they'll spend on category buys and over-estimate on novelty buys. Pair with a small Fake Door Test before launch.
- Which buyer segment to target. A wide band usually means you're surveying mixed segments. Re-run the calc separately for each persona and pick the segment with the tightest band as your launch buyer.
- How to package. The calc gives one price; most products ship 2-3 tiers. Use the OPP as the anchor tier and price the higher tier 2-3× above to make the anchor look like the bargain.
Use this with
Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter
Four survey questions, four cumulative curves, four intersections. How to run the Van Westendorp price sensitivity meter, plot it, and read the price range.
Pricing Validation
Most founders pick a price by looking at competitors and shaving 20%. That's not pricing strategy, it's matching. Real pricing validation produces a price you can defend against your own ego and your buyer's pushback.
How do I find my target market?
Narrow in four passes. (1) Start with the broad category your idea sits in. (2) Filter by buyer behavior: who currently has this problem and is doing something about it? (3) Filter by reach: who can you actually contact via the channels you have today? (4) Filter by willingness to pay: who has budget authority and a price point that clears your unit economics? The output is a specific buyer profile you could name 10 people who match. If you can't, you haven't narrowed enough.
Startup runway calculator
How many months until the bank account hits zero?
TAM / SAM / SOM
Three market-size numbers, from biggest to smallest. TAM is the ceiling if everyone bought. SAM is who you could realistically reach. SOM is what you could actually win in the next one to three years. The last one is the one that matters.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I get the four price numbers from?
Can I just use my own gut for the four numbers?
Why not just A/B test the price?
What is the Indifference Price Point, and how is it different from the Optimal Price Point?
Is the Optimal Price Point the price that makes the most money?
Ready to make your next product a success?
9 decisions between your idea and a product worth building.