Subscription pricing strategy for bundles – adapting price and payment to each market

The same bundle can take off in one market and stall in another

Your bundle launches at the same price and plan in eight markets. In some markets it takes off. In others, at the same price, it barely moves. Where this happens, two factors should be checked first: what the price means to people in each market, and whether they can pay the way they’re used to paying.

A subscription pricing strategy set market by market can increase revenue

People in different markets can value the same subscription differently. A 2020 study in the Review of Industrial Organization modeled what would happen if a music streaming service set prices country by country. It estimated 5.9% more revenue than under a single worldwide price, with people in lower-income countries gaining more than those in higher-income ones.

A large video streaming service took this approach outside bundling. It told shareholders in 2023 that after cutting prices in India by 20% to 60% in late 2021, viewing there grew by nearly 30% in a year, and revenue growth sped up. It then reduced prices in 116 more countries. The service did partly credit the rise to its content, so in this instance, the result doesn’t fully isolate price. 

In a bundle, the price, plan and free period are set for each market and partner, and what you learn from one offer shapes the next, with live offers kept as agreed. Our Guide to Subscription Bundle Optimization covers how to test those changes.

How customers pay depends on the bundling arrangement

Billing in a bundle sits with the partner, so subscribers pay the way they already pay that partner, such as on a phone bill, from a wallet balance or from a bank account. The payment decision centers on choosing partners whose billing matches how people in each market pay, which our Guide to Building a Distribution Partner Network covers.

It’s a decision that matters most where cards and bank accounts are less common. The World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 found that about 900 million adults without a financial account have a mobile phone, and paying through a phone bill or a prepaid balance doesn’t need a bank account or a card.

For direct sign-ups, and for bundled subscribers who later sign up with you directly, the local payment methods you offer yourself matter in the same way. If someone’s usual way of paying isn’t offered, they may not be able to complete the sign-up. Boku’s online payments service, separate from its bundling platform, connects subscription businesses to more than 200 local payment methods across more than 60 markets.

Keep market prices clear, and the same for everyone on an offer

Setting prices market by market is different from dynamic pricing. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says there’s no agreed definition of dynamic pricing, but in a 2025 project update it uses the term for prices that change quickly and often as demand goes up and down. The CMA is concerned that people may not know how a price was set, or may feel pushed to decide fast.

In a bundle priced market by market, everyone on the same offer pays the same price for as long as the offer runs, and changes come with the next offer. Show the price, the plan and what happens when a free period ends before people sign up.

Where an offer stalls, check price and billing before the next offer

Take the bundle that took off in some markets and stalled in others. Where it stalled, look first at the price and then how the partner takes payment.

If the price looks high for that market, change the price, plan or free period in the next offer. If the partner’s billing doesn’t match how people there pay, look for a partner whose billing does. Demand for your service and other local conditions can explain part of the gap too, so read the next offer’s results alongside your other markets.

Boku’s bundling platform works with mobile networks, banks, wallets and retailers, so you can choose partners by how their customers pay, and it reports how each offer performs by market and partner.

FAQs

What is a subscription pricing strategy?

It’s how a subscription business sets what people pay for. It includes the price, the subscription pricing models on offer, such as ad-supported or full-price plans, and any free period. For bundles, it also covers the price agreed with each partner, which can differ by market and partner, and how it changes between offers.

Is pricing bundles differently across markets considered a dynamic pricing strategy? 

Not in the sense the UK’s competition regulator uses, where prices change frequently in response to demand. Here, we’re referring to the price customers pay for a bundled subscription offer, which may differ between countries. Businesses can set a price for each market and adjust it for future offers based on performance, rather than changing it continually in response to demand.

What are some examples of pricing subscriptions by market?

A large video streaming service cut prices in India by 20% to 60% in late 2021, reported faster growth there, then reduced prices in 116 more countries. Research on a music streaming service estimated that country-by-country prices would raise revenue compared with one worldwide price. Neither example is a bundle.

What are local payment methods?

Local payment methods are ways of paying other than international card networks, such as mobile wallets, bank transfers and payment through a phone bill. They’re also called alternative payment methods. Offering the ones people use in each market gives people who rely on them a way to pay.

How do you keep market-by-market pricing fair for subscribers?

Make the price clear before people sign up, explain what happens when a free period ends, keep the same price for everyone on the same offer, and avoid pressuring people to decide quickly. The UK’s competition regulator lists among its concerns consumers who don’t know how prices are set or who feel rushed.

Key takeaways

• A subscription pricing strategy for bundles sets price, plan and free period market by market and partner by partner.
• Country-by-country prices can raise revenue overall, and results in one market can guide the next offer in others.
• In a bundle, billing sits with the partner, so the payment decision is choosing partners whose billing matches how people in each market pay.
• Keep prices clear and the same for everyone on an offer, keep live offers as agreed, and make changes with the next offer.