For years, B2B SaaS pricing has bounced between two familiar models: flat-rate subscriptions and usage-based billing. Subscriptions offer predictability. Usage-based models promise flexibility. But as enterprise buyers grow more sophisticated—especially in AI-powered environments—these traditional SaaS pricing models are beginning to show their cracks.

And the industry knows it: over the past five years, the adoption of usage-based pricing in SaaS has nearly doubled, with 60% of companies now fully implementing or experimenting with it. But while the shift is happening, it’s also raising new challenges—chief among them: how to forecast costs without killing agility.

This is where committed consumption pricing comes in.

It combines the reliability of an annual spend model with the flexibility of usage-based pricing SaaS buyers are increasingly drawn to. Vendors get predictable revenue. Customers get the freedom to explore, experiment, and shift priorities—without triggering contract chaos.

No wonder companies like SAP and Databricks are betting big on it.

In this post, we’ll unpack how committed consumption works, why token pricing often creates more friction than clarity, and how SaaS providers can evolve their pricing strategies to support long-term, enterprise-scale growth.

The Mechanics of Committed Consumption

At its core, committed consumption pricing is simple: the customer commits to a specific annual spend, and in return, they get flexible access to a portfolio of services or products. It’s not about locking in seats or fixed SKUs—it’s about giving customers the freedom to use what they need, when they need it.

Unlike traditional SaaS pricing models that require upfront decisions about exact licenses or features, this model supports dynamic usage. Think of it as allocating a budget to a platform, not purchasing rigid product access. A marketing team, for instance, might lean into automation features in Q1, then shift spend toward analytics or customer journey tools in Q3—without needing a new contract or procurement cycle.

For vendors, this model supports smart commercial levers:

• Rollover policies to reduce shelfware anxiety
• Tiered discounts that reward higher commitment levels
• True-forward billing that eliminates retroactive overage penalties

From a planning perspective, committed consumption makes everything smoother. Annual spend becomes easier to forecast. Customer success teams can focus conversations on value and outcomes. And renewal discussions shift from “what did you buy?” to “what did you achieve?”

SAP’s Business Technology Platform Enterprise Agreement (BTPEA) is a standout example. Customers commit to a predefined budget and draw from it as needed across a wide range of services, all tracked in real-time. It’s a mindset shift—from buying software to investing in outcomes.B2B saas pricing, committed consumption pricing, annual spend model, SaaS pricing models, token pricing, ai token pricing, usage-based pricing SaaS

Token Pricing: From Innovation to Obstacle

When token pricing first entered the scene, it sounded like a smart way to simplify complexity. By abstracting different services into a single unit of measurement—tokens or credits—vendors could unify their offerings and create flexible usage-based billing. In theory, it was elegant.

In practice? Not so much.

Most buyers don’t think in tokens. They think in outcomes. And that’s where the model breaks down. Is one token worth an AI prompt, a report generated, or a batch of API calls? Without a clear connection between token pricing and real-world value, customers feel lost—and hesitant.

This is especially true in AI-powered SaaS, where token pricing (or its cousin, AI token pricing) is increasingly common. These models often leave customers guessing how much usage will actually cost, especially as AI workloads can vary wildly in complexity and resource demand.

We’ve seen this in companies piloting GenAI tools. Teams want to experiment—but they don’t want to risk burning through an ambiguous token budget with no clear ROI. That cost uncertainty doesn’t just slow adoption—it kills it.

Worse, these models can distort behavior. Users start gaming the system, limiting inputs, or avoiding high-impact workflows just to preserve credits. Instead of driving value, the pricing model becomes something to work around. And that’s a dangerous dynamic for any SaaS product trying to build trust.

The GenAI Factor: Cost Anxiety Meets Strategic Imperative

AI has introduced a new layer of complexity to SaaS pricing. Unlike traditional software usage—which is relatively predictable—AI workloads vary wildly. One prompt might use minimal compute, while another could spike infrastructure costs tenfold. Image generation? Even more intensive. And when vendors rely on third-party LLMs, the margins get tighter, fast.

To stay profitable, many vendors default to pricing based on inputs like GPU time, data volume, or token usage. Internally, this makes sense. But when those costs are passed directly to customers—especially through AI token pricing—it creates confusion and cost anxiety.

Finance teams don’t want to approve tools they can’t budget for. Product teams hesitate to test features without knowing the cost implications. And business leaders delay adoption until there’s a proven ROI. But here’s the irony: without usage, you can’t prove ROI.

This is where committed consumption pricing shows its strength. Instead of exposing raw cost mechanics, it offers an annual spend model that creates a safer space to explore, test, and scale AI usage. The vendor recovers costs across the commitment, and the customer gets predictability without sacrificing flexibility.

The best SaaS providers are going a step further. They’re investing in usage simulation tools—calculators that help buyers model scenarios, estimate spend, and forecast returns. These aren’t just upsell tools. They’re trust-builders. And in the fast-moving world of GenAI, trust is everything.

Strategic Advantages for SaaS Providers

Committed consumption doesn’t just benefit customers—it’s a strategic unlock for vendors, too. Especially in B2B SaaS pricing, where long sales cycles and complex buying committees are the norm, this model changes the game.

Instead of negotiating SKUs, seats, or feature bundles, sales teams shift the conversation to value planning. What outcomes does the customer want? Where should they allocate the budget to get there? This turns pricing into a collaborative exercise, not a constraint.

It also smooths the land-and-expand motion. Because customers have already committed to an annual spend model, they’re more likely to try adjacent features or modules. Procurement red tape is reduced. Internal blockers vanish. Expansion happens faster—and with less friction.

On the operational side, committed consumption streamlines everything:

• Revenue predictability: Annual spend commitments make forecasting more reliable and reduce quarter-to-quarter swings.
• Sales efficiency: Less time spent packaging micro-SKUs, more time focused on strategic selling.
• Customer success playbooks: Easier to scale enablement and retention strategies based on real usage data.

And most importantly, it aligns incentives across the board. Finance gets budget control. Product teams get flexibility. IT gets planning visibility. The customer gets an impact. The vendor gets growth.

Implementation Considerations

Adopting committed consumption pricing isn’t just a switch in your billing system—it’s a strategic shift that touches product, operations, sales, and customer success.

First, you’ll need reliable usage metering. This means tracking product usage across modules in a way that’s both accurate and transparent to the customer. Real-time dashboards, clear reporting, and visibility into how spend is being applied are table stakes.

Second, eligibility rules matter. Which features, services, or product lines can customers access with their committed spend? Being too vague creates confusion. Being too rigid reintroduces the very friction this model is meant to solve.

Sales teams will need training, too. You’re no longer selling a specific set of licenses—you’re selling access, outcomes, and flexibility. That means shifting from transactional pitches to consultative, value-driven conversations.

On the finance side, you’ll want to carefully design discounts, rollover terms, and true-forward mechanics. Be generous enough to drive adoption, but not so loose that you erode margin or create loopholes. Structure matters.

Lastly, messaging is everything. The success of this model depends on how well customers understand it. You can’t assume they’ll get it intuitively. Invest in pre-sales education, build onboarding materials that explain the pricing logic, and offer hands-on support in the first few months. The more confidence your customers feel, the more they’ll use—and the more value they’ll see.

Final Word: Flexibility Without Fear

The next generation of successful SaaS companies won’t just build great products—they’ll remove the friction that gets in the way of using them. And nowhere is that friction more persistent than in pricing.

Rigid subscriptions can limit flexibility. Usage-based pricing SaaS models can spark uncertainty. Token pricing and AI token pricing often obscure more than they clarify. But committed consumption pricing offers a smarter path forward—especially for B2B SaaS.

By combining the structure of an annual spend model with the freedom to explore and scale, this approach creates alignment. Vendors get predictable revenue. Customers get room to experiment without fear. And both sides are incentivised to focus on outcomes, not constraints.

This isn’t just a pricing strategy—it’s a partnership philosophy.

It says: “We’re confident in the value we deliver. Let’s grow together.” And in a landscape defined by rapid innovation, rising AI costs, and evolving buyer expectations, that kind of clarity and trust isn’t just refreshing—it’s a competitive edge.