Freemium Score Calculation
The final Freemium Score is defined by:
- Features: rates the number of features and their restrictions compared to the paid plan.
- Usage: rates how limited the usage is (limited number of users, monthly credits, etc.)
- Support: rates how restricted the access to customer service is compared to the paid plan. (response time, and communication channels: forum, email, chat, or phone call)
- Uniqueness: rates how common the tool is in the freebies world. The more unique the tool is, the fewer free decent alternatives it has.
- Solution: rates how much the tool, with all its limitations, succeeds in solving the problem it intends to solve.
How Do We Calculate The Freemium Score?
The first priority, of course, is to use the product in its free version and experience how effective it is on ourselves. Unfortunately, since the site features hundreds of freemium tools, this is not always practical.
In cases where we do not test the product or service on ourselves, we rely on the following to determine our rating:
- Comparison between the free and paid plan as shown on the tool’s website and checking which features are missing or limited, what is the usage limitations (number of users, monthly credit, etc.), and the difference between the support provided (response time, and communication channels: forum, email, chat, or phone call).
- Checking for reviews on review sites, leading blogs, and discussions on social media from people who use the free version.
After gathering all this information, we can fairly determine scores for the factors: Features, Usage, Support, and Solution. As for Uniqueness, we can evaluate this score quite easily by conducting a comprehensive search for free competitors, and since we pretty much know the market and how many other free alternatives there are.
