Regional pricing using Big Mac Index for ELTS and corporate membership

Problem statement

In conversations I have with organizations around the world about becoming a member or signing up for ELTS, I frequently hear that the costs are prohibitively expensive for them. When we set up the membership and ELTS programs we kept things deliberately simple with a flat-rate tier, but I feel that this means we're effectively excluding much of our user base by making it unaffordable.

Currently, we have approximately 40-50,000 Mautic instances worldwide, yet only 4 ELTS customers and 14 corporate members. While there are multiple factors affecting conversion, pricing accessibility is a significant barrier. Agencies and organizations in emerging and developing markets - which represent an estimated 70% of our global user base - simply cannot afford $2,000-3,000 for ELTS or €5,000-30,000 for corporate membership at the same rate as US or Western European organizations.

This creates several problems: We're leaving substantial revenue on the table, we lack geographic diversity in our governance and decision-making, and we're not living up to open source values of global accessibility. Most critically, organizations running Mautic 4 instances in developing markets have been without security patches for 9 months because they cannot afford ELTS at current flat-rate pricing

Detailed proposal

I propose implementing tiered pricing based on the Big Mac Index (published by The Economist), which measures purchasing power parity between countries. This would create three pricing tiers reflecting real economic differences while maintaining identical service levels across all tiers.

ELTS pricing structure:

For Mautic 4 ELTS (14 months remaining support through December 2026):

- Tier 1 (US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, Scandinavia): $2,000

- Tier 2 (Eastern Europe, Latin America, Turkey, Malaysia, Thailand): $1,000 (50% of base)

- Tier 3 (India, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Africa, Ukraine): $500 (25% of base)

For Mautic 5 ELTS (2 years support starting Q3 2026 through Q3 2028):

- Tier 1: $3,000

- Tier 2: $1,500 (50% of base)

- Tier 3: $750 (25% of base)

For Mautic 6 ELTS (when applicable, 1 year support):

- Tier 1: $2,000

- Tier 2: $1,000 (50% of base)

- Tier 3: $500 (25% of base)

Corporate membership pricing structure:

Community level:

- Tier 1: $1,200 per year

- Tier 2: $600 per year

- Tier 3: $300 per year

Growth level (new tier being proposed):

- Tier 1: $2,500 per year

- Tier 2: $1,250 per year

- Tier 3: $625 per year

Bronze level:

- Tier 1: $5,000 per year

- Tier 2: $2,500 per year

- Tier 3: $1,250 per year

Gold level:

- Tier 1: $15,000 per year

- Tier 2: $7,500 per year

- Tier 3: $3,750 per year

Platinum level:

- Tier 1: $20,000 per year

- Tier 2: $10,000 per year

- Tier 3: $5,000 per year

Diamond level:

- Tier 1: $30,000 per year

- Tier 2: $15,000 per year

- Tier 3: $7,500 per year

Implementation specifics:

Geographic tier assignment would be automatic based on the customer's billing address country. We would use IP geolocation as initial detection, but customers would verify their country during signup. For Tier 3 pricing, we would require additional verification such as company registration documents or government-issued business licenses to prevent abuse.

All tiers would receive completely identical services - same security patches, same documentation, same voting rights for members, same directory listings, and same access to all benefits. The only difference is the price, which reflects local purchasing power.

Existing customers and members would be grandfathered at their current rates with no changes. I have proactively contacted all current members to discuss this and ensure that they don't feel they would be treated unfairly by this change.

The pricing tiers would be reviewed annually and adjusted based on changes in the Big Mac Index and our conversion data. Countries could move between tiers as their economies develop or contract.

For transparency, we would publish the complete country tier assignments on our website along with a clear explanation of why pricing varies and how we calculate purchasing power parity.

Benefits / impact

Revenue impact:

For ELTS, the current flat-rate pricing makes us accessible to only about 30% of the global M4 installed base (approximately 3,000 instances in Tier 1 countries). With a conservative 2% conversion rate, this could yield as many as 60 customers and $120,000 in revenue.

With regional pricing, we potentially become accessible to all 10,000+ M4 instances. Based on purchasing power alignment, we believe that we can expect higher conversion rates in Tier 2 and 3 markets (3-4% vs 2%) because the price:value ratio is identical. For Mautic 5 ELTS launching in Q3 2026, the impact is even larger given the 28-35,000 addressable instances currently still on Mautic 5.

For corporate membership, we currently have 14 members generating $88,000 annually. Conservative projections suggest regional pricing could help us grow to 28-45 members generating $113-186k annually within 12 months - an increase of $25-98k. More importantly, these new members are likely to become ELTS affiliates, generating additional ELTS revenue through their referrals.

Community impact:

Beyond revenue, this proposal would dramatically improve the diversity and inclusivity of our community. We would have members and customers from India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe actively participating in governance, contributing perspectives we currently lack, and helping us build a product that serves global needs.

The member directory would become truly global, helping users find local agencies and consultants in their countries. The marketplace would attract developers from more diverse markets. The job board would serve a global talent pool. Every aspect of our ecosystem becomes stronger with geographic diversity.

Mission alignment:

Open source is fundamentally about accessibility and freedom. Current pricing inadvertently creates a two-tier system where only wealthy markets can afford security and governance participation. Regional pricing aligns our revenue model with our values - everyone can access what they need at a price that's fair for their economy.

Network effects:

For existing Tier 1 members and customers, they benefit from a larger, more engaged community. More members means more voices advocating for features they need. More ELTS customers means more resources for security research and faster patch development. A €300 member in India is just as motivated to promote Mautic and refer ELTS customers as a €30,000 Diamond member - perhaps more so since the value:cost ratio is even better.

Market positioning:

This would be a first for open source projects. We're aware of no other major open source project implementing purchasing power parity for both products and membership. This positions Mautic as a leader in inclusive, global open source sustainability and would likely generate positive press coverage.

Potential challenges

Verification and fraud prevention:

The primary operational challenge is preventing abuse - specifically, Tier 1 customers claiming to be from Tier 3 countries using VPNs or false addresses. We would mitigate this through multi-layer verification: IP address detection, billing address from payment processor, and for Tier 3, requiring company registration documents or business licenses. This adds some administrative overhead, estimated at 2-3 hours per week initially, declining as we build automated systems.

Existing customer perception:

Current ELTS customers and corporate members pay full Tier 1 rates. They might perceive regional pricing as unfair - 'why are they paying less than me?' I have personally reached out to members and explained the proposal, why we're considering it and how we think it'll impact the Mautic ecosystem and finances. We would also grandfather all existing customers at current rates and clearly communicate they're not being asked to pay more. Based on initial soundings with current members, reception has been positive when framed as 'more members = more valuable network for everyone,' but this remains a potential concern requiring careful communication.

Complexity in marketing and documentation:

We would need to update all pricing pages, marketing materials, and documentation to explain regional pricing. This includes creating Stripe pricing tables, FAQ addressing common questions, and potentially translating key materials into languages for Tier 2/3 markets. This represents approximately 20-30 hours of work spread across multiple team members.

Revenue predictability:

With regional pricing, average revenue per customer becomes harder to predict as it depends on geographic mix. Our financial projections require assumptions about Tier 1/2/3 distribution. If actual distribution differs significantly from projections (for example, if 80% of customers come from Tier 3 instead of expected 30%), revenue could be lower than projected. We would mitigate this by tracking conversion by tier monthly and adjusting marketing focus to higher-revenue tiers if needed.

Support burden concerns:

There's a theoretical risk that lower-priced tiers generate disproportionate support burden, making them unprofitable. However, ELTS is a simple product (security patches only, no complex support), and membership benefits are largely scalable (directory listing, promotional activity, etc.). We would monitor impact by tier and adjust benefits or pricing if specific tiers prove unprofitable.

Resources needed

No financial resources at this time, but volunteer resources will be needed for generating the comms about this change, and building out the necessary information on the website.

Human resources:

Project lead time:

- Strategy and planning: 5 hours (done)

- Communication with existing members: 3 hours (done)

- Council presentation preparation: 2 hours (done)

- Oversight and decision-making: 2 hours monthly ongoing

- Total: 10 hours initial, 2 hours/month ongoing

Sales/marketing assistant time:

- Website pricing page updates: 4 hours

- Pricing calculator implementation: 6 hours

- Marketing materials updates: 8 hours

- Documentation and FAQ creation: 6 hours

- Total: 24 hours initial, 3 hours/month ongoing for updates

Admin assistant time:

- Verification processing for Tier 3 signups: 1 hour/week

- Customer service for pricing questions: 1 hour/week

- Total: 2 hours/week ongoing

Developer/technical support:

- Geographic detection implementation: 4 hours

- Payment system testing: 2 hours

- Monitoring and fraud detection setup: 2 hours

- Total: 8 hours initial, 1 hour/month ongoing

Technology infrastructure:

All required technology is already in place or available for free. We need no additional subscriptions or services. The main technical work is implementing the country detection and verification workflow, which can be done using existing Mautic functionality plus free IP geolocation services baked into Stripe.

Suggested timeline

Phase 3-4 could be compressed and executed in Q4 2025 subject to available resources.

Phase 1: Consultation and approval (Oct 29 - Nov 5)

- Oct 29: Share proposal with existing corporate members for feedback

- Oct 30-Nov 4: Gather and address feedback

- Nov 3: Announce general concept at MautiCon keynote

- Nov 5: Council meeting - seek approval and vote to introduce

Phase 2: ELTS regional pricing implementation (Nov 6-15)

- Nov 6-10: Build pricing tables in Stripe

- Nov 11-14: Update website, documentation, marketing materials

- Nov 15: ELTS regional pricing goes live

Phase 3: Corporate membership pilot (Nov 15 - Jan 31)

- Nov 15: Send invitations to 10-15 known agencies in Tier 2/3 markets

- Dec 1-31: Onboard pilot members, gather feedback

- Jan 1-31: Refine benefits and pricing based on pilot data

Phase 4: Corporate membership public launch (Feb 1)

- Feb 1: Public announcement of regional membership pricing

- Feb 1-28: Active recruitment campaign targeting 50+ agencies globally

- March 1: First review of conversion data by tier

Phase 5: Optimization (March onwards)

- Monthly: Review metrics (conversion by tier, abuse rate, revenue mix)

- Quarterly: Adjust tier assignments based on economic data

- Annually: Comprehensive review and adjustment of tier structure

Quick wins possible:

If approved Nov 5, we could have ELTS regional pricing live by Nov 15 and see first regional customers within 7-10 days. Corporate membership pilot could start immediately after with first regional members by December.

Additional information

Precedent and research:

The Big Mac Index has been published by The Economist since 1986 as a lighthearted but reliable measure of purchasing power parity. It's used by economists, businesses, and governments to understand real currency values and cost-of-living differences. Companies including Netflix, Spotify, Microsoft (Office 365), Adobe, and others use regional pricing strategies, though typically without the transparency we're proposing.

In the open source world, this would be novel. We've researched pricing strategies of major open source projects and foundations (Linux Foundation, Apache Foundation, Eclipse Foundation, etc.) and found no examples of purchasing power parity pricing for either commercial products or membership. This positions Mautic as an innovator in inclusive open source sustainability.

Financial modeling:

We've built detailed financial models showing three scenarios (conservative, moderate, optimistic) for both ELTS and membership revenue under regional pricing. The conservative scenario assumes:

- Tier 1 conversion rates remain at 2% (unchanged)

- Tier 2 conversion rates improve to 3% (pricing removes barrier)

- Tier 3 conversion rates improve to 4% (pricing removes barrier)

- Geographic distribution: 30% Tier 1, 40% Tier 2, 30% Tier 3

These assumptions are deliberately conservative. Industry data suggests that when pricing matches purchasing power, conversion rates can improve 5-10x. We're modeling only 1.5-2x improvement for Tiers 2-3.

Even with these conservative assumptions, we project:

- 2026 additional revenue: $222-515k (conservative to moderate scenarios)

- Customer/member growth: 300-450 total ELTS customers (vs 4 current), 28-45 corporate members (vs 14 current)

- After all fees (10% fiscal host, 25-30% commissions): Net revenue increase of $150-380k

Market validation:

We've already received informal feedback from agencies in Poland, India, Brazil, and South Africa expressing strong interest in both ELTS and membership if regional pricing were available. Several indicated they could commit immediately at Tier 2/3 rates.

The 500 managed hosting trials per month, with most coming from price-sensitive regions and converting at only 0.12%, further validates that demand exists in these markets but price is the barrier.

Competitive advantage:

No other marketing automation platform - open source or proprietary - offers regional pricing for security support or partnership programs. HubSpot charges the same globally. Marketo charges the same globally. This would differentiate Mautic and likely generate positive media coverage as 'the marketing automation platform accessible to everyone, everywhere'

Risk mitigation:

We can implement this with minimal risk because:

- Existing customers grandfathered (no disruption)

- Easy to adjust tiers if data shows issues

- Start with pilot for membership (test before full launch)

- Same service all tiers (no additional delivery cost)

- Automated verification reduces fraud

If after 90 days the data shows regional pricing isn't working (fraud rate too high, revenue lower than flat pricing would have been, support burden disproportionate), we can simply revert to flat pricing or adjust the tier structure. The downside risk is minimal - we'd be no worse off than we are now.

Synergies with other initiatives:

Regional pricing supports and amplifies other strategic initiatives:

- Managed hosting: Trial users from price-sensitive regions have a self-hosted alternative at affordable ELTS pricing

- Corporate membership growth: Agencies can join at accessible rates

- Global brand positioning: Strengthens our reputation in emerging markets where most growth is happening

Implementation approach:

The proposal recommends a phased rollout: ELTS regional pricing first (lower risk, transactional product, immediate revenue impact), followed by corporate membership pilot, then full membership launch. This allows us to validate the model, gather data, and refine the approach before full implementation. We learn from ELTS experience and apply those lessons to membership pricing.

Communication plan:

Success depends on clear communication:

- Existing customers/members: Personal outreach explaining they're grandfathered, network benefits

- New Tier 2/3 prospects: Emphasize accessibility and value

- Community at large: Transparent about why pricing varies, commitment to global accessibility

- Press/media: Position as innovative approach to open source sustainability

- Council/stakeholders: Regular reporting on metrics, adjustments as needed

We would create an FAQ document addressing common questions including: Why does pricing vary? How do I know which tier I'm in? Can I appeal my tier assignment? What if I move countries? What verification is required? This would be published alongside the pricing page for transparency.

Monitoring and adjustment:

We would track detailed metrics by tier including: signup volume, conversion rates, average revenue, support tickets, satisfaction scores, and fraud/abuse incidents. Monthly reviews would identify issues early. Quarterly reviews would determine if tier assignments need adjustment. Annual comprehensive reviews would assess whether the entire model should continue, be refined, or be replaced.

If specific countries show unexpected patterns (very high fraud, very low conversion despite pricing, disproportionate support burden), we can move them between tiers or handle them as exceptions.

Country tier assignments:

We will prepare a comprehensive list of 120+ countries assigned to tiers based on current Big Mac Index data. This would be published transparently on our website and updated annually.

The full list would be maintained in a public document with clear criteria for tier assignment and a process for countries to request reassignment if economic conditions change significantly.

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