Pricing Sensitivity Survey Template

The Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter (PSM), developed by Dutch economist Peter van Westendorp in 1976, asks four questions about a product's price: at what price would you consider it too expensive, expensive but worth considering, a bargain, and too cheap (to question quality). Plotting the cumulative distributions reveals four key intersections — the Optimum Price Point, Indifference Price Point, and the range of acceptable prices. It's the most widely used pricing research method, employed by Gartner, Nielsen, and most pricing consultancies.

The canonical wording is: (1) 'At what price would you consider this product to be so expensive that you would not consider buying it?' (too expensive). (2) 'At what price would you consider this product starting to get expensive, so that it is not out of the question, but you would have to give some thought to buying it?' (expensive). (3) 'At what price would you consider this product to be a bargain — a great buy for the money?' (bargain). (4) 'At what price would you consider this product to be so inexpensive that you would feel the quality couldn't be very good?' (too cheap). Our template uses these exact wordings.

The Optimum Price Point is the intersection of the 'too cheap' and 'too expensive' cumulative distribution curves — the price at which the number of people who find it too cheap equals the number who find it too expensive. Van Westendorp proposed it as the price that minimizes customer resistance. Pricing pros use OPP as a directional anchor, combined with the Indifference Price Point (intersection of 'bargain' and 'expensive') and the acceptable range bounded by PMC and PME.

For directional OPP: 100–200 responses per segment. For statistical confidence: 400+ per segment. For enterprise SaaS with narrow ICPs, 50–75 qualified responses is often all you can realistically get and still gives useful signal. Per Gartner's pricing research guidance, segment consistency matters more than raw N — a tightly qualified 100 buyers beats 1,000 random web panel respondents.

Both. Van Westendorp gives you a range of acceptable prices — great for pricing strategy, tier design, and positioning debates. Gabor-Granger (asks 'Would you buy at $X?' across multiple price points) gives a revenue-maximizing point estimate — great for picking the actual headline number. Pricing consultants like Simon-Kucher typically run Van Westendorp first to frame the range, then Gabor-Granger to pinpoint. Conjoint analysis is the next level up for feature-price tradeoffs.

For existing products: in-app triggers to engaged users, plus email to customer list. For new products: panel providers (Prolific, Cint, Dynata) screened for your ICP, or LinkedIn outreach for B2B. Per Nielsen's pricing research best practices, never mix current customers and prospects in one sample without tagging — they have radically different sensitivity. Incentives (5–10 USD gift cards) typically double completion rates.

Yes. Van Westendorp works identically for B2B — the sample just needs to be budget-holders or influencers in your target segment. For per-seat SaaS, ask about monthly-per-seat pricing (not annual contract value) so respondents anchor consistently. Include firmographic fields (employees, revenue, industry) so you can segment sensitivity by company size — enterprise buyers routinely pay 3–5x what SMBs will.

Pair the quantitative Van Westendorp with qualitative open-ends — 'What would have to be true for this to feel like a bargain at $X?' Gartner's pricing practice emphasizes that static WTP numbers miss value perception drivers. Also: always anchor with a clear product description and feature list before the price questions. Without context, respondents anchor on the category average and your pricing signal becomes noise.

Yes — 100% free with unlimited responses up to 100/month. Paid plans (starting $15/month) add advanced Van Westendorp analytics, segment comparison views, Gabor-Granger modules, and CRM/Segment integrations.