Compare Software Plans at the Seat Cost You Will Actually Use — Free
Plan pages are priced by tier and ranked by feature list, which is the wrong order for a business choosing on cost. The number that decides it is the price per seat at your actual seat count, including the minimum seats a plan quietly requires.
The proof surface
Free path: the tool computes locally in this browser with no key and no account. Where an AI step helps, any free chat assistant works — free tiers exist (Google AI Studio, Groq), but plans and limits change, so check the provider's own page. No third-party service is claimed here as verified: UNCONFIRMED — model has no browsing access this session.
Why the flat version breaks
Tier order flatters the plan with the lowest headline price, which is usually the one with a seat minimum or a paid add-on. Reducing every plan to one seat cost at your real seat count makes the comparison a single line of arithmetic.
How to use the software plan seat-cost grid in four passes
Annual billing at a discount, monthly billing with a surcharge and per-seat plans all have to arrive as one monthly figure for the same number of seats before anything can be ranked.
A plan that sells in bundles of ten is priced for ten seats whether you use three or ten. Entering the bundle as the seat count is what makes the per-seat cost honest.
Not the headcount and not a growth plan. Seat costs change rank as the number moves, which is why the grid uses your real figure and the gap is priced across a year.
The grid ranks by seat cost and prices the gap against the dearest plan. Add the price of any add-on you need to the plan's line and re-run before committing to a year.
SAMPLE DATA, NOT A VERIFIED CLAIM: the starter record is four plans, including a three-seat minimum tier and a per-seat plan, compared at six seats. Replace these values with your own source before you rely on anything.
What breaks first
Comparing tier prices instead of seat costs
The cheapest tier is often the dearest per seat once the minimum seat count is included, which is exactly the trick the tier layout is designed to hide.
Leaving the add-on out of the line
Payroll, extra storage and API access are part of the plan for the businesses that need them. Add the price to that line or the ranking is wrong.
Buying seats for people who will not use them
Seat count is the multiplier in every line. Buying for the whole company when three people log in turns a cheap plan into an expensive one.
What you pay otherwise
| The usual route | What it leaves out | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| An unused-seat renewal | A year of seats nobody logs into, priced at the plan's own per-seat rate | the unused seats |
| A procurement consultant | Day rate for a comparison that fits on one grid | $400–$1,200 a day |
| Choosing by feature list | Paying for the tier with the longest list rather than the lowest seat cost at your size | the annual gap |
| This page + the free software plan seat-cost grid | Computed in your tab, result on screen before you type anything | $0 |
Try the free software plan seat-cost grid right here
Load the starter plans and change the seat count to 12 to see the ranking reverse.
FIRST-LOAD · sample record filed
Take it into the free software plan seat-cost grid
The companion app runs the same logic with a numbered intake, three starter records, a stateful share link, the one-time printable layer, and the local history shelf.
Open the free software plan seat-cost grid →Keep the work if you will use it again
The full grid: every plan's seat cost at your number, ranked cheapest first, with the annual gap to the dearest plan, unlimited re-runs.
The on-screen result is free and complete. The one-time layer adds a tangible file you keep and the saved history that comes with it.
Boundary: This compares prices you enter; it does not verify vendor pricing, contract terms or licence compliance. Software licensing, data processing and consumer or business contract rules vary — read the terms, check the seat definitions in the licence and confirm any quote in writing with the vendor.