Piano — Enterprise paywall for large publishers
Piano is the default for national newspapers and large publishers. The capability surface is unmatched, but so is the implementation cost — only choose it once you're certain you'll use it.
Pricing summary
Custom pricing (enterprise)
Estimated monthly cost
| Stage | Piano | Total |
|---|---|---|
| $0 (starting) | Custom | Variable |
| $5k MTR | Custom | Variable |
| $25k MTR | Custom | Variable |
| $100k MTR | Custom | Variable |
Estimates exclude payment processing fees and App Store / Google Play platform cuts. MTR = monthly tracked revenue.
Why this stack
- ✓Granular metering and segmentation
- ✓Dynamic offers tied to behavior
- ✓Deep analytics and conversion tooling
Tradeoffs
- —Enterprise contracts and long implementations
- —Overkill for anything below national-publisher scale
Who this is for
Stage:Scaling — established product
Priorities:Conversion optimization · Advanced billing (usage, metering)
Best fit for paid content teams that value conversion optimization and advanced billing (usage, metering).
Setup order
- 01
Create your Piano account
Sign up and connect a bank account or Stripe account to receive payouts.
Open docs → - 02
Create your first product and pricing plan
Define product name, recurring interval, currency, and any trial period. Keep your initial pricing simple — you can iterate later.
- 03
Install the SDK or use hosted checkout
Either embed the checkout JS, use a hosted checkout link, or call the API from your backend to create checkout sessions.
- 04
Test in sandbox and go live
Run end-to-end tests with test cards, confirm webhooks land in your backend, then flip the keys to production.
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