How do you compare the different values for services?

Netflix provides such a great value at a low cost that it’s impossible not to compare everything else to it.

And this leads to the main event, Netflix vs Daily Burn!

I also use the iPhone app called Daily Burn to track my calorie intake and workouts.

I was considering upgrading my Daily Burn account from the free version to the Pro. The free version of Daily Burn offers 90% of what you would ever use to track your daily nutrition and workout history. The Pro version gives you a little more flexibility and options to use tools the free version doesn’t have.

The practice of offering a good online product for free with the ability to upgrade is a super common strategy. As I was contemplating the pros and cons of upgrading my Daily Burn account, the cost of the Pro version was a stumbling block for me.

Daily Burn has two pro versions – the Pro Lite for $5.99/mo and the Pro for $9.99/mo. I was trying to compare the value I would gain by comparing the service to another service I pay for. The first thought that came to my mind was Netflix and the tremendous value they offer for $10/mo.

Like most of you, I love Netflix. In fact, I use Netflix as my primary source of digital entertainment. I stream Netflix to my TV and watch it on my laptop and iPhone. For $10 a month, Netflix delivers a huge amount of entertainment and value to its customers. By itself, Netflix takes up roughly 30% of the bandwidth for the entire Web (crazy!).

It was hard for me to justify ponying up $10/mo for the Daily Burn Pro when I might use it once or twice a day and it only has a few additional options/tools than the free version.

This raises the questions:

Is Netflix’s price structure too good to be true?

Is Daily Burn’s price structure out of whack?

I compare the services this way – Netflix is an obvious choice for me. I do not have to think about justifying the price. With Daily Burn, I have to sit and think about it. I question the value of their service.

When someone considers your product, will they think – Deal! – or will they question the value? If they have to contemplate the value, you have probably lost them as a premium or paid customer.

Perhaps Daily Burn’s Pro is a tremendous value but was presented horribly to me, the customer, allowing me to stumble over the cost.

If Daily Burn added video testimonials from Pro users talking about how the Pro version changed their lives, perhaps I would see the justification of the cost.

Instead, I’m going to stick with the way things are because the pain point is not obvious enough to me.

Do you compare the different values for services this way?

What other standards do you use to compare the costs of different services?