In February 2022 we launched an innovative new pricing tier called ‘Starter’ in which farms could use Local Line for $0/m + 3% of sales. Our hypothesis was that this pricing tier would be perfect for new, small farms just starting out. We wanted farms to be able to sign up and get onboarded at their own pace without having to pay. Then, whenever they received a sale, Local Line would earn a small fee. Up until the point a farm was selling $2,000/month, it was the most economical for them to be on the Starter plan. Once they began selling more than $2,000/month, it made the most sense to move up to our Core plan, which was a paid $59/month subscription. 

As it turns out, the Starter plan was an idea that looked great on paper but didn’t successfully translate to real life. From Feb 22 - June 30, nearly 500 farms signed up for our Starter plan but not many of them ended up receiving consistent orders and growing their business. We learned that most farms need more than just software to be successful. Particularly when they’re starting out, they need onboarding, training, and ongoing customer support from our team. 

The data showed that farms on Local Line are much more successful when they pay for a subscription. Paying for a subscription means you receive proper onboarding, training, and support, and both parties feel like they are committed to success together. 

We still strongly believe in giving new, small farms the tools they need to succeed but it became clear that the transaction fee model was not working for us or for the farmers. So, after consulting with customers and revisiting our subscription plans, we’ve re-created the Starter plan, which is now available for $29/month.

Why $29/month? Because it’s the lowest price point we can offer while being able to provide the right amount of training & support our customers need to be successful. At $29/month, assuming a small farm can sell $1,000/month, they are still paying the equivalent 3% fee they would have paid on the old Starter plan. 

When we updated the Starter plan to a $29/month paid subscription we also added a few new features. Let’s look at the key items that changed (or remained the same). 

As you can see, two key features stayed the same and two changed. On the paid Starter subscription can still only manage 30 products and you can only accept credit card payments, but you can now have unlimited fulfillment plans and you save 0.2% on your credit card processing fees. 

In the few weeks that the Starter plan has been paid we’ve already seen more success than the entire four months when it was the transaction fee. We’re ready to help new, small farms level up this year! 

For more information on our pricing, please visit site.localline.ca/pricing.

To sign up for a 7-day free trial, please go to site.localline.ca/register.