Finding · The 2026 State of B2B Software Monetization
How do B2B software companies price their AI features?
According to Nalpeiron’s 2026 State of B2B Software Monetization study (n=255 B2B software companies, fielded June 2026), 66% of companies use usage-based pricing for their AI features, 52% use AI credit or token bundles, and 49% include AI features in a per-seat plan.
Key numbers
| Model | Share of companies |
|---|---|
| Usage-based (AI consumption metered and billed) | 66% |
| AI credit or token bundles | 52% |
| Per-seat with AI features included | 49% |
| Outcome or value-based tied to AI results | 44% |
| Have AI features but not monetizing separately | 27% |
| Do not have AI features | 5% |
Question Q19. n = 255. Multi-select; shares sum to more than 100%.
What this means
AI pricing is not converging on one model; companies run several at once. In this study, 66% use usage-based pricing where AI consumption is metered and billed, 52% use AI credit or token bundles, 49% include AI features in a per-seat plan, and 44% tie pricing to AI outcomes or value. Because the question was multi-select, most companies operate more than one of these.
The prominence of usage-based and credit models signals a shift away from flat per-seat pricing for AI, which makes sense when a single seat can drive highly variable AI consumption. It also raises the bar on infrastructure, since metered and credit models only work with real-time metering and flexible billing.
A notable minority are not charging separately at all: 27% have AI features but do not monetize them distinctly. Combined with the finding that only 13% fully pass inference costs through, this shows AI feature pricing is still maturing faster than AI cost recovery.
Methodology
The 2026 State of B2B Software Monetization is based on n=255 product and engineering leaders at B2B software companies, screened for direct involvement in pricing, packaging, or monetization decisions (manager-level and above; 86% director-level or higher). It was fielded in June 2026 through an industry research panel; figures reflect 255 completes as of 19 June 2026. Two AI-inference questions use a reduced base of n=243.
This finding is based on the full sample of 255 responses (survey Q19).
See the full methodology and every question on the report hub.
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This finding is one cut from The 2026 State of B2B Software Monetization. Get the complete report, all findings, and the full data appendix.
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