Product Pricing Methods
CMS Max supports seven distinct pricing models. Choosing the right one ensures your product page is intuitive for customers and accurate for your store.
Quick Reference
Standard Pricing
One price, always.
Options
Add-ons that adjust the base price.
Variants
Discrete versions, each with its own price.
Tiered Pricing
Per-unit price drops at quantity thresholds.
Bulk Pricing
Fixed packages at fixed quantities.
Dimension Pricing
Price calculated from entered measurements.
Subscription Pricing COMING SOON
Recurring billing on a set schedule.
Standard Pricing
DEFAULTThe simplest model. Every product has a single base price. The customer selects a quantity and pays that price multiplied by how many they buy. No configuration required beyond entering the price.
✓ Best for
Physical or digital products with a single, unchanging price — retail goods, downloads, services billed per unit.
Options
ADD-ONSOptions are customer-selectable attributes that can add to or subtract from the base price. They don't create separate product versions — they modify the existing price. Common examples include engraving, rush processing, warranty upgrades, or material upgrades.
✓ Best for
Products with configurable add-ons, upgrades, or service selections where the core product stays the same.
✗ Not for
Options shouldn't be used to represent fully different product versions (use Variants) or quantity-based pricing.
Variants
DISCRETE VERSIONSVariants are distinct versions of a product — each with its own price, SKU, and inventory. When a customer selects a variant, the product's price changes to that variant's price. Variants are presented to the customer as a dropdown, button group, or swatches.
If your variant attribute represents a purchase quantity (e.g., 500 / 1,000 / 2,500 units), see Bulk Pricing instead — it's purpose-built for this and avoids a confusing double quantity field on the product page.
✓ Best for
Products with distinct versions (size, color, material, style) where the customer selects from a predefined list of options.
Tiered Pricing
VOLUME-BASEDTiered pricing automatically applies a lower per-unit price as the customer orders more. The customer enters any quantity they choose, and the system calculates the correct price based on which tier their quantity falls into. No variant selection needed — it's fully automatic.
How the calculation works
The customer types in a quantity. CMS Max finds the matching tier and multiplies that tier's per-unit rate by the quantity entered. The price updates in real time on the product page.
✓ Best for
Wholesale, raw materials, or bulk goods where the customer can order any quantity and the per-unit price drops automatically as they order more.
✗ Not for
Fixed package prices where the customer picks a bundle (use Bulk Pricing). If the price isn't a per-unit calculation, tiered pricing is the wrong tool.
Bulk Pricing
FIXED PACKAGESBulk Pricing is for products sold in fixed quantity packages at flat prices. Instead of entering a quantity, the customer selects a pre-defined package. There's no per-unit calculation — each package has one set price. The standard quantity input field is automatically hidden on the product page to avoid confusion.
How it differs from Tiered Pricing
Bulk Pricing — Price is selected
units: 1,000 (fixed)
total: $700.00
Tiered Pricing — Price is calculated
tier: @ $0.65/ea
total: $487.50
✓ Best for
Print shops, promotional products, branded merchandise, or any product sold in set package quantities with a flat all-in price per package.
✗ Not for
Open-ended quantity ordering (use Tiered Pricing), or products with non-quantity variant differences like size or color (use Variants).
Dimension Pricing
MEASUREMENT-BASEDDimension Pricing calculates the total price based on measurements the customer enters at the time of purchase. Instead of buying a set quantity, the customer inputs one or more dimensions — such as length, width, or both — and the price is computed from those values multiplied by a per-unit rate.
How it works on the product page
The standard quantity field is replaced by one or two measurement input fields (e.g., Length and Width). As the customer types, the price updates in real time. A minimum dimension can be set by the merchant to enforce order minimums.
✓ Best for
Flooring, carpet, turf, fabric, fencing, piping, window treatments, vinyl wrap, or any product priced by a physical measurement rather than a count.
✗ Not for
Products sold in countable units or fixed packages — use Standard, Variants, or Bulk Pricing instead.
Subscription Pricing
COMING SOONSubscription Pricing is currently in development and will be available in a future CMS Max release. The details below describe the planned behavior.
Subscription Pricing allows customers to purchase a product on a recurring billing schedule — weekly, monthly, or annually. Instead of a one-time checkout, the customer agrees to automatic recurring charges at the selected interval. Each billing cycle the order is automatically created and payment is captured.
✓ Best for
Consumables, memberships, club programs, corporate award packages, or any product where repeat automatic delivery adds value for the customer.
Which Should I Use?
Match your scenario to the right pricing model.