Frequently Asked Questions

What is PricePilot?

PricePilot gives early-stage DTC brands, small retailers, and CPG brand managers a ranked actionable report of pricing and promotion recommendations — in minutes, for $39, with no analyst required. You upload your SKU data with competitive benchmarks, configure your pricing strategy, pay, and download a report with specific, actionable recommendations.

Who is PricePilot built for?

PricePilot is built for founders and operators who don't have a pricing team — and shouldn't need one. Our primary users are early-stage DTC brand founders (2–5 person teams), small retailers with 50–500 SKUs, CPG brand managers with growing SKU counts, and Shopify/Amazon/marketplace operators under constant competitive pricing pressure.

How does PricePilot work?

Three steps: (1) Upload your product data using our Excel template — your SKUs, current prices, and the competitive benchmarks you already have. (2) Configure your pricing objective (maximize margin, drive demand, or balanced) and your positioning intent (premium, parity, or value). (3) Pay $39 and download your ranked report with specific pricing recommendations, impact scores, and clear rationale for every suggestion.

How long does it take to get my report?

Reports generate in minutes. Upload your data, configure your strategy, pay $39, and your ranked actionable report is ready to download — typically before your coffee gets cold.

Do I need any special software or tools?

No. PricePilot requires a spreadsheet — not retailer portal credentials, BI tools, or a data team. If you can open an Excel file and know your competitors' prices, you can use PricePilot.

What data do I need to provide?

Your SKU IDs, product names, current prices, and competitive benchmark prices. That's the core. You probably already have this — you've checked Amazon, you've walked the Whole Foods shelf, you've looked at competitor websites. PricePilot gives you the framework to turn what you already know into a defensible decision. Optional data includes bundle tiers, discount details, cost of goods (COGS), and sales velocity data for assortment analysis.

Where do competitive benchmarks come from?

You supply them. PricePilot does not scrape competitor prices. You enter the competitive prices you already know — from Amazon, retailer websites, shelf checks, or industry reports. This means you control the data quality, and you don't need to grant access to any retail portals or data platforms.

How many SKUs can I include?

Up to 500 SKUs per report. This covers the vast majority of early-stage brands and small retailers.

Is my data secure?

Yes. Uploaded files are encrypted at rest in AWS S3. Download links expire. We never share your pricing data. Your data is used only to generate your report and is subject to our privacy policy.

What's in the report?

Every report includes five types of ranked recommendations: (R1) Price Alignment — how each SKU compares to competitive benchmarks, with specific price change recommendations based on your positioning intent. (R2) Discount Sanity Checks — detects stacked discounts (subscription + bundle + promo) that silently erode margin. (R3) Bundle Ladder Coherence — validates that larger bundles always have better unit economics. (R4) Promo Guidance — tells you when to run a time-boxed promo vs. make a permanent price change. (R5) Assortment Guardrails — a 3×3 matrix of Position × Velocity that classifies every SKU as STAR, CORE, KEEP, MAINTAIN, FIX, or DELIST.

What format is the report?

Excel (.xlsx) with five sheets: Summary (key metrics and top recommendations), Recommendations (every recommendation ranked with scores and rationale), Diagnostics (validation details), Inputs Used (echo of your data for traceability), and Assortment (velocity analysis, included when you provide sales data).

What does 'ranked' mean?

Every recommendation gets an impact score. The report is sorted highest-impact first, so you know exactly where to focus. You can act on the top three recommendations and ignore the rest if you're short on time.

What are the positioning classifications (Value, Parity, Premium)?

Every SKU sits in one of three competitive positions based on its price relative to the market midpoint: Value (below 0.90× market), Parity (0.90–1.10×), or Premium (above 1.10×). Your answer should be intentional — not an accident of your original launch price. PricePilot tells you where you actually are and whether that matches where you want to be.

What is the Assortment Guardrails analysis?

When you provide sales velocity data (units sold), PricePilot builds a 3×3 matrix crossing your competitive position (Value/Parity/Premium) with sales velocity (High/Medium/Low). Each SKU gets a status: STAR (high-velocity value — protect and grow), CORE, KEEP, MAINTAIN, FIX (misaligned — needs attention), or DELIST (low-velocity premium — consider removing). A high-velocity SKU priced at Value? STAR. A low-velocity SKU at Premium? FIX or DELIST.

How much does PricePilot cost?

$39 per report. The price of a business book — not a procurement decision. We also offer a Founders Plan at $79/month (up to 3 reports) and a Growth Annual plan at $699/year (unlimited reports, saves 27%).

Is there a free trial?

We don't offer a free trial, but you can download a sample report from our home page to see exactly what you'll get before you pay. At $39, PricePilot is designed to be low-risk: try it once, see the value, come back when your market shifts.

How does payment work?

Secure payment via Stripe. We accept all major credit cards. We do not store your payment information — Stripe handles all payment processing.

How is PricePilot different from GoCrisp?

GoCrisp is a retail data platform built for mid-market to enterprise CPG brands. It starts at $6,000–$8,000/year,¹ requires retailer portal credentials and BI tool familiarity, needs a dedicated data team, and onboarding takes weeks. PricePilot is $39, requires only a spreadsheet, and delivers a ranked report in minutes. Different customer, different problem.

¹ GoCrisp entry-level pricing per gocrisp.com, accessed Feb 2026.

How is PricePilot different from NielsenIQ Byzzer?

Byzzer provides category-level intelligence for emerging CPG brands at $4,950/year for 20 report runs across 5 markets and 6 categories.² Byzzer gives you category data — not SKU-level pricing recommendations. PricePilot gives you specific, ranked recommendations for each of your SKUs at $39 per report.

² NielsenIQ Byzzer Starter plan per byzzer.com, accessed Feb 2026.

How is PricePilot different from repricing tools like Prisync or PriceMole?

Prisync and PriceMole track competitor prices and auto-reprice. They're reactive — they adjust your price based on what competitors do. PricePilot is strategic — it analyzes your competitive position, checks your discount structure, validates your bundle pricing, and tells you what you should charge and why. Different problem.

Why not just hire a pricing consultant?

A pricing consultant typically costs $1,500+ as a minimum engagement. PricePilot delivers the same structured analysis for $39 in 5 minutes. When you reach the scale where you need a dedicated pricing team or enterprise platform, we'll cheer you on. We're the tool you use to get there.

Does PricePilot use AI or machine learning?

No. PricePilot uses a deterministic rules engine — not AI/ML. This is a feature, not a limitation. Every recommendation is reproducible, auditable, and explainable. You can run the same data twice and get the same result. No black boxes.

Is PricePilot a dashboard or subscription BI platform?

No. Every enterprise pricing platform gives you a dashboard. PricePilot gives you a decision. You get a downloadable report with ranked recommendations — not another tool to log into and forget about.

Can I run multiple reports over time?

Yes. Upload fresh benchmarks and get a new report anytime your market shifts. The Founders Plan ($79/month, 3 reports) and Growth Annual ($699/year, unlimited) are designed for brands that reprice regularly.