How to charge different prices for different customers in WooCommerce

Do you want to charge different prices for different customers in WooCommerce? In this tutorial, I’ll show you step-by-step how to customize and display different product prices in your store depending on who is buying, what role they have, and other parameters.

I’ve gotten many variants of the same question over the last few weeks:

• How do I charge different prices for different customers in WooCommerce?
• How do I set different prices for different users in WooCommerce?
• How can I set different prices by user in WooCommerce?

They all refer to setting up price variations based on who the customer is rather than what the product is; and yes, you can implement this in your store.

WooCommerce doesn’t support this out-of-the-box, so you’ll need to set it up with the help of the powerful WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules plugin.

In this tutorial, I’ll cover the following:

• What it means to charge different prices for different customers in WooCommerce.
• Popular example scenarios for setting different prices for different customers in WooCommerce stores.
• Top benefits of charging different customers differently based on various parameters.
• A step-by-step walkthrough of how to set different prices for different customers in WooCommerce.
• Frequently asked questions about charging different prices for different customers in WooCommerce.

Plugin used in this tutorial

• WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules: An advanced plugin that lets you set different prices for different customers based on user roles, location, cart contents, specific customers, purchase history, and more. Free and Pro versions available.

Let’s kick off with the most fundamental question:

What does it mean to charge different prices for different customers in WooCommerce?

Charging different prices for different customers in WooCommerce means setting up your store so that various users — based on their role, identity, or behavior — see and pay different amounts for the same product.

This pricing strategy is commonly used by various kinds of ecommerce stores. For instance, those that want to offer:

• Wholesale discounts for B2B clients.
• Special pricing for logged-in users.
• Different rates based on customer roles (e.g., VIPs, resellers, partners).
• Region-based pricing for customers in multiple countries.
• Quantity-based discounts that apply differently depending on who’s buying.

Example scenarios for setting different prices for different customers in WooCommerce

There are many reasons why businesses need to charge different prices for different customers. Here are some of the most common examples used by B2B and B2C WooCommerce stores alike.

• Role-based pricing. This means assigning different prices to different user roles. A popular example is a hybrid B2B and B2C ecommerce store that shows wholesale buyers bulk rates while retail customers pay full price.
• Membership-based pricing. Businesses that operate on a membership or subscription model can reward members with exclusive pricing while non-members see the full price. This encourages people to subscribe and stay subscribed to access member prices.
• User-specific pricing. If a particular customer or set of customers meets specific criteria, it might be appropriate to set a custom price for them. For example, businesses might want to reward individual customers who make high-volume purchases to ensure their continued patronage.
• Quantity-based pricing. Also called volume pricing, this model lets stores price products based on how many units a customer buys. You can define quantity-based price tiers globally, per category, or on a per-product basis.
• Location-based pricing. Stores that sell internationally or across tax zones may need to adjust pricing based on customer location, sometimes due to currency, taxes, regulatory fees, or shipping costs.

Benefits of setting different prices for different customers in WooCommerce

A one-size-fits-all pricing isn’t ideal for every ecommerce business. Here are 5 ways B2B and B2C ecommerce stores alike can benefit from charging different customers different prices.

It maximizes revenue from different customer segments

Not all customer cohorts have the same needs and budgets. Customizing pricing based on customer type enables you to capture more sales without undercutting your margins, and without duplicating the effort to service those customers.

It encourages larger orders

Whether the objective is to get rid of surplus stock or improve the AOV, quantity-based pricing nudges customers to buy more per transaction in order to be eligible for lower per-unit product prices.

It rewards customer loyalty

Rewarding members, subscribers, or long-time customers with lower prices gives them a reason to keep buying from your online store.

It adapts pricing to local markets

If you sell to buyers located in a different country, adjusting prices based on location lets you account for local taxes, extra fees, shipping, and purchasing power. For instance, a store that sells to customers in the US and the EU can show customers in Europe VAT-inclusive prices while those in the U.S. see tax-exclusive prices.

It reduces admin work and support tickets

Implementing rules that automate price adjustments for different customers eliminates unnecessary back-and-forth of providing manual quotes or one-off coupon codes. Customers see the correct price from the start, without having to expend the effort to get in contact with your team.

Introducing the powerful WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules plugin

WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules is a simple-to-use plugin that enables you to set different prices for different customers in a few minutes.

Thousands of businesses — including stores that sell to wholesale and retail buyers, those that offer special pricing for loyal customers, those that need to comply with specific pricing agreements for B2B clients, and others — use it to adapt product prices to their business strategy.

For instance, with WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules, you can:

• Assign different prices to different user roles, e.g. wholesale versus retail customers.
• Create quantity-based tiered discounts where the price per unit decreases as customers buy more.
• Tailor product prices based on customers’ location.
• Lots more.

This dynamic pricing plugin’s interface is intuitive to use to define, manage, and disable discount rules as needed. Plus, it lets you set up separate pricing rules for individual simple products, product variations, categories and sub-categories, and the entire product catalog with ease.

Here’s an overview of some of its top features.

Top features

Multiple use cases

In addition to charging different prices for different customers, it lets you offer buy one get one free deals, product bundles, category-specific combos, and more — no need for an additional plugin.

Advanced discount conditions

You can choose from a wide range of advanced conditions — cart size, cart contents, user role, location, customer type, payment method, product category, etc — to tailor how the price adjustments work. Plus you can combine them as needed, for example:

• A store that sells eco-friendly kitchenware can offer buyers with the “Wholesale Customer” role 40% off across the entire catalog while retail customers pay full price.
• An apparel dropship store can price t-shirts as follows: 1–9 units at $50 each, 10–49 units at $45 each, and 50+ units at $40 each.
• A global footwear brand based in the U.S. can charge more for customers in Australia due to shipping or regulatory fees.

Schedule pricing rules

Sometimes, you may want to change prices for a specific timeframe. This plugin enables you to set start and end dates in advance to schedule pricing rules right down to the minute.

Banners with custom messages on product pages

You can add custom messaging to be shown to each customer cohort based directly on product detail pages on the rules you set to “sell” the benefit of the preferred pricing deal you’ve provided.

How to set different prices for different customers in WooCommerce

Now that we’ve walked through the fundamentals of setting varied pricing for different customers in an ecommerce store, it’s time to apply them.

Below, I’ll guide you through the steps to implement customer-specific pricing in your WooCommerce store.

Step 1: Create a new pricing rule

1. Access your site’s admin and install the WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules plugin.
2. Navigate to the newly added Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules section in your dashboard, and click on “Add New”.
3. Turn on the “Status” button to activate this price rule.
   
4. Enter an appropriate name for this pricing rule in the “Title” field. Note that this will be visible on the cart and checkout pages on your store’s front end.
5. Specify how you’d like to adjust the regular product prices: fixed amount, percentage, or price adjustment.
6. In the Discount Value field, input the appropriate amount to be discounted from the product’s regular price. For instance, if you’d like to reduce the regular price by 20%, enter “20” here.
7. Check the “Apply Per Quantity” box to apply the price reduction to each unit purchased.

Step 2: Add criteria to charge different prices for different customers in WooCommerce

1. Navigate to the “Discount Rules for checkout” section to add conditions for the pricing rule to apply.
2. Set the following values to add role-based or member-based pricing:
   • Condition Type: User Role
     
   • Operator: Is Equal To
   • Value: Wholesaler or Member (or whatever the appropriate role is)
3. Set the following values to add user-specific pricing:
   • Condition Type: “User” or “User Email”
     
   • Operator: Is Equal To
   • Value: User or user’s email address
4. Set the following values to add quantity-based pricing:
   • Condition Type: “Product”, “Variable Product”, or “Category”.
     
   • Operator: Is Equal To
   • Value: Specific simple or variable product or product category
   • Condition Type: “Product’s quantity”
   • Operator: Is Equal To
   • Value: Number of products for this rule to apply to
5. Set the following values to add location-based pricing:
   • Condition Type: Enter the appropriate value from the “Location Specific” set of options.
     
   • Operator: Is Equal To
   • Value: Enter the specific location
6. Add as many criteria as relevant then hit” Submit” at the bottom of the page.

Step 3: Schedule pricing rule and add custom marketing copy

1. If you’d like to schedule this specific pricing rule to apply during a predetermined period, click on the “Advanced Settings” button under the “Select discount type” option near the top of the page. This will reveal settings to add start and end dates and times and days of the week for which this pricing rule applies.
   
2. You can also check the “Enable discount message” box to add a banner to product detail pages this pricing rule applies to. Add your custom messaging to the “Discount message” box.
   

That’s it, your pricing rule is now live. Different customers will see different prices based on the rules you set.

FAQs about charging different prices for different customers in WooCommerce

Can you have different prices for different customers?

Yes, you can set different prices for different customers in WooCommerce. This feature isn’t built into WooCommerce core, but with a plugin like WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules, it’s entirely possible to create pricing rules based on user roles, specific customers, location, cart contents, purchase history, and more.

Charging different prices for different customers is an important strategy for B2B and B2C stores that sell wholesale buyers, VIP customers, loyalty programs, or region-specific pricing.

What is role based pricing for WooCommerce?

Role-based pricing in WooCommerce means charging different prices for the same product depending on the user role of the customer. With this model, you assign a role to each user, like: customer (default WooCommerce role), subscriber, wholesale_customer, vip_client, or any custom role you create. Then, based on their role, you apply different pricing rules to your products.

Role-based pricing empowers you to customize pricing to customer cohorts — think: wholesalers, VIPs, or members — without needing to manage separate stores.

WooCommerce doesn’t support role-based pricing out of the box. But with a plugin like WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules by The Dotstore, you can easily create pricing rules based on user roles and apply them globally (to all products), by category, per product, and per variation, as needed.

For example, an apparel store might use it to set prices for a hoodie for different customers as follows: guests (regular price: $60), wholesale customers (30% off: $42), and VIP clients ($50 flat).

Ready to set different prices for different customers in WooCommerce?

WooCommerce, by default, treats all customers alike — everyone sees the same product price. But if you run a store that sells to B2B clients, if you offer memberships, if you want to reward loyal customers with reduced pricing, or if you are interested in increasing your average order value through quantity-based discounts, that’s not enough.

WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules is a powerful plugin that empowers you to easily charge different prices for different customers based on user roles, location, cart contents, specific customers, purchase history, and more. It lets you schedule pricing rules in advance and use banners to add custom messaging to product and cart pages.

Plus, you can use it to offer category-specific combos, buy one get one free deals, product bundles, and more.

Get started with its free or pro version today.