Visual contrast between pricing tiers: Github's A/B test

The bottom line

Github's pricing page redesign, which sharpened the contrast between tiers, raised free and paid signups by more than 20%. Making higher tiers stand out and showing what customers value most can lift conversions.

Key takeaways

• Github made three changes to its pricing page. Together they produced a 20%+ rise in signups.
  • The changes covered tier contrast, feature emphasis and page aesthetics.
  • Both free and paid signups rose by more than 20%.
• Higher tiers were made to stand out from lower ones. More highlighted features gave each step up a clearer difference.
  • The extra highlighted features sat in the higher tiers.
• Features customers valued most were put forward. This matched the page to what users care about.
• The page was made cleaner and more appealing. Vibrant colors and one less tier reduced clutter.
  • An outdated tier was removed.

The test

Github's redesign sharpened contrast between pricing tiers

Attribute	Old page	Redesigned page
Tier contrast	Tiers look alike	Higher tiers stand out
Highlighted features	Few, evenly spread	More, in higher tiers
Feature focus	Generic list	What customers value most
Look	Muted, cluttered	Vibrant, cleaner
Tiers	Includes outdated tier	Outdated tier removed

Github changed its pricing page in three ways to make the tiers easier to tell apart and more appealing.

• The visual contrast between tiers was increased.
  • More features were highlighted in the higher tiers.
  • This made them stand out against the lower tiers.
• The features customers valued most were emphasized.
  • The aim was to align the page with user priorities.
• The page's look was refreshed.
  • Vibrant colors were used.
  • An outdated tier was removed, giving a cleaner design.

The result

Free and paid signups both rose over 20%

Free signups20%

Paid signups20%

The new page lifted both free and paid signups by more than 20%.

• Signups grew for both free and paid plans.
  • The increase was reported as 20+%.