A psychological effect where adding a clearly inferior "decoy" option makes a specific choice appear relatively more attractive, guiding consumer decisions. It is frequently used in pricing plan design.
How the Decoy Effect Is Used in Pricing Plans
The classic example of the decoy effect is a three-tier pricing plan. Suppose a service offers "Basic 500 yen / Standard 1,200 yen / Premium 1,300 yen." If the price difference between Standard and Premium is only 100 yen, most people will choose Premium. Here, Standard functions as the "decoy," boosting the selection rate of Premium.
A similar structure can be seen in food delivery subscriptions. When single-order delivery fees, a monthly plan, and an annual plan are presented side by side, the monthly plan is often designed to look expensive. The monthly plan is positioned as a "decoy" to steer users toward the annual plan.
Seeing Through the Decoy Effect to Choose the Best Plan
To counter the decoy effect, it is important to evaluate each plan individually against your own usage frequency. If "Premium looks like a great deal," that may be exactly what the designer intended. List only the features you actually use and choose the plan that matches.
In Notta's plan selection, the strict limitations on the free plan are a form of the decoy effect designed to encourage migration to paid plans. Calmly calculate whether the free tier's 120-minute monthly allowance is sufficient, and if it is, decide that the free plan is enough. Not being swept away by the feeling of "just a little more for the next tier" leads to smarter choices.
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