How to Grow Your SaaS with Lifetime Deals

Imagine offering your software for a one-time payment. No monthly fees, no subscriptions. That’s what Lifetime Deals (LTDs) are all about.

For customers, it’s a no-brainer: pay once and get lifetime access to your tool. But for SaaS founders, it’s not always so straightforward. Why support users forever for just a single payment?

Here’s the truth: if done right, lifetime deals can be a powerful growth engine for your software. But like any strategy, they come with trade-offs, and you need to know how to play it smart.

Let’s walk through the real benefits, challenges, and insider tactics to make LTDs work for you, not against you.

You can watch the video if you prefer visual content, or continue reading if you’d rather go through the article.

Why SaaS Founders Should Consider Lifetime Deals

"So what's in it for me?" An LTD is not only a sweet deal for customers, but it also offers lots of benefits to you, the partner.

Julien Nahum

@JhumanJ

"Launching an LTD on ProductCanyon for viral products makes sense. You're basically getting paid to trigger product led growth"

1. Instant Cash Infusion

Starting up? Need funds to build or scale? LTDs offer immediate revenue without waiting months or years for subscriptions to stack up. That upfront capital can be funneled straight into product development, marketing, or hiring, fueling your next growth leap.

2. Actionable Feedback from Real Users

LTD buyers are early adopters. They’re curious, engaged, and incredibly vocal. You’ll get raw, honest feedback that helps you refine your roadmap fast. Their usage data, feature requests, and reviews can shape your product’s future, and they often become your loudest evangelists.

3. Low-Cost User Acquisition

Think of LTDs as viral marketing in disguise. Your campaign can get picked up on deal sites, social media, and niche communities. That leads to:

It’s cheaper and more effective than many traditional ad campaigns.

Real-Life LTD Success Stories

Usermaven

Generated $120,260 in just 3 weeks. How? By offering an intuitive no-code analytics tool and validating it through beta feedback and a smart LTD rollout. No paid ads. No VC funding.

Juphy

Pulled in $170,000 in 36 days. Their LTD wasn’t just about revenue. It built a highly engaged user base that powered further product improvements and virality.

Publer

Turned LTDs into long-term growth. After a successful campaign, Publer saw a 1400% increase in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). They’ve since scaled to a $2M ARR, fully bootstrapped.

And they’re not alone. Brands like Lemlist, Instantly, Sales Flare, Better Proposals, Findthatlead, Expandi all leveraged LTDs in their early stages to gain traction.