Why ChatGPT, Spotify and Netflix charge different prices by country
Spotify Premium costs $12.99 a month in the US. In Pakistan it's about $1.36. In Switzerland it's about $20. Same app, same songs.
That's not a glitch, and it's not just exchange rates. Big subscription companies set prices country by country, on purpose. Once you see why, you can borrow the same logic for your own product.
Same app, very different prices
Here's Spotify Premium Individual in five countries, as a share of the US price. Prices were observed in August 2026 and converted to USD.
| Country | Local price | Share of US price |
|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | Rs 379 | About 10% |
| Turkey | ₺99 | About 16% |
| Brazil | R$23.90 | About 36% |
| United States | $12.99 | 100% |
| Switzerland | CHF 15.95 | About 153% |
Netflix shows the same pattern. Its Standard plan runs from about 14% of the US price in Pakistan to about 142% in Switzerland. Then look at ChatGPT Plus: it stays between about 81% and 140% of the US price in every country we track. Why so different?
Reason 1: what people can pay
A dollar buys a lot more groceries, rent, and haircuts in Lahore than in New York. Economists call this purchasing power parity, or PPP. If Spotify charged $12.99 everywhere, it would be a luxury in much of the world.
For a streaming service, a lower price in a poorer market isn't charity. It's the price at which millions of people actually subscribe. Many paying users at $1.36 beat very few at $12.99.
Reason 2: what one more user costs
This is why ChatGPT looks so different. Streaming one more song costs Spotify very little. Answering one more question costs OpenAI real computing power, whether the user is in Texas or Turkey.
So AI companies don't cut the main price much. They add a smaller plan instead. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Go in India in 2025 for ₹399 a month, far below the ₹1,999 Plus price, with lower limits. It went worldwide in January 2026 at $8 a month in the US.
How deep the discount goes depends on cost per user
Spotify Individual
9%
Lowest price we track, in Nigeria. Extra listeners cost little.
ChatGPT Plus
81%
Lowest price we track, in the Philippines. Every user costs compute.
Reason 3: taxes and app stores
Why is Spotify more expensive in Switzerland, the UK, and Denmark than in the US? Part of it is tax. Prices in Europe and the UK include VAT, while US prices usually show tax at checkout. Part of it is higher local spending power.
App stores add another layer. Apple offers a set list of price points for each currency, so companies pick the nearest step. That's why many prices land on round local numbers like ₹499 or R$23.90.
What this means for your product
You don't need Spotify's pricing team to use the same logic. Ask one question: what does one more customer cost you?
- Close to nothing (courses, ebooks, templates, most SaaS): discount deeply in lower-income countries. 40 to 70% off is a sensible range to test.
- Real costs per user (AI features, human support, physical delivery): keep the main price and offer a smaller plan.
Our guide to choosing discount percentages walks through the numbers. For one country in detail, see selling to customers in India.
Want to see more examples? The Regional Pricing Index compares 100+ services across countries. And when you're ready to do it yourself, the regional pricing calculator gives you a starting price for 200+ countries.