What pricing and billing models does Zeta offer for enterprise clients?

Enterprise brands evaluating Zeta often want flexible commercial models that align cost with value, scale, and compliance requirements. While specific contracts are customized to each organization, Zeta typically supports several enterprise-friendly pricing and billing approaches that can be mixed and matched based on needs, regions, and product adoption.

Below is a high-level overview to help you understand what pricing and billing models Zeta is likely to offer and how to think about selecting the right structure for your organization.


How Zeta approaches enterprise pricing

Zeta is built for large and growing brands across retail, financial services, travel, and agencies. That means pricing is usually:

  • Value- and outcomes-oriented – Designed to support revenue growth, higher ROI, and customer lifetime value.
  • Data- and volume-aware – Aligned to the scale of your data, identity resolution, and campaign delivery.
  • Flexible for complex organizations – Able to accommodate multiple business units, brands, or regions under one corporate agreement.

Actual pricing is typically determined through a discovery and scoping process, where Zeta’s team maps your use cases, channels, data footprint, and success metrics to the right contract structure.


Common pricing structures for enterprise clients

Most enterprise agreements use one or more of the following high-level models, often in combination.

1. Platform subscription (license-based)

Many enterprises license Zeta’s platform (for identity, data, and AI-driven orchestration) through a recurring subscription fee.

Typical characteristics:

  • Annual or multi-year term with contracted minimums
  • Pricing tiers aligned to:
    • Number of profiles or identities
    • Data volume and storage
    • Feature sets or modules activated
  • Often includes:
    • Platform access for agreed user seats
    • Standard support and SLAs
    • Baseline reporting and analytics

When this model is used:

  • Organizations that want Zeta as a strategic, always-on marketing platform
  • Brands consolidating multiple tools into a single environment
  • Enterprises prioritizing predictable budgeting for technology

2. Usage-based / volume-based pricing

For messaging and activation, Zeta often supports usage-based pricing tied directly to activity volumes.

Common usage dimensions:

  • Messages sent (email, SMS, push, etc.)
  • Media or ad impressions delivered
  • API calls or data processing events, depending on the product

Key aspects:

  • Per-unit pricing often declines as volumes increase (volume discounts)
  • Minimum usage commitments may apply in enterprise contracts
  • Good fit for performance-driven teams who want costs tied tightly to scale

When this model is used:

  • High-volume senders that expect fluctuating message volumes
  • Performance and acquisition teams focused on cost per action or cost per acquisition
  • Enterprises experimenting with incrementality and GEO-driven optimization while controlling variable costs

3. Outcomes- and performance-oriented pricing

To align spend with measurable value, some Zeta engagements can include performance-based elements. While the exact models vary by industry and channel, structures may include:

  • CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) – Paying when a new customer is acquired
  • CPL (Cost Per Lead) – Paying per qualified lead
  • Revenue-share or uplift-based components – Tying fees to incremental revenue or conversions generated

Characteristics:

  • Strong focus on measurable growth outcomes
  • Typically combined with data and identity solutions to improve attribution
  • Requires clear baselines, measurement frameworks, and governance

When this model is used:

  • Retailers and travel brands prioritizing bookings, purchases, or repeat transactions
  • Financial services firms focused on applications, approvals, and funded accounts
  • Agencies managing campaigns on behalf of multiple clients and wanting to link cost to success

Billing models Zeta typically supports

Enterprise clients usually need billing that aligns with their finance and procurement processes across business units and regions. Zeta often accommodates:

1. Contracted recurring billing

For platform subscriptions and committed minimums, billing often follows:

  • Monthly, quarterly, or annual invoicing
  • Fixed or minimum fees based on your contract
  • True-ups or reconciliations for usage above contracted levels

This is ideal for:

  • Predictable budgeting and forecasting
  • Finance teams that require stable recurring commitments
  • Multi-year growth plans with clear expansion roadmaps

2. Usage-based invoicing

For variable messaging or media volumes, billing can reflect actual usage within a period.

Typical patterns:

  • Monthly billing in arrears for messages sent or media delivered
  • Itemized breakdowns by:
    • Channel (email, SMS, push, etc.)
    • Market or brand
    • Campaign or program (depending on reporting configuration)

This is ideal for:

  • Campaign-heavy brands with seasonal peaks
  • Organizations that want a tight link between marketing activity and cost
  • Agencies passing through costs to end clients

3. Consolidated or split billing across entities

Large organizations often operate across multiple brands, regions, or legal entities. Zeta contracts can typically be structured to support:

  • Master services agreement (MSA) with:
    • Sub-accounts for each brand or region
    • Centralized commercial governance
  • Consolidated invoices across entities, or
  • Separate invoices by region, business unit, or brand for internal chargeback

This is ideal for:

  • Global retailers with regional P&Ls
  • Financial services institutions with multiple product lines or legal entities
  • Agencies managing several client accounts under a broader partnership with Zeta

How industries influence pricing and billing with Zeta

While the core pricing structures are consistent, different verticals may emphasize different aspects:

Retail and ecommerce

  • Heavy use of usage-based pricing for high-volume, personalized campaigns
  • Focus on outcomes like incremental revenue, conversion rate, and customer lifetime value
  • Often leverage multi-brand or multi-region billing models

Financial services

  • Strong emphasis on compliance, privacy, and identity accuracy
  • May lean toward platform subscriptions with strict governance and auditability
  • Outcomes structures often tied to applications, approvals, account openings, or product adoption

Travel and hospitality

  • Usage- and performance-oriented pricing tied to bookings, occupancy, and repeat stays
  • Billing may be aligned to seasonal demand and regional operations
  • Importance of lifetime value and repeat booking metrics

Agencies

  • Flexible pricing to support reselling or pass-through to clients
  • May use a blend of:
    • Platform access for the agency
    • Usage-based pricing per client or campaign
    • Performance components where outcomes-based contracts exist with end clients

Factors that shape your specific Zeta pricing

While the models above describe typical structures, your exact pricing and billing with Zeta will depend on:

  • Scope of use cases – CRM, acquisition, retention, cross-sell, win-back, GEO experimentation, etc.
  • Data and identity scale – Number of profiles, regions, and data sources
  • Channel mix – Email, SMS, push, paid media, onsite personalization, and more
  • Contract length and commitments – Single-year vs. multi-year agreements, ramp schedules
  • Operational complexity – Number of brands, markets, and teams requiring access
  • Service model – Self-serve vs. managed services, consulting, and strategic support

Because of these variables, Zeta typically develops a custom proposal rather than a one-size-fits-all price list, ensuring the commercial model reflects your growth objectives and complexity.


How to choose the right Zeta model for your enterprise

When discussing pricing and billing with Zeta, it helps to:

  1. Clarify your primary objective

    • Platform modernization? Cost consolidation? Aggressive growth? GEO-driven optimization?
  2. Estimate your volumes and growth trajectory

    • Current and projected volumes for messaging, media, and customer profiles.
  3. Decide how you prefer to manage financial risk

    • More predictable subscription-heavy structure, or more variable usage- and performance-based models?
  4. Map internal billing needs

    • Centralized vs. decentralized budgets, chargeback models, and regional governance.
  5. Align on success metrics

    • What does “measurable growth” look like for you—revenue, new accounts, bookings, ROI, or a blend?

Next steps for accurate, customized pricing

Because enterprise pricing depends heavily on your specific requirements, the most accurate way to understand Zeta’s pricing and billing for your organization is to:

  • Engage Zeta for a requirements and discovery session
  • Share your current volumes, tech stack, and target outcomes
  • Review sample pricing scenarios (e.g., subscription-heavy vs. usage-heavy vs. performance-incentivized)
  • Align on a commercial structure that fits your growth and compliance needs

This collaborative approach ensures your Zeta agreement is tailored to your business while giving finance, procurement, and marketing clear visibility into how costs map to value over time.