> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dodopayments.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Pay What You Want Pricing
> Let customers choose their price above a minimum. Optionally show a suggested price. Optimized for one-time purchases.
Pay What You Want (PWYW) lets customers decide how much they pay—at or above a merchant-defined minimum. It increases engagement, encourages community support, and provides flexible pricing for digital products.
## What Is Pay What You Want?
PWYW is a pricing model where customers set their own price within guardrails you define. It's ideal for:
* **Digital products and media**: Templates, e-books, courses, plugins.
* **Experimental launches**: Early access, beta releases, time-boxed promos.
* **Bundles and extras**: Add a PWYW tier to boost participation.
## Key Benefits
* **Customer-driven pricing**: Buyers choose what they pay.
* **Revenue floor**: Enforce a minimum to protect margins.
* **Anchored expectations**: Optional suggested price to guide choices.
* **Hosted checkout**: Checkout and receipts handled for you.
* **Developer-first**: Clear APIs for creation, refunds, and webhooks.
PWYW is available only for products with the **One Time** pricing type. The product's base currency must be USD, GBP, or EUR, and PWYW can't be combined with [Localized Pricing](/features/localized-pricing).
## Creating Pay What You Want
Create a one-time product and enable PWYW in your Dodo Payments dashboard. The sections below map directly to the creation form.
### Product Creation
#### Product Details
* **Product Name** (required): Display name shown in checkout and invoices.
* **Product Description**: Clear value statement customers see before paying.
* **Product Image**: PNG, JPG, or WebP up to 3 MB.
* **Brand**: Associate the product with a specific brand for theming and emails.
* **Tax Category** (required): Choose the correct category to determine tax rules.
Pick the most accurate tax category to ensure correct tax collection per region.
#### Pricing
* **Pricing Type**: Choose **One Time**.
* **Pay What You Want** (toggle): Enable to let buyers choose the amount.
* **Minimum Price** (required): Lowest allowed amount a customer can pay.
* **Suggested Price** (optional): Recommended amount shown on the product page. It can't be lower than the minimum price.
Use metadata to store identifiers from your system (e.g., orderId) so you can reconcile events and receipts later.
#### Sharing a Link With a Fixed Amount
When you share a checkout link for a PWYW product from **Products**, open **Advanced Settings** and set a **Payment amount** to charge exactly that value instead of letting the buyer choose. The amount must be at or above the product's Minimum Price, and it is carried on the link as the `paymentAmount` query parameter in major currency units (e.g., `12.5` for \$12.50). Leave the field empty to keep the buyer-chooses-amount behavior.
## API Management
Use `POST /checkouts` to create one-time checkout sessions from products. Checkout will prompt buyers to enter an amount that meets your PWYW minimum.
View the create checkout session API.
Use `POST /refunds` to create full or partial refunds. Customers are refunded the exact amount they paid.
Learn how to refund a payment.
Use `GET /payments` to list payments and `GET /payments/{payment_id}` to retrieve one. Retrieve line items with `GET /payments/{payment_id}/line-items`.
Browse the listing API.
See the retrieval API.
Inspect purchased items for a payment.
React to events like payment.succeeded or payment.failed in your backend.
Handle payment lifecycle events.
## Common Use Cases
* **Digital assets**: Themes, templates, icon sets, media, or plugins.
* **Content and education**: E-books, courses, workshops with supporter pricing.
* **Community and donations**: Fundraisers, open-source sponsorships, creator support.
* **Launch experiments**: Beta access and time-boxed campaigns to gauge demand.
## Integration Examples
### Checkout Sessions (Single Payment, PWYW)
Add a PWYW product to the cart. Checkout collects the buyer's amount (respecting your minimum) — no extra fields are required.
```typescript theme={null}
const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
product_cart: [
{ product_id: 'pdt_pwyw_demo', quantity: 1 }
],
return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/checkout/success'
});
```
## Best Practices
* **Choose a sensible minimum**: Cover costs while keeping participation easy.
* **Use a suggested price**: Anchor expectations to improve average order value.
* **Explain value clearly**: Tell buyers what their contribution unlocks.
* **A/B test campaigns**: Time-box offers and experiment with messaging.
* **Monitor distribution**: Track paid amounts to refine minimum and suggested price.
This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.