Learn the language of pricing

Definitions for 20 pricing, billing and fee terms, written so the words on your invoice stop being a mystery.

Pricing glossary

• Markup — Markup is the amount added to a product's or service's cost to determine its selling price, expressed as a percentage o…
• Price gouging — Price gouging refers to sellers exploiting a sudden increase in demand or supply shock—often during emergencies—to char…
• Median price — The median price is the middle value in a dataset of prices, where half of the prices are higher and half are lower, pr…
• Fair market price — The theoretical price at which an asset or service would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, nei…
• Surprise medical billing — Surprise medical billing occurs when insured patients inadvertently receive unexpected medical bills from out-of-networ…
• Cost of living index — A price index measuring the relative cost of maintaining a certain standard of living over time or across different geo…
• Purchasing power parity — Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is an economic theory comparing different countries' currencies through a "basket of good…
• Effective hourly rate — The effective hourly rate (EHR) calculates the true hourly earnings from a task or project, accounting for all time spe…
• Itemized bill — An itemized bill provides a detailed list of all goods or services purchased, including their individual prices, quanti…
• Surge pricing — Surge pricing is a dynamic pricing strategy where businesses increase prices for products or services in response to hi…
• Consumer Price Index (CPI) — The CPI measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goo…
• Auto-renewal clause — An auto-renewal clause automatically extends a contract for an additional period unless one party takes explicit action…
• Junk fee — A junk fee is an excessive or hidden charge, often for a service with little or no value, that consumers are forced to…
• Resort fee — A mandatory, per-night charge imposed by hotels and resorts for amenities and services, often disguised as an additiona…
• Estimate vs quote — An estimate provides an informal, non-binding idea of cost, subject to change, while a quote is a formal, legally bindi…
• Wholesale vs retail price — Wholesale price is the cost retailers pay suppliers for goods purchased in bulk, while retail price is the final price…
• Dynamic pricing — Dynamic pricing is a strategy where product or service prices fluctuate in real-time based on market demand, supply, co…
• Loss leader — A pricing strategy where a product is sold below its market cost to attract customers, hoping they will purchase other,…
• Shrinkflation — Shrinkflation is a deceptive pricing strategy where the size or quantity of a product is reduced while its price remain…
• Apr Annual Percentage Rate — APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is the annualized cost of borrowing expressed as a percentage; it combines the interest ra…

How FairPriceGuru works

FairPriceGuru is a free consumer price-fairness service. We benchmark what things actually cost, then let you check your own bill, quote or invoice against those benchmarks. Every price we quote is tied to a named source, we do not accept payment to change a verdict, and none of our tools require an account.

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