A single price on a quote turns the decision into a binary yes or no. Three tiered options turn it into a choice — and choices, framed well, tend to get a "yes" more often than a single take-it-or-leave-it number.
Why this works psychologically
A client comparing three of your own options is far less likely to walk away entirely than one comparing your single quote against a competitor's. It also lets budget-conscious clients self-select into a lower tier instead of rejecting you outright.
Structure the tiers around real differences, not padding
Each tier should represent a genuinely different scope — fewer revisions, a simpler feature set, longer timeline — not the same work with an arbitrary price difference. Clients can tell when a tier is padding rather than a real trade-off.
Make the middle option the one you actually want chosen
Most clients gravitate toward the middle tier when three are presented — price your "good" option modestly, your "best" option as a genuine premium, and put your ideal scope and price in the middle where attention naturally lands.
Keep the comparison easy to scan
A simple side-by-side layout, even just three short columns, makes the differences obvious at a glance — a client shouldn't have to read three separate paragraphs to figure out what's actually different between the options.
Don't offer this on every quote
Small, well-defined projects rarely need three tiers — reserve this approach for larger or more flexible-scope work where a client genuinely has meaningful choices to make about what they include.