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Pricing Strategy: Banatie for AI Developers

Date: October 20, 2025 Version: 2.0 (Hybrid model - Credits + Subscription) Based on: Oleg's personal feedback + Krea.ai model inspiration Status: Draft for validation testing

Pricing Philosophy

Core insight from ICP research:

"Дискомфорт подписки в том, что я не регулярно пользуюсь сервисами и жалко денег когда не пользуюсь"

Problem with traditional SaaS subscriptions:

  • Episodic usage patterns (site in a weekend, then 2 months idle)
  • Guilt of paying for unused months
  • Unpredictable usage (one project = 100 gens, another = 5 gens)
  • Commitment anxiety (canceling is friction)

Solution: Hybrid Model

  • Credits for episodic users (buy when needed, use over 90 days)
  • Subscription for power users (regular usage, predictable cost)
  • Free tier for evaluation (no credit card, instant access)

Tier Structure

Free Tier: "Playground"

Purpose:

  • Evaluation, testing, demos
  • NOT a long-term free option
  • Deliberately limited to push conversion

Limits:

  • 10 generations per month
  • Resets on 1st of each month
  • Watermark on images (SynthID by Google)
  • All API/MCP features available
  • Basic transformations only

What's included:

  • ✅ REST API access
  • ✅ MCP integration
  • ✅ Prompt Enhancement
  • ✅ CDN delivery
  • ✅ @name references
  • ✅ Basic transformations (resize, format)
  • ✅ Generation history (30 days)

What's NOT included:

  • ❌ No watermark removal
  • ❌ Limited transformations (no custom presets)
  • ❌ Priority queue (slower generation)
  • ❌ Advanced features (when released)

Revenue impact: $0 (cost center) Goal: Convert 10-20% to paid within 30 days

Credit Packs: "Pay As You Go"

Purpose:

  • Episodic builders (weekenders, hobbyists)
  • One-time projects (landing pages, side projects)
  • Users who value flexibility over commitment

Packs:

Pack Size Price Per-Image Cost Expiry Best For
Starter $20 $0.10 90 days 1-2 small projects
200 generations Testing value
Builder $50 $0.083 90 days 2-4 medium projects
600 generations Most popular
Creator $100 $0.067 90 days Large projects
1,500 generations Bulk work

What's included:

  • ✅ All Free tier features
  • ✅ No watermark (production-ready)
  • ✅ All transformations
  • ✅ Extended history (1 year)
  • ✅ Priority support (email, 48hr response)

What's NOT included:

  • ❌ Priority generation queue (Pro only)
  • ❌ Advanced features (Pro only, when released)
  • ❌ Monthly recurring generations

Why 90-day expiry:

  • Based on Oleg's Krea.ai feedback: "90 дней достаточно чтобы потом потратить остальное"
  • Long enough to not feel rushed
  • Short enough to encourage purchase when needed
  • Industry standard (Krea.ai, similar services)

Purchase flow:

  • One-click Stripe Checkout
  • No subscription created
  • Credits added immediately
  • Email receipt + usage reminder at 30 days left

Pro Subscription: "$49/month"

Purpose:

  • Power users (agencies, frequent builders)
  • Predictable cost (easier budgeting)
  • Premium features (when released)

Pricing:

  • $49/month (billed monthly)
  • OR $470/year (save $118 = 20% discount)

What's included:

  • ✅ 500 generations per month (included)
  • ✅ All Credit Pack features
  • ✅ Priority generation queue (2x faster)
  • ✅ Advanced features (exclusive):
    • Flow-based generation (when released)
    • Namespaces / project organization
    • On-demand URL generation
    • Custom style presets (future)
  • ✅ Priority support (24hr response)
  • ✅ Overage pricing: $0.10/gen (same as Starter pack)

Why $49:

  • Below Cloudinary ($89/month)
  • Above typical dev tools ($20-30)
  • Justifiable for agencies (5-10 hrs/week saved = $500+ value)
  • High enough to filter hobbyists
  • Room for future Enterprise tier ($149+)

Target customers:

  • Small agencies (3-10 people)
  • Freelancers with regular clients
  • Technical founders building MVPs full-time
  • Developers creating content regularly (blogs, courses)

Conversion incentive:

  • "If you use >500 generations/month, Pro is cheaper than credits"
  • "Get exclusive features not available elsewhere"
  • "Cancel anytime, no long-term commitment"

Pricing Comparison Table (User-Facing)

Feature Free Credits Pro
Generations/month 10 As purchased 500 included
Watermark Yes No No
MCP Integration ✅ ✅ ✅
Prompt Enhancement ✅ ✅ ✅
@name References ✅ ✅ ✅
CDN Delivery ✅ ✅ ✅
Transformations Basic All All
Priority Queue ❌ ❌ ✅ 2x faster
Advanced Features ❌ ❌ ✅ Exclusive
Support Community Email (48h) Email (24h)
Price $0 $20-100 $49/mo
Best For Testing 1-4 projects Regular use

Cost Analysis (Break-Even Math)

Our Costs Per Generation:

Gemini 2.5 Flash Image API:

  • $0.039 per image (1024x1024)
  • Source: Google Cloud Pricing (Oct 2025)

Prompt Enhancement (Gemini 2.0 Flash):

  • ~$0.001 per prompt (negligible)

CDN Bandwidth (Cloudflare):

  • Free tier: 100GB/month
  • Estimate: ~2MB per image = 50K images/month in free tier
  • After free tier: $0.01/GB = ~$0.00002 per image (negligible)

Infrastructure (Estimated):

  • VPS: $20/month (Contabo) = ~$0.001 per image at 20K gens/month
  • MinIO storage: negligible (1TB = $5/month)
  • Database: included in VPS

Total Cost Per Generation: ~$0.040

Revenue Per Generation:

Free Tier: -$0.040 (loss per image) Starter Pack ($20 / 200): $0.10 per gen → $0.06 profit Builder Pack ($50 / 600): $0.083 per gen → $0.043 profit Creator Pack ($100 / 1500): $0.067 per gen → $0.027 profit Pro Subscription ($49 / 500): $0.098 per gen → $0.058 profit Pro Overage: $0.10 per gen → $0.06 profit

Break-Even Analysis:

Fixed Costs (Monthly):

  • Infrastructure: $20 (VPS)
  • Stripe fees: ~3% of revenue
  • Oleg's time: N/A (sweat equity)

Variable Costs:

  • Gemini API: $0.04 per generation

Scenario 1: 100% Free Tier (Worst Case)

  • 100 users x 10 gens = 1,000 gens
  • Cost: 1,000 x $0.04 = $40
  • Revenue: $0
  • Loss: -$60/month

Scenario 2: 50% Free, 50% Paid (Realistic Early)

  • 50 free users x 10 gens = 500 gens (cost: $20)
  • 50 paid users x 100 gens avg = 5,000 gens
    • 30 users buy $20 pack = $600 revenue, 6,000 gens, cost $240
    • 15 users buy $50 pack = $750 revenue, 9,000 gens, cost $360
    • 5 Pro subscribers = $245 revenue, 2,500 gens, cost $100
  • Total Revenue: $1,595
  • Total Cost: $20 (infra) + $720 (API) = $740
  • Profit: ~$855/month

Scenario 3: PMF (6 months in)

  • 200 free users = 2,000 gens (cost: $80)
  • 80 Credit Pack users = $3,200 revenue, 30K gens, cost $1,200
  • 20 Pro users = $980 revenue, 10K gens, cost $400
  • Total Revenue: $4,180
  • Total Cost: $20 + $1,680 = $1,700
  • Profit: ~$2,480/month

Break-even: ~10-15 paying customers ($300-500 MRR)

Pricing Psychology

Why This Structure Works:

1. Anchoring:

  • Free tier = "anchor low" (10 gens feels limited)
  • Pro tier = "anchor high" ($49 feels premium)
  • Credit packs = "middle option" (most choose Builder $50)

2. Value Perception:

  • "No watermark" = tangible value (production-ready)
  • "Priority queue" = time savings (valuable for agencies)
  • "Exclusive features" = FOMO (Pro only)

3. Decision Simplification:

  • Only 3 paid options (not 6-7 like some competitors)
  • Clear use case per tier (testing → projects → regular use)
  • Easy to upgrade (credits → Pro seamless)

4. Commitment Gradient:

  • Free → try instantly (no credit card)
  • Credits → low commitment (pay once, use when needed)
  • Pro → higher commitment (monthly, but cancel anytime)

Competitor Pricing (Benchmarking)

Service Model Price What You Get
Cloudinary Subscription $89/mo 25GB storage, 25GB bandwidth, transformations
imgix Subscription $62.50/mo Image optimization, CDN, transformations
Replicate Pay-as-you-go $0.055/gen Flux Pro generation only, no CDN
Gemini Studio Free/Usage $0.039/gen Direct API, no infrastructure
Midjourney Subscription $30/mo 200 fast gens, image generation only
Krea.ai Hybrid $10/mo + packs Realtime gen, credits for video

Banatie positioning:

  • More expensive than pure gen APIs (we bundle CDN + automation)
  • Cheaper than full image platforms (Cloudinary, imgix)
  • Similar to Krea.ai (hybrid model resonates with creators)
  • Higher value than Midjourney (programmatic, production-ready)

MCP Access Strategy (Revised)

Original plan: MCP only for Pro tier Oleg's feedback: "MCP должно быть бесплатно, это маркетинговая фича"

New strategy: MCP on ALL tiers ✅

Why this is correct:

  1. Viral adoption: Developers try MCP → share with others → network effect
  2. Can't restrict: If API is open, community will build MCP anyway
  3. Marketing asset: "First AI image gen with native MCP support"
  4. Trust building: No artificial feature paywalls (developer-friendly)

How to monetize without MCP paywall:

  • Free tier: Limited generations (10/month) → forces upgrade
  • Credits: Episodic users buy when needed → flexible revenue
  • Pro: Heavy users subscribe → predictable MRR

Features exclusive to Pro (after launch):

  • Priority queue (2x faster generation)
  • Flow-based generation (complex workflows)
  • Namespaces (project organization)
  • On-demand URL generation
  • Custom style presets

These are legitimately advanced, not artificial restrictions.

Pricing Page Copy (Draft)

Headline:

"Start free. Pay only when you need it. Or subscribe for heavy use."

Subheadline:

"No credit card required to try. Production-ready images with MCP, API, or UI."

Free Tier Card:

Playground $0/month

Perfect for testing and small demos

  • 10 generations/month
  • MCP + API + UI access
  • Prompt Enhancement
  • CDN delivery
  • Watermark on images

[Start Free →]

Credit Packs Card:

Pay As You Go From $20

Buy credits when you need them

  • 200-1,500 generations
  • No watermark (production-ready)
  • All transformations
  • Valid for 90 days
  • No recurring charges

[View Packs →]

Pro Subscription Card:

Pro $49/month

For regular builders and agencies

  • 500 generations/month included
  • Priority generation queue (2x faster)
  • Exclusive features (Flow, Namespaces)
  • $0.10 per additional generation
  • Cancel anytime

[Start Pro Trial →]

FAQ (Pricing-Related)

Q: Can I switch from credits to Pro subscription? A: Yes, anytime. Unused credits remain valid for 90 days.

Q: What happens if I run out of credits? A: Generations pause until you purchase more credits or upgrade to Pro.

Q: Can I use Pro subscription + buy extra credits? A: Pro includes 500 gens/month. After that, it's $0.10/gen automatically. No need to buy packs.

Q: Do unused Pro generations roll over? A: No, but overage is only $0.10/gen (same as credit packs).

Q: Can I cancel Pro anytime? A: Yes, cancel anytime. You keep access until end of billing period.

Q: Is there a refund policy? A: Credit packs: No refunds (digital goods). Pro: 14-day money-back guarantee if <50 generations used.

Q: Can I share credits with team members? A: Not in MVP. Team features coming soon for Pro+ tier.

Q: Do credits expire? A: Yes, 90 days from purchase. You'll get email reminders at 30 days and 7 days before expiry.

Q: Is there an Enterprise plan? A: Not yet. Contact us if you need >10K generations/month or custom features.

Pricing Experiments (Post-Launch)

Month 1-2: Validation

  • Test current structure
  • Track conversion rates (Free → Credits, Free → Pro)
  • Identify most popular pack (likely Builder $50)

Month 3: A/B Test

Test A: $20 / $50 / $100 packs (current) Test B: $15 / $40 / $80 packs (10% cheaper)

  • Measure: Revenue per user, conversion rate

Month 4: Pro Tier Test

Test A: $49/month for 500 gens Test B: $39/month for 400 gens

  • Measure: Pro adoption rate, MRR growth

Month 5: Annual Discount Test

Test A: 20% discount (current: $470/year) Test B: 30% discount ($410/year)

  • Measure: Annual vs. monthly ratio, LTV

Pricing Flexibility (Dynamic Adjustments)

When to increase prices:

  • If profit margins <30% (Gemini API costs rise)
  • If demand significantly exceeds supply (resource constraints)
  • After strong PMF signals (low churn, high NPS)

When to decrease prices:

  • If conversion rate <5% (Free → Paid)
  • If competitor undercuts significantly
  • If usage patterns show lower value perception

When to add tiers:

  • Hobbyist tier ($10/mo for 100 gens): If many users want smaller commitment than $49
  • Agency tier ($149/mo for 2,000 gens + team features): After agencies start adopting
  • Enterprise tier (Custom): After 50+ Pro users, inbound agency interest

Revenue Projections

Conservative (Months 1-6):

  • Month 1: 10 paid users = $300 MRR
  • Month 2: 20 paid users = $700 MRR
  • Month 3: 35 paid users = $1,200 MRR
  • Month 4: 50 paid users = $1,800 MRR
  • Month 5: 70 paid users = $2,400 MRR
  • Month 6: 90 paid users = $3,000 MRR

Assumptions:

  • 70% credit packs ($30 avg), 30% Pro ($49)
  • 10% monthly growth (conservative)
  • 5% monthly churn

Optimistic (Months 1-6):

  • Month 1: 20 paid users = $600 MRR
  • Month 2: 40 paid users = $1,400 MRR
  • Month 3: 70 paid users = $2,200 MRR
  • Month 4: 110 paid users = $3,500 MRR
  • Month 5: 160 paid users = $5,200 MRR
  • Month 6: 220 paid users = $7,000 MRR

Assumptions:

  • Viral growth via Reddit, MCP adoption
  • 60% credit packs, 40% Pro
  • 20% monthly growth (strong PMF)
  • 3% monthly churn

Realistic (Split the Difference):

  • Month 1: $450 MRR
  • Month 2: $1,050 MRR
  • Month 3: $1,700 MRR
  • Month 4: $2,650 MRR
  • Month 5: $3,800 MRR
  • Month 6: $5,000 MRR (TARGET)

Key milestone: $5K MRR by Month 6 = Proof of viability

Stripe Setup (Technical)

Products to Create:

1. Credit Packs (One-time payments):

Product: Banatie Credits - Starter Pack
Price: $20.00 USD
Type: One-time
Metadata: { credits: 200, expiry_days: 90 }

Product: Banatie Credits - Builder Pack
Price: $50.00 USD
Type: One-time
Metadata: { credits: 600, expiry_days: 90 }

Product: Banatie Credits - Creator Pack
Price: $100.00 USD
Type: One-time
Metadata: { credits: 1500, expiry_days: 90 }

2. Pro Subscription:

Product: Banatie Pro
Price: $49.00 USD/month
Type: Recurring (monthly)
Metadata: { included_credits: 500, overage_rate: 0.10 }

Product: Banatie Pro (Annual)
Price: $470.00 USD/year
Type: Recurring (yearly)
Metadata: { included_credits: 500, overage_rate: 0.10 }

Webhook Events to Handle:

checkout.session.completed:

  • Add credits to user account
  • Set expiry date (+90 days)
  • Send confirmation email
  • Log transaction

customer.subscription.created:

  • Activate Pro tier for user
  • Reset monthly generation counter
  • Send welcome email

customer.subscription.deleted:

  • Downgrade to Free or Credits
  • Send cancellation confirmation

invoice.payment_succeeded:

  • Reset monthly generation counter (for Pro)
  • Charge overage if applicable
  • Send invoice receipt

invoice.payment_failed:

  • Suspend Pro tier
  • Send payment failure notification
  • Retry payment (Stripe handles)

Pricing Strategy: Key Decisions

✅ CONFIRMED:

  1. Hybrid model (Credits + Subscription) - accommodates episodic AND regular users
  2. MCP on all tiers - marketing asset, can't be restricted
  3. 90-day credit expiry - based on Krea.ai feedback from Oleg
  4. Free tier with 10 gens/month - enough to test, not enough to abuse
  5. Watermark on free tier - clear upgrade incentive
  6. $49 Pro tier - positioned between dev tools ($20) and platforms ($89+)
  7. No fake scarcity - transparent, developer-friendly pricing

â³ TO VALIDATE:

  1. Credit pack sizes - are 200/600/1500 the right amounts?
  2. Pro inclusion (500 gens) - is this the sweet spot or too low/high?
  3. Annual discount (20%) - does this drive annual commitments?
  4. Overage pricing ($0.10) - acceptable or feels like nickel-and-diming?

ðŸ"® FUTURE:

  1. Hobbyist tier ($10-20) - if demand shows for lower entry point
  2. Agency tier ($149+) - when agencies start adopting
  3. Enterprise tier (Custom) - SLA, SSO, white-label
  4. Volume discounts - for high-usage customers (>10K gens/month)

Alternative Approach: Single Tier Launch (For Consideration)

Before launch, it's worth considering an alternative strategy: start with one paid tier only instead of three (Free, Credits, Pro).

Rationale for Banatie:

  1. Faster willingness-to-pay validation: With a single paid tier ($49/mo for 500 generations), we immediately learn whether people are willing to pay for the solution. A Free tier can create an illusion of demand from users who will never convert.

  2. Lower complexity in MVP: One pricing tier means less code (no tier logic, no credit system, no watermark implementation), which is critical with limited time availability (15-20 hours per week).

  3. Focus on the right customers: A $49/month price point automatically filters out freebie seekers and attracts those who genuinely value solving their problem. These are exactly the customers whose feedback matters most for PMF.

  4. Flexibility for evolution: After 10-20 paying customers, we'll hear their real requests: "I need it cheaper" → add Credits tier, "I need more volume" → add Pro+ tier, "let me try for free" → add Free tier. Building based on actual demand is more reliable than building on hypotheses.

  5. Reduced operational risk: With a constrained budget ($6K/month sole income), every free user = Gemini API cost with no return. A single paid plan minimizes losses during the validation phase.

When to expand tiers: After observing patterns in requests from the first 10-20 customers. If they ask for "cheaper for one-off projects" → add Credits. If they ask for "trial without commitment" → add Free tier. This is a data-driven approach instead of guesswork.

Decision: Discuss after ICP validation completion. If the killer use case turns out to be "professional assets for client projects" → single paid tier is optimal. If the killer use case is "quick experiments for A/B testing" → Free tier might be justified for virality.

Document owner: @men (based on Oleg's feedback) Next review: After beta testing (Month 2-3) Related docs: strategy/07-validated-icp-ai-developers.md, execution/09-mvp-scope.md