Pricing Tiers

Four pricing tiers with usage limits and feature access control

Overview

Genie Helper offers four pricing tiers designed to scale from individual creators to professional studios. Each tier has specific usage limits based on server resource costs and operational overhead.

Pricing Structure

Tier	Monthly Cost	Target User	Key Feature
Starter	$0	Trial users	Basic platform access, no video
Creator	$49	Individual creators	Unlimited scheduling, 3 platforms
Pro	$149	Power users	Unlimited publishing, 6 platforms
Studio	$499	Teams & agencies	5 team seats, all 9 platforms

Cost Basis

• Server: $100/mo fixed (IONOS dedicated, self-hosted)
• LLM inference: CPU-bound Qwen2.5 7B ~2-5s/call, ~4.8GB RAM pinned
• Stagehand sessions: ~300MB RAM/active browser session → ~33 concurrent sessions ceiling
• FFmpeg clip generation: ~30s CPU per clip (primary bottleneck)
• Watermark operations: ~100ms (Sharp/ImageMagick, effectively zero cost)
• Platform universe: 9 total platforms supported

Tier Limits Comparison

-1 indicates unlimited usage

Starter (Free)

Ideal for testing the platform with minimal resource commitment.

Feature	Limit	Reasoning
AI-Assisted Posts	3	Taste of LLM capability, minimal CPU load
Posts Published	5	Not a production workflow, just testing
Scheduled Queue Size	3	Friction mechanic — forces frequent logins
Platforms Connected	1	Single platform test connection
Taxonomy AI Calls	5	Teaser of proprietary classification
Watermark Operations	Unlimited	Zero cost — drug dealer hook
AI Clip Operations	0	Video blocked (CSAM risk + bandwidth)
Thumbnail Operations	0	Requires video frame extraction
Team Seats	1	Solo only

Creator ($49/mo)

Built for individual creators managing multiple platforms daily.

Feature	Limit	Reasoning
AI-Assisted Posts	30	~1 per day, acceptable CPU load
Posts Published	90	3 platforms × ~1/day = 90
Scheduled Queue Size	Unlimited	Primary upgrade hook from Starter
Platforms Connected	3	Most creators focus on 2-3 platforms
Taxonomy AI Calls	75	~2.5 per day for content classification
Watermark Operations	Unlimited	Zero marginal cost
AI Clip Operations	10	Aligns with 5GB storage (~500MB avg clip)
Thumbnail Operations	Unlimited	Cheap FFmpeg frame extract
Team Seats	1	Solo creator

Pro ($149/mo)

Power users with high publishing volume across multiple platforms.

Feature	Limit	Reasoning
AI-Assisted Posts	150	Heavy user load, self-hosted can handle
Posts Published	Unlimited	Zero marginal Stagehand cost once connected
Scheduled Queue Size	Unlimited	No artificial friction
Platforms Connected	6	2/3 of platform universe
Taxonomy AI Calls	300	Heavy classification usage
Watermark Operations	Unlimited	Zero marginal cost
AI Clip Operations	50	Aligns with 50GB storage
Thumbnail Operations	Unlimited	Cheap operation
Team Seats	1	Still solo operation

Studio ($499/mo)

Full-featured tier for teams and agencies managing multiple creators.

Feature	Limit	Reasoning
AI-Assisted Posts	Unlimited	At $499 they’re effectively paying for server
Posts Published	Unlimited	No restrictions
Scheduled Queue Size	Unlimited	Professional workflow support
Platforms Connected	9	Full platform universe
Taxonomy AI Calls	Unlimited	No restrictions
Watermark Operations	Unlimited	Zero marginal cost
AI Clip Operations	Unlimited	Full video processing access
Thumbnail Operations	Unlimited	No restrictions
Team Seats	5	Anchor differentiator for Studio tier

Usage Limits JSON Schema

This configuration is stored in Directus and enforced server-side:

{
  "starter": {
    "posts_ai_assisted": 3,
    "posts_published": 5,
    "scheduled_queue_size": 3,
    "platforms_connected": 1,
    "taxonomy_ai_calls": 5,
    "watermark_ops": -1,
    "ai_clip_ops": 0,
    "thumbnail_ops": 0,
    "team_seats": 1
  },
  "creator": {
    "posts_ai_assisted": 30,
    "posts_published": 90,
    "scheduled_queue_size": -1,
    "platforms_connected": 3,
    "taxonomy_ai_calls": 75,
    "watermark_ops": -1,
    "ai_clip_ops": 10,
    "thumbnail_ops": -1,
    "team_seats": 1
  },
  "pro": {
    "posts_ai_assisted": 150,
    "posts_published": -1,
    "scheduled_queue_size": -1,
    "platforms_connected": 6,
    "taxonomy_ai_calls": 300,
    "watermark_ops": -1,
    "ai_clip_ops": 50,
    "thumbnail_ops": -1,
    "team_seats": 1
  },
  "studio": {
    "posts_ai_assisted": -1,
    "posts_published": -1,
    "scheduled_queue_size": -1,
    "platforms_connected": 9,
    "taxonomy_ai_calls": -1,
    "watermark_ops": -1,
    "ai_clip_ops": -1,
    "thumbnail_ops": -1,
    "team_seats": 5
  }
}

Important Implementation Notes

Review these carefully before implementing tier enforcement

1. Thumbnail Operations on Starter

thumbnail_ops on Starter is 0, not -1. Thumbnails require video frame extraction. Since video is blocked on Starter (CSAM risk + cost), thumbnails must also be blocked.

Wrong: "thumbnail_ops": -1 (accidentally enables video processing) Correct: "thumbnail_ops": 0 (properly blocks video operations)

2. Posts Published Counting

The current implementation treats one publish event = one content piece regardless of how many platforms it’s pushed to simultaneously.

Example:

• User schedules 1 post to 3 platforms simultaneously = 1 count
• User schedules 3 separate posts to 1 platform = 3 counts

If you count per-platform-delivery instead, Creator at 90 posts becomes restrictive (3 platforms × 30 posts = only 30 pieces of content).

Document your counting convention clearly to avoid support tickets

3. Team Seats on Studio

Studio tier includes 5 team seats. You need a per-seat cost model for additional seats, or subscribers will onboard entire teams.

Recommended overage pricing:

• Additional seats: +$25/seat/month
• Or: Hard cap at 5 seats, require custom enterprise pricing

Usage Tracking

Usage is tracked in the user_personas collection and enforced by:

• API endpoint: server/endpoints/api/usage.js
• Enforcement: Each operation checks current usage vs. tier limits
• Reset period: Monthly, on billing anniversary
• Storage: user_personas.usage_current_period JSON field

Usage API Example

const usage = await api.get('/api/usage/current');

if (usage.posts_ai_assisted >= usage.tier_limits.posts_ai_assisted) {
  throw new Error('Monthly AI post limit reached. Upgrade to continue.');
}

Upgrade Flow

1. User initiates upgrade: From pricing page or usage limit warning
2. Payment processing: Payment gateway integration required
3. Tier update: PATCH user_personas.pricing_tier
4. Usage reset: Clear current period counters
5. Immediate access: New limits take effect instantly

Downgrade Considerations

• Graceful degradation: Existing scheduled posts remain in queue
• Connection preservation: Platform connections stay active, new ones blocked
• Data retention: All media and history preserved
• Immediate enforcement: New limits apply at start of next billing period

Related Files

• Usage tracking: server/endpoints/api/usage.js
• Tier enforcement: Applied in genieChat.js, queue.js, credentials.js
• Frontend pricing: dashboard/src/pages/Pricing/index.jsx
• User personas: Directus user_personas collection stores current tier