Pricing philosophy
Why Ciyo Has No Monthly Subscription
Many AI creative tools ask you to choose a monthly plan before you know how often you will use them. Ciyo has no monthly subscription. We built it as a pay-as-you-go AI image and video generator, so you buy credits once and spend them when you create.
There is no recurring charge to remember and no monthly allowance to use before a renewal date. Your credits stay in your account until you need them.
That choice is deliberate. It reflects how creative work happens and how generative AI is priced. We also want people to return because Ciyo helped them create, not because another payment is about to renew.
Creative work does not follow a monthly billing cycle
Image and video work often comes in bursts. A creator may explore dozens of ideas while preparing a campaign, then go several weeks without generating anything. A designer may use AI heavily during one client project and barely touch it during the next.
A subscription keeps billing through the quiet periods. It can also turn the end of the month into a rush to use credits that have already been paid for.
Pay as you go fits this rhythm more naturally. When you have work to do, you use Ciyo. During quieter periods, your balance remains unchanged. You can return next week or several months later without discovering another renewal on your statement.
How Ciyo pay-as-you-go pricing works
Ciyo sells one-time credit packs. A $10 purchase adds 1,000 credits to your account, and each credit represents one US cent of generation value. You can buy more packs in the same checkout when you need a larger balance.
Credits never expire. They are used only when you generate media or run a paid canvas edit. Opening a tool is free. So is changing settings while you prepare a prompt. Unused credits remain available, though they cannot be transferred or refunded for cash.
Before you generate, Ciyo shows the exact credit cost for the model and settings you selected. If a generation fails, the credits return to your balance automatically. You do not need to contact support and ask for them back.
One flat plan would hide meaningful cost differences
AI models do not all cost the same amount to run. A quick image generation may cost far less than a high-resolution image from a premium model. Video cost changes with the model and the settings you choose. Some canvas edits also make preparation calls before producing the final result.
Ciyo accounts for those differences at the operation level. The amount shown before you click Generate covers the complete operation, including any preparation work it needs. You see one price and receive one charge.
If Ciyo sold a monthly plan, we would still need limits somewhere. They might appear as a monthly allowance or as restricted access to costlier models and settings. The monthly price could look simple while the rules underneath remained complicated.
We prefer to put the useful number next to the action. You can decide whether a particular generation is worth its displayed cost before you run it.
We want customer spending to follow actual use
Recurring billing can make a product earn money during months when a customer receives little value from it. Ciyo asks you to spend credits only when you choose to generate or edit something.
That keeps our incentives clear. We have to make the canvas useful and support models people want. Each operation also needs a price customers understand well enough to return by choice. A forgotten renewal does not help us build a better creative tool.
This also explains why Ciyo does not offer free generations. Every completed provider operation has a real cost, including generation and canvas edits. We charge from the first generation so the same pricing model can remain sustainable without moving free usage onto paying customers.
The starting purchase is $10. It is large enough to keep payment processing practical and small enough for someone to use Ciyo on a real project before deciding whether it belongs in their regular workflow.
Pay as you go makes project costs easier to track
When each operation has a visible price, it is easier to understand what a project used. You can estimate a generation before running it and watch your balance as the work develops. When the balance is too low for the next task, you can top up.
This is useful for freelancers and small teams whose AI usage changes from one project to another. It also makes experimenting with different models easier to reason about. A more expensive model can be used for the shots that need it, while routine variations can use a lower-cost option.
The credit value in your account stays the same. Provider costs may change over time, which can change how many credits a future operation requires. Credits you already purchased do not lose value or get converted into a new monthly allowance.
A subscription can still suit some people
Someone who generates at a high and predictable volume every day may prefer a monthly plan, especially when that plan offers a genuine volume discount and limits that match the work. Predictable usage can make a predictable bill convenient.
Ciyo is built for people who value control over commitment. It works well when usage is irregular or costs need to stay attached to real projects. It also leaves one fewer monthly software bill to justify.
We want to be clear about that fit. One pricing model cannot be ideal for everyone.
An AI generator without a subscription
Buy credits when you have work to do. Any unused balance will still be there when the next project begins. The product should earn the next generation you run, one result at a time.