The Status AI app is free to download (the package sizes of iOS/Android are 218MB and 195MB respectively). The standard features involve producing low-resolution (720P) materials (e.g., text and images) 10 times a day. Yet, to produce 4K (3840×2160 pixels) or dynamic videos, a subscription to the Pro ($14.9 monthly) is needed. The free users above the usage limit have to pay a fee of 0.05 US dollars per use (such as the 11th use), while Pro version users are unlimited and own priority rendering rights (waiting time in the queue reduced from 12 seconds to 3 seconds). Statistics as of 2023 indicate that 78% of the free users migrated to paid subscriptions as a result of resolution limits, but still, 22% were intact with limited usage through AD watch (with ads unlocked and produced three times every 30 seconds).
Hardware adjustment affects the real cost. The free version takes a 72% NPU load rate (with 5 seconds) to render 720P images on the iPhone 15 Pro, while 4K is supported only on the A17 Pro/M1 chip-based models (such as the iPad Pro), and the local rendering power consumption increases to 3.2Wh from 0.8Wh (decreasing the battery life by 41%). When Android device free users (e.g., Samsung S24 Ultra) create 1080P content, the GPU temperature is 48℃ (environment is 25℃), the likelihood of inducing temperature control frequency reduction is as high as 67%, and the generation time produced is 14 seconds (the Pro version cloud rendering is only 4 seconds).
Legal risks cost additional money. Free users who make infringing material (e.g., copies of brand logos with a similarity rate of ≥65%) may face a penalty of $1,200 per image (based on the platform terms). A case in 2024 showed that a user was being sued for $8,700 for making “Starbucks style” wallpapers available for free use for business purposes. Pro’s in-built copyright filter (vs. a 120 millionlicensed materials library) could lower infringement rate to 0.7%, but generate time was expanded to 8 seconds from 5 seconds. The EU’s Digital Services Act mandates that users with free status keep their data for no more than 30 days. If there is a need to extend to 90 days, it costs 0.02 US dollars per day per GB (for example, for 10GB of data for 90 days it will be 1.8 US dollars).
User behavior data reveals the conversion path. The median free users’ average daily generation volume is 7 times (at most 10 times), 63% of which gave up using it for quality limitations (e.g., 720P blur PSNR≤28dB), whereas the Pro users create an average volume of 23 times per day (89% for 4K). In the youth version (13-17 years), the free functional restriction rate can be as much as 94% (such as disabling the body proportion adjusting tool), while the parental guard function (reading the real-time operation log) requires an additional payment of $4.9 per month.
The free policy can be revised in later editions. As ABI forecasted, in 2025, there will be a “Creator Fund” in Status AI. Free users may exchange for generation quotas through content sharing (e.g., $0.8 per thousand video views), but they have to meet quality requirements (e.g., an interaction rate of ≥5%). Quantum rendering engine tests show that the free version can possibly support 1080P generation (currently only 720P), but energy consumption increases by 37% (the device has to support Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 or later chips). Simultaneously, the advertising loading frequency can be increased from one insertion for every three generation times to one insertion for every two times in order to account for the cost of cloud rendering (the average daily ad revenue per user is $0.03).