Or: why this isn't a $10 tool, and why it isn't $500 either.
Most software companies don't explain their pricing. They just show you a number and hope you'll pay it.
I think you deserve better than that. So here's the honest breakdown of why Loki Studio costs what it costs, what you're actually paying for, and why I chose this model over the alternatives.
— Craig Giannelli, Founder
You're not comparing Loki Studio to one tool. You're comparing it to a stack of tools and services that most creators cobble together.
Rev, Otter, Descript, or API costs
or $12-30/month
TubeBuddy, VidIQ, or similar
$120-600/year
Canva Pro, Photoshop, or freelancer
or $13-23/month for tools
Kapwing, Zubtitle, or manual work
or hours of your time
The most expensive cost of all
on tedious busywork
Typical Annual Cost of This Stack
$300 - $800+
Plus dozens of hours per month
One-time purchase. Everything included. Forever.
That's it. No monthly fees. No per-minute charges. No usage caps. No surprise bills.
You pay once, and you own a tool that handles transcription, metadata generation, thumbnails, timeline editing, and YouTube uploads for as long as you want to use it.
I built Loki Studio because I was tired of the SaaS treadmill. Every creator tool wants a piece of your monthly income. Cancel one, sign up for another, watch the subscriptions pile up.
That's not how tools should work. A hammer doesn't charge you rent. Neither should your video production software.
Most transcription services charge per-minute because they're paying for cloud computing. Loki Studio runs on your computer. Your GPU does the work. No server costs means no ongoing fees to pass on to you.
Loki Studio is bootstrapped. I don't have investors demanding 10x growth. I can price fairly and build sustainably, without squeezing users for maximum recurring revenue.
Everything runs locally. Your transcripts are JSON files you can read anywhere. Your thumbnails are standard image files. If you ever stop using Loki Studio, your data comes with you.
Free software has to make money somehow. Usually through ads, data collection, or crippling the free tier to push you toward subscriptions. I'd rather charge a fair price upfront and deliver real value without hidden costs or manipulation.
At $10, I couldn't afford to maintain and improve the software. Updates would stop. Support would disappear. You'd have a dead tool that worked great until it didn't.
$75 (introductory) / $99 (regular) is enough to sustain development while still being a one-time purchase that pays for itself after a few videos.
Loki Studio isn't trying to be Premiere. It's not a general-purpose video editor. It's a focused tool for YouTube creators who want to eliminate busywork. Different problem, different scope, different price.
(Also, Premiere is $23/month now, which is $276/year. Loki Studio for $75 looks pretty good next to that.)
2
hours saved per video
4
videos until you break even
∞
videos after that
If your time is worth anything at all, Loki Studio pays for itself within the first month for most creators.
No feature tiers. No "Pro" version. Everyone gets everything.