How Coin-Based Pricing Works (And Why Some AI Apps Use It)

Many AI-powered apps use a coin or credit system instead of a flat subscription, and it's worth understanding why: AI generation (especially image and video) has a real, variable compute cost per request, unlike traditional software features that cost the same to run regardless of usage.

A coin system lets an app offer some features completely free (because they're cheap to run, or because free access drives adoption) while charging only for the genuinely expensive operations — which is exactly how PixelloAI is structured: background removal is unlimited and free, while AI image/video generation and downloads use coins.

New accounts (including anonymous guest sessions) start with a free coin balance, so you can try the paid features without committing money upfront. Additional coins come from three sources: watching a short rewarded ad, purchasing a coin pack, or (on iOS/Android) an in-app purchase processed through the App Store or Google Play.

This model tends to be fairer for light users than a flat subscription — someone who only removes a few backgrounds a month pays nothing, while someone generating dozens of AI images pays roughly in proportion to what they actually use.

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The PixelloAI Team

We build PixelloAI — AI background removal, image generation, and Car Studio for web, iOS, and Android. These guides come from working on the product day to day.

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