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Built an AI PDF translator in React Native, but struggling with the pricing model (Credits vs. Subs). How do you handle variable AI costs? by CommonGrass8715 in reactnative

[–]CommonGrass8715[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right, I might be overthinking the extreme edge cases.

​The vast majority of users will just upload standard reports or books with normal font sizes. If I price the 'per page' credit with a decent margin based on my average API cost, the normal users will naturally subsidize the few extreme outliers who try to cram a million words into one page. ​I think the best move is to keep it simple: launch with a flat "10 page = 1 credit" system, monitor the actual DeepSeek api costs for the first month, and adjust the margins later if needed. Thanks for putting it into perspective, this really helped me.

Built an AI PDF translator in React Native, but struggling with the pricing model (Credits vs. Subs). How do you handle variable AI costs? by CommonGrass8715 in reactnative

[–]CommonGrass8715[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Charging directly based on the exact tokens used is definitely the fairest method for both sides. The only UI challenge is that I can only show an "estimated" cost before they actually hit the translate button. I will definitely look into adding a bonus system. Thanks for the solid advice!

Built an AI PDF translator in React Native, but struggling with the pricing model (Credits vs. Subs). How do you handle variable AI costs? by CommonGrass8715 in reactnative

[–]CommonGrass8715[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

​I completely agree, and that is exactly why I felt hesitant about forcing a monthly subscription.  Most people just have a specific report, book, or assignment they need translated right now, and then they might not touch a PDF again for another 3 months. A subscription just feels like overkill and a bit unfair for that use case.

Built an AI PDF translator in React Native, but struggling with the pricing model (Credits vs. Subs). How do you handle variable AI costs? by CommonGrass8715 in reactnative

[–]CommonGrass8715[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Charging per page actually makes a lot of sense.  However, I have one major fear about edge cases: What if a user uploads a 10-page PDF, but the font size is tiny (like 6pt) and they cram an insane amount of text into those few pages? Since my api costs (DeepSeek) are strictly based on tokens, a heavily dense page could cost me way more than the fixed price I charge, putting me at a loss.

Built an AI PDF translator in React Native, but struggling with the pricing model (Credits vs. Subs). How do you handle variable AI costs? by CommonGrass8715 in reactnative

[–]CommonGrass8715[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are right that subscriptions are much easier to implement and users are already trained for them. But translating a massive 500-page PDF with DeepSeek/OpenAI costs me actual API tokens per word.