AetherCut is my browser-based video editor — 72 tools, fully client-side, your footage never touches a server. For months I ran one $14.95/mo tier. Analytics told me a hard truth: free users were hitting locked tools and leaving. Nobody buys a tool they've never been allowed to touch.
So I inverted the model:
→ Every pro production tool is now FREE TO USE. Color grading, chroma key, stabilization — apply them to your actual footage, see the actual result.
→ The paywall moved to the export moment: $4.99/mo unlocks the 26-tool Pro Suite, $9.99/mo the 28-tool AI Layer, $14.95/mo everything.
→ And the rule I wouldn't compromise on: if you decline to pay, one click removes the premium effects and exports your video free. No hostages.
Why this works, in theory: the purchase decision now happens after the value demonstration, not before. The user isn't buying a promise — they're buying the export of a result they can already see.
Why "in theory": I shipped funnel telemetry alongside it, and I'll let the data grade my homework. I'll share the numbers either way in a few weeks.
Built and run by one person, in the browser, with a strict "no unverifiable claims" test suite that blocks any marketing copy I can't prove.
If you edit video and value privacy: it's free to try, no signup. Link in comments.
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