Why $39 once, not $150 a year

Most facial analysis tools that take themselves seriously charge a subscription. QOVES charges $150 a year. Several smaller competitors charge $9 to $19 a month. Facet charges $39 once.

That choice is not a discount. It is a different read of what kind of product this is.

When subscriptions make sense

Subscriptions match products you use every week. Notion. Spotify. Whoop. The cost is predictable and the value compounds with each session. The user keeps the app because they keep opening it.

Facial analysis does not fit that pattern. Most users scan once, get a clinical baseline, and act on it. Some return months later to track changes after a skincare regimen or a procedure. Almost nobody scans weekly, and there is no scoring reason to.

The QOVES math

At $150 per year, the average QOVES user pays roughly $125 per usable scan, given typical re-scan behaviour in the category. That is not a bad price for a thorough clinical report. It is also a price that prices out the audience most likely to act on the report: 24 to 32 year olds optimising self-image while saving for everything else.

The Facet math

$39 once buys lifetime access. Unlimited rescans. New modules at no extra cost. Margins survive because Claude API tokens cost roughly $1 to $3 per scan and scans are user-initiated, not idle-running.

• Lower commitment. No renewal anxiety. Easy to compare against a single QOVES year.
• Better filter. Free attracts users who will not act on the report. $39 selects for intent.
• Cleaner message. "Lifetime access for $39" is a sentence. "$9 a month, billed annually, cancel anytime" is a contract.

What we lose

Honest acknowledgement: subscriptions print recurring revenue, smooth cash flow, and give marketing teams something to retain against. We give all of that up by pricing once. The bet is that the audience we want will reward a one-time price more than they will tolerate a monthly charge for software they barely open.

Why not $19, why not $99

$19 is too cheap to signal premium and leaves no margin for support or refunds. $99 triggers full purchase consideration: research, comparison, hesitation. A pre-launch product rarely wins a fully-considered $99 decision. $39 sits in the impulse-pay band for the ICP and still leaves enough margin to run support, build new modules, and absorb refunds where required by law.

Said differently: the price you choose decides what kind of customer you get. $39 reaches the person who already spends $100 a month on skincare and a $150 dermatology consult once a year, and who will look at this and decide it is worth the half-hour of attention.