Why ToyControl costs $3 a month
A short explanation of why ToyControl Pro is $3 per month, what the free tier includes, and what we think about pricing in adult tech.
ToyControl Pro is $3 per month. The free tier is real (pattern generator, one connected device, basic controls) and not crippled. This post explains why the pricing is where it is.
The two-line summary
- $3 a month is enough to cover server costs, payment processing, and slow growth. Not enough to compete with venture-backed startups on marketing, which is fine.
- The free tier is real. Pattern Generator and one device with basic controls work indefinitely without paying. Most users do not need Pro.
What we considered
When we set pricing, three options were on the table:
Option A: free with ads
The standard "free site" model. Cheap to enter, supported by ads. We rejected this because:
- Ad networks (Google, Meta) ban adult content. The remaining ad networks are sketchy.
- Ads track users across the internet. We have made a privacy promise; ads break it.
- Ad revenue per visit is tiny. The trade-off is bad for our scale.
Option B: $10-30 per month
Standard SaaS pricing in adjacent categories. We rejected this because:
- It feels expensive for a tool that runs in a browser.
- The price excludes too many users who would otherwise try it.
- A long free trial does not change the perception once they see the monthly bill.
Option C: $3 a month with a real free tier
Our choice. Cheap enough that nobody resents it. Expensive enough that we can keep the lights on. Free tier is real, not a teaser, so curious users can just stay free if their needs are small.
What $3 a month actually covers
For each Pro subscriber, our costs are:
- Cloudflare hosting: about 1 cent.
- Supabase database: a few cents.
- Stripe payment fees: roughly 50 cents (3% + 30 cents per transaction).
- Email transactional (magic links): a few cents.
- Customer support proportion: variable.
That leaves about $2 of margin per subscriber per month. Times our subscriber count, that funds:
- Server scaling as users join.
- Adding new toy support (we test toys, write backends, document).
- The helper app development.
- Time spent answering bug reports and improving the product.
It is sustainable, not aggressive. We are not trying to become a venture-scale company.
What is in the free tier
The free tier is real and useful:
- Pattern Generator (the full feature, all presets, custom patterns, phase timeline).
- 1 connected toy at a time.
- Basic controls (Pause, Test toy, Multiplier, Speed range).
- No time limit. Free is forever.
Many users genuinely do not need more. If your sessions are pattern-based and solo with one toy, free is enough.
What Pro unlocks
Pro adds the use cases that need more infrastructure:
- Script playback with videos.
- Video Player with auto-match.
- Connect to VR (Helper app required).
- Game Link (Helper app required).
- Remote Control rooms for partners.
- Multiple devices at once.
These are the features with the highest engineering cost (VR headset sync, multi-device dispatch, room infrastructure with WebRTC mesh). It makes sense for the paid tier.
See Free trial and Pro subscription for details.
The 10-hour trial
When you sign up, you get 10 hours of Pro for free. The clock counts only active minutes (when the engine is actually driving a toy), not idle time. So a 10-hour trial is usually weeks of casual exploration before it runs out.
You can subscribe immediately if you want. Or run out the trial and decide.
What we will not do
A few promises about pricing:
- We will not raise the price for existing subscribers retroactively. If you join at $3/month, you stay at $3/month.
- We will not move features from Free to Pro to coerce users. Free is what it is.
- We will not add ads to either tier.
- We will not sell your data. No third-party data is shared. (We do not have data to sell anyway; we do not log sessions.)
What we might do
A few things we are open to but not committed to:
- Yearly billing at a small discount (e.g. $30/year instead of $36).
- Lifetime pricing as a one-time purchase for users who want to commit.
- A higher tier with features genuinely outside Pro scope (e.g. team accounts for content creators, advanced API access).
None of these change the $3/month or the free tier.
Comparison
For context, adjacent tools:
| Tool | Price |
|---|---|
| ToyControl Pro | $3/month |
| Lovense Premium (their app) | Free (with ads) |
| OBS / Streamlabs (livestreaming) | Free |
| XToys Premium | ~$5/month |
| FunPlayer | Free, donations |
| Most "VR adult content" subscriptions (SLR Premium etc.) | $20-30/month |
We are cheaper than most paid alternatives in this space. We are also more capable than most free ones.
Cancelling
You can cancel from the Account page any time. You keep Pro until the end of your current billing period. See How to cancel your Pro subscription.
Why mention all this
Pricing transparency is unusual in tech, especially adult tech. We mention it because:
- Users who know what they are paying for, and why, complain less and stay longer.
- We are a small team. Funding decisions affect what we can build.
- The free tier is genuine. We want users to know.
If you have ideas about pricing, open the account menu at the bottom of the sidebar and click Request a feature; that reaches us directly.