Pricing

SELF™ Pricing: MAU Tiers + Assurance + Enterprise (Draft)

🎯 Our Pricing Philosophy

SELF is priced to ensure responsible use, not to maximize revenue.

We structure costs to:

Cover safety infrastructure maintenance and evolution
Fund Doctrine development and compliance monitoring
Support implementers with resources and guidance
Prevent misuse through appropriate cost barriers

No hidden fees. No surprise charges. No safety compromises.

📋 Pricing Model (How It Actually Works)

SELF is an SDK. Most customers will self-host and pay for:

1) SELF Core SDK license (priced by MAU tiers)

2) optional Assurance Proof (priced by risk level + review cadence)

3) optional Enterprise contract terms (SLA, security review, procurement needs)

4) optional Usage billing only when you choose a managed service component (e.g., managed evaluation runs, hosted assurance telemetry, or other add-ons)

Definitions

MAU (Monthly Active Users): unique end users interacting with an experience protected by SELF within a calendar month.
Protected surface: a user-facing feature where SELF is applied (chat, support, group facilitation, etc.).
Assurance Proof: evidence + review outputs that support procurement, compliance, and defensible safety claims.

1. Evaluation Tier

For: Non-production testing and internal evaluation

Cost: $0 (Free)

Includes:

Full SELF engine access
Complete documentation
Safety Packet examples
Doctrine compliance tools

Limitations:

No production deployment
Watermarked outputs
Limited to 100 conversations/month
No commercial use

Best for: Teams assessing SELF's fit before commitment

2. SELF Core — Production (Non‑Exclusive, MAU‑Tiered)

For: Production deployments that want predictable licensing aligned to adoption (users), not message volume.

Cost: MAU-tier license (monthly or annual). Public list pricing (USD):

Starter: up to 5,000 MAU — $300 / month
Growth: up to 25,000 MAU — $750 / month
Scale: up to 100,000 MAU — $2,000 / month
Enterprise: >100,000 MAU — annual contract (starts at $36,000 / year)

Includes (all MAU tiers):

production deployment rights (non-exclusive)
SELF updates (policy + enforcement improvements)
compatibility notes and migration guidance
standard support channel

Included support (typical):

Starter: email support (48h)
Growth: priority email (24–48h)
Scale: priority + scheduled office hours

Overages: if you exceed your MAU tier for 2 consecutive months, you move up a tier (no punitive per-message bills).

Best for: Most production launches

3. Assurance Proof (Add‑On)

For: Teams that need evidence (procurement, safety committees, partners, regulators) beyond “we use a safety prompt.”

Assurance Proof is priced by risk level and review cadence, not MAU alone.

Example packages:

Assurance Lite (annual): $7,500 / year

Includes: baseline integration review, guarantee-matrix mapping, release-note monitoring, and a quarterly check-in.

Assurance Standard (annual): $25,000 / year

Includes: deeper integration audit, regression pack aligned to your use case, incident-response playbook review, and monthly review cadence.

Assurance Enterprise (annual): $75,000 / year

Includes: security questionnaire support, audit exports alignment, executive briefings, and defined response windows for critical safety regressions.

Assurance deliverables are “proof,” not a rubber stamp: if the integration fails required properties, the proof deliverable is withheld until corrected.

Best for: enterprise procurement, high-liability products, and anyone making public safety claims

4. Enterprise Contracting (Terms, Not Just Price)

For: orgs needing SLAs, security/compliance reviews, or procurement support.

Enterprise contracting may include:

annual invoicing and procurement terms
security + privacy review support
designated technical contact + defined response windows
optional on-site / workshop deliverables
optional custom policy profile constraints (within doctrine)

Pricing is typically:

Annual license (MAU band) + Assurance Proof + optional services.

5. Optional Usage Billing (Only for Managed Add‑Ons)

SELF Core is an SDK and is MAU-tiered. Usage billing applies only if you elect managed add-ons, for example:

managed evaluation runs / continuous regression execution
hosted assurance telemetry ingestion and dashboards

Example metering units:

per evaluation run (or per 1,000 evaluated turns)
per GB of audit logs processed

If you don’t use managed add-ons, you don’t get usage billing.

Public list pricing for managed add-ons (USD, optional):

Managed Evaluation Runner: $500 / month includes 100,000 evaluated turns; $3.00 per 1,000 evaluated turns overage
Hosted Assurance Telemetry: $500 / month includes 10,000,000 audit events; $0.05 per 1,000 events overage

6. Academic/Non‑Profit Tier

For: Verified academic institutions and 501(c)(3) non-profits

Cost: $0 (Free)

Includes:

Full SELF engine access
Up to 10,000 MAU (or equivalent usage for research)
Basic support (72-hour SLA)
Research collaboration opportunities

Requirements:

Verified academic/non-profit status
Public safety commitment
Annual impact reporting

Best for: Research and public benefit applications

💰 Realistic Cost Examples

Example 1: Startup Launch

Tier: Starter (≤ 5,000 MAU)
License: $300 / month
Assurance: optional
Total: $300 / month (+ any selected add-ons)

Example 2: Crisis Support Non-Profit

Tier: Academic/Non-Profit
MAU: 3,000 / month
Total: $0/year

Example 3: Enterprise Procurement

Tier: Enterprise (annual MAU band)
Assurance Proof: Standard or Enterprise
Total: annual contract (license + assurance + any services)

🔍 What You're Actually Paying For

If you want the deeper rationale for why this governance layer has ongoing costs, see:

WHY_GOVERNANCE_COSTS_MONEY.md

Safety Infrastructure (60% of revenue)

Doctrine development and maintenance
Safety protocol evolution
Abuse pattern detection updates
False calm prevention research
Compliance monitoring systems

Implementation Support (25% of revenue)

Documentation and examples
Safety Packet templates
Compliance audit tools
Incident response guidance
Community resources

Governance and Oversight (15% of revenue)

License compliance monitoring
Doctrine enforcement
Safety violation investigations
Ethical review processes
Continuous improvement

MAU-tier pricing exists to keep incentives aligned: you pay more as your user impact grows, and governance stays funded as adoption increases.

📝 Pricing FAQ

Q: Why isn't there a free tier for production use?

A: Emotional safety requires professional discipline. Free tiers encourage experimentation without accountability. We provide free evaluation and academic tiers instead.

Q: Can we negotiate custom pricing?

A: Enterprise contracts can vary in terms (procurement, SLA, review cadence). The core principle remains: pricing cannot be reduced in ways that undermine safety operations or assurance integrity.

Q: What happens if we exceed our MAU tier?

A: If you exceed your MAU tier for 2 consecutive months, you move to the next tier. We’ll notify you when you approach your tier boundary.

Q: Are there discounts for long-term commitments?

A: No. Safety isn’t discounted. Pricing is tiered to real-world impact (MAU) and assurance scope; longer commitments don’t change rates.