The shape of the rollout
Three paid tiers (plus Guest), introduced over three phases. Each phase adds capability without disrupting users at lower tiers. The whole point: launch with a clean three-tier paywall, expand the top tier as new features ship.
| Phase | When | Tiers Live | What Changes |
|---|
| Phase 1 — Launch | v1.0 (Day 1) | Guest + Pro + Studio | Studio launches with a partial feature set (Historical Import + perks + price-lock for future AI media) |
| Phase 2 — Add Basic | v2.0 (Month 3-6) | Guest + Basic + Pro + Studio | Basic added only if Pro conversion is weak |
| Phase 3 — Studio fills out | v4.0 (Month 12-18) | Same four tiers | AI media features (podcasts, video, art, music) ship into the existing Studio tier |
Why Studio launches in Phase 1, not Phase 3: Studio at launch already has real exclusive value (unlimited Historical Import, priority generation, vanity referral, Studio badge, early access). It also lets early adopters lock in $19.99/mo before AI media ships — which becomes our strongest pre-launch marketing pitch. The AI media features are added into Studio later; the tier itself is live from day one.
Historical Import is NOT included in Pro. Each imported order can generate AI notebooks, which costs real money per generation. To protect Pro’s margin, Historical Import is sold as a one-time add-on to Pro users (14.99/29.99 / $49.99). Studio gets unlimited Historical Import included.
Phase 1 — Launch (v1.0)
Three paid tiers. Guest + Pro + Studio. Historical Import as a Pro add-on.
Pricing
| Product | Price | Notes |
|---|
| Guest | $0 | No login required |
| Pro Monthly | $9.99/mo | No free trial — direct paywall on signup |
| Pro Annual | $79.99/yr | $6.66/mo effective, 33% off |
| Studio Monthly | $19.99/mo | No free trial — direct paywall on signup |
| Studio Annual | $149.99/yr | $12.50/mo effective, 37% off |
| Pro Founders Lifetime | $199 one-time | Capped at first 500 buyers, lifetime Pro |
| Studio Founders Lifetime | $499 one-time | Capped at first 100 buyers, lifetime Studio + grandfather all future AI media |
| Historical Import (6 mo) | $14.99 one-time | Pro add-on |
| Historical Import (12 mo) | $29.99 one-time | Pro add-on |
| Historical Import (full archive) | $49.99 one-time | Pro add-on |
No free trials, ever. This is a deliberate brand and economics decision. Free trials degrade signal (low-intent users sign up to “kick the tires”), increase server / AI costs without revenue, and train users to expect free access to paid features. Risk-reversal is handled by Apple’s standard 14-day refund window (automatic, no marketing required) and by transparent feature previews on Guest tier (anyone can try the strain encyclopedia, label scanner, and music before signing up).
Guest tier — full feature list
Everything that does not require an account. This is the SEO + acquisition layer.
| Feature | Status at Launch |
|---|
| Browse 5,226+ strain profiles | Live |
| Strain detail pages (6 tabs) | Live |
| High Family classification | Live |
| Strain Discovery (by effect / terpene / family) | Live |
| Strain type filters (sativa / indica / hybrid) | Live |
| Label Scanner (camera-based terpene extraction) | Live |
| Strain Soundtracks (existing AI music per strain) | Live |
| Activity Recommendations | Live |
| Trending strains | Live |
| Blog articles | Live |
| Onboarding flow | Live |
Pro tier — full feature list at launch
Tracking + all current AI + planned AI features as they ship. Does NOT include Historical Import — that’s a separate one-time purchase.
Tracking and personal data
| Feature | Status at Launch |
|---|
| Stash tracking | Live |
| Favorites | Live |
| Manual text upload (orders) | Live |
| Submit Strains | Live |
| Profile and preferences | Live |
| Consumption Preferences | Live |
| Stash history and archive | Live |
| Full strain-collection management | Live |
| Ad-free experience | Live |
| Feature | Status at Launch |
|---|
| AI Notebooks (text reports) | Live |
| Stats Dashboard (7 tabs) | Live |
| Gmail order sync | Live |
| Receipt parsing (photo upload) | Live |
| Dispensary tracking | Live |
| Suggest Strain (AI recommendations) | Live |
| Add-On | Price | Notes |
|---|
| Historical Import (6 mo) | $14.99 one-time | Imports last 6 months of orders + generates notebooks |
| Historical Import (12 mo) | $29.99 one-time | Imports last 12 months |
| Historical Import (full archive) | $49.99 one-time | Imports complete order history |
| Feature | Target Version |
|---|
| Rankings and leaderboards | v1.1 |
| Badge system (4 rarity levels) | v1.2 |
| Barcode scanner | v2.x |
| Health sync (Apple Health) | v2.x |
| Session journal | v2.x |
| Smart suggestions | v2.x |
| User reviews (read + write) | v2.x |
| Export data (CSV / JSON) | v2.x |
| AI tone preference (5 options) | v2.x |
| Dispensary map (basic) | v2.x |
| Professor High (stateless chat, capped queries) | v2.x |
| Ask AI / Deep Research (capped: 10 queries/mo) | v2.x |
| Daily Stories (standard daily content) | v3.x |
| Menu Reports (single-menu analysis) | v2.x |
Studio tier — full feature list at launch
Everything Pro has, plus unlimited Historical Import, plus a curated set of AI features that Pro users explicitly do not get, plus perks, plus a price-lock guarantee for future AI media.
Studio adds at launch — perks
| Feature | Why It’s Studio-only |
|---|
| Unlimited Historical Import (full archive included) | Replaces the $49.99 one-time Pro add-on. Pays back in 3 months. |
| Priority generation queue | Notebooks, reports, and AI features generate ahead of Pro users |
| Studio badge on profile + share cards | Status / identity perk |
Vanity referral code (custom URL like highiq.app/ref/john) | Replaces random code |
| Early access to all new features (beta flag) | Studio users see new features 30-60 days before Pro |
| Roadmap input | Quarterly survey + private feedback channel |
| Studio-exclusive community badges | Unlockable only by Studio subscribers |
| Premium share-card designs | Visually distinct from Pro share cards |
| Future AI media auto-included | Podcasts, video, art, session music, social posts — no price increase when these ship |
| Feature | Studio | Pro | Why this split |
|---|
| AI Copilot (proactive, persistent, personalized agent) | Full | — | The data moat. Years of cannabis history compound; switching cost rises with time. See AI Copilot doc. |
| Daily Brief (Copilot-generated daily summary) | Yes | — | Powered by the Copilot, not a separate feature |
| Shopping Agent (AI dispensary recommender) | Full | — | A Copilot capability — autonomous shopping research |
| Safari / Chrome extension (web shopping AI) | Full | — | Cross-device extension of the Copilot |
| Cannabis Coach (persistent memory + advanced tools) | Full (Copilot’s chat surface) | — | Persistent memory = the Copilot’s brain |
| Ask AI / Deep Research | Unlimited | 10 queries/mo cap | Copilot research mode (Studio); standalone capped queries (Pro) |
| Professor High | Persistent memory, advanced tools | Stateless chat, basic tools | Studio = your Copilot’s voice; Pro = ChatGPT-lite for cannabis |
| Daily Stories Premium (long-form weekly recaps + curated drops) | Full (Copilot delivers) | Standard daily content only | Premium daily = Copilot’s Daily Brief surface |
| Menu Reports — multi-menu cross-analysis | Full (Copilot does the analysis) | Single-menu analysis only | Copilot capability — autonomous menu watching |
| Neighborhood strain ranks | Full | — | Geo-personalized Copilot recommendations |
| AI media (podcasts, video, art, music, social posts) | All included when shipped | Previews only | Phase 3 feature — Copilot can generate on demand once shipped |
The Studio AI moat: Pro is “AI assistant for tracking and insights.” Studio is “AI co-pilot for the entire cannabis lifecycle — shopping, research, content, memory.” That single sentence is the strongest Studio pitch we have, and it’s true from day one (not after AI media ships).
The Studio price-lock pitch: “Subscribe to Studio at 19.99/motoday.WhenAIpodcasts,videos,andstrainartshipin2026,yougetthemautomatically—atthesamepriceyousignedupfor.Newsignupswillpay24.99 by then. You won’t.”Combined with the AI moat above, this converts both power users (who want Shopping Agent, Cannabis Coach, unlimited Deep Research today) AND early adopters who plan to use AI media later. Anti-abuse: how Studio’s “unlimited” Historical Import actually works
The risk: a user subscribes to Studio for one month at 19.99,runsHistoricalImportontheirfullGmailarchive(200+orders→200+AInotebookgenerationsat0.30 each = $60+ in API cost), then downgrades to Pro or cancels. We lose money on every such subscriber.
Apple App Store rules require we honor downgrades — we cannot block them. So the design has to make the abuse uneconomical instead.
Layered defenses (all stack):
| Mitigation | How it works |
|---|
| One-time benefit | ”Unlimited Historical Import” is a single-redemption benefit per Studio account. Once your archive is imported, you’ve used the unlimited slot. Future imports work at Pro rates (with one-time add-on pricing). This kills the resubscribe-and-reimport scam. |
| 15-day refund-window gating | Historical Import unlocks 15 days after subscription start — one day after Apple’s 14-day automatic refund window closes. This applies equally to Studio Monthly and Studio Annual: both have the same 14-day refund risk regardless of billing cycle, and both wait 15 days before the benefit activates. A user who subscribes and immediately requests a refund cannot run Historical Import in the gap. |
| Daily rate cap | Even on Studio, Historical Import processes a maximum of 30 orders per 24 hours. Spreads the API cost over time and catches obvious abuse patterns. |
| Annual-only for “full archive” unlimited | Monthly Studio subscribers get up to 12 months of historical import included. The full archive (often years of data) is only unlocked for Studio Annual ($149.99/yr). Annual subscribers can’t run-and-cancel — they’ve prepaid. |
| Read-only after cancellation | All notebooks generated during active Studio remain accessible after downgrade/cancel. But new generations require active subscription. Users keep what they paid for; they can’t keep generating for free. |
| Soft credit ceiling | Internal cost ceiling of ~$30 in AI generation per Studio month. Beyond that, generation queues at lower priority. Power users won’t notice; abusers hit a wall. |
The bottom line on abuse: Some users will try to game the system. The mitigation isn’t perfect, but it makes the abuse case break-even at worst (we lose ~10−15onadeterminedabuser,not50+). For the 95% of legitimate users, none of these limits are noticeable. Studio Founders Lifetime — the highest-LTV product at launch
The Studio Founders Lifetime ($499 one-time, capped at first 100 buyers) is the single most valuable launch SKU. Beyond lifetime Studio access, Founders get a deliberately rich perks package designed to turn them into evangelists.
Founders package (one-time at signup)
| Perk | Notes |
|---|
| Lifetime Studio access (everything Studio gets, forever) | Including all future AI media |
| Permanent grandfathering against any future tier above Studio | If we launch a “Studio Pro” or “Enterprise” tier, Founders auto-upgrade free |
| Founders Welcome Box (physical merch, shipped on signup) | Branded grinder, sticker pack, T-shirt, lighter, limited-edition rolling tray, hand-signed welcome letter |
| Founder badge on profile + share cards | Distinct from Studio badge, never re-issued |
| Wall of Founders (opt-in listing on highiq.app/founders) | Name + handle + optional photo. Permanent acknowledgment. |
| 30% lifetime referral revenue share | 2x the standard 15% Studio rev share. Every paid signup attributed to a Founder pays them 30% of the subscription forever. Drives the evangelism flywheel. |
Founder vanity URL (highiq.app/founders/yourname) | Custom landing page with bio + referral code |
| Quarterly Founders Q&A (private video call with product team) | 4 calls/year, recorded, Founders-only |
| Founders Slack/Discord (private channel with team) | Direct line to product, support, design |
| Roadmap voting weight (10x normal) | When we open a feature poll, Founder votes count 10x |
| Free entry to all future High IQ events | Cannabis industry meetups, brand partnerships, dispensary collabs |
| Item | Cost |
|---|
| Welcome Box (production + shipping) | ~$50-75 |
| Lifetime Studio access (60 months avg, $20/mo lost rev) | ~$1,200 |
| AI media generation cost (when shipped, ~$5/mo at scale) | ~$300 over 60 months |
| Total cost per Founder over 5 years | ~$1,575 |
| Founders payment | $499 |
| Net loss on subscription alone | -$1,076 per Founder |
| Cohort | Buyers | Price | Cash |
|---|
| Pro Founders Lifetime | 500 | $199 | $99,500 |
| Studio Founders Lifetime | 100 | $499 | $49,900 |
| Total | 600 | | $149,400 |
What Phase 1 specifically does NOT have
- No Basic tier (saved for Phase 2 if needed)
- No AI media features yet (podcasts, video, art — those ship into Studio in Phase 3)
- No à la carte AI add-ons (saved for Phase 4 if Studio attach rate is weak)
- No family / household plan
- No B2B / dispensary tier
Phase 2 — Add Basic (v2.0, conditional)
Trigger: Pro install-to-paid conversion under 5% in Phase 1, or meaningful churn from “I just want tracking, not AI” feedback.
Pricing after Phase 2
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|
| Guest | $0 | (unchanged) |
| Basic Monthly | $4.99/mo | New |
| Basic Annual | $39.99/yr | New ($3.33/mo effective, 33% off) |
| Pro Monthly | $9.99/mo | Hold — or raise to $11.99 if Phase 1 conversion was strong |
| Pro Annual | $79.99/yr | Hold — or raise to $99.99 |
| Studio Monthly | $19.99/mo | (unchanged) |
| Studio Annual | $149.99/yr | (unchanged) |
| Historical Import add-ons | 14.99/29.99 / $49.99 | Now available to Basic and Pro |
What moves from Pro to Basic
The non-AI tracking features migrate down. Existing Pro subscribers keep everything they have.
Basic gets:
| Feature | Notes |
|---|
| Stash tracking | Moves from Pro |
| Favorites | Moves from Pro |
| Manual text upload | Moves from Pro |
| Submit Strains | Moves from Pro |
| Profile and preferences | Moves from Pro |
| Consumption Preferences | Moves from Pro |
| Rankings and leaderboards | Moves from Pro (v1.1+) |
| Badge system | Moves from Pro (v1.2+) |
| Stash history and archive | Moves from Pro |
| Full strain-collection management | Moves from Pro |
| Ad-free experience | Moves from Pro |
| Dispensary tracking (basic) | Moves from Pro — full dispensary AI stays in Pro |
| Add-On | Price | What Basic Gets |
|---|
| Historical Import (6 mo, data only) | $9.99 one-time | Order data imported, no AI notebooks |
| Historical Import (full archive, data only) | $24.99 one-time | Full data archive, no AI notebooks |
| Feature | Notes |
|---|
| AI Notebooks | Pro-only |
| Stats Dashboard (7 tabs) | Pro-only |
| Gmail order sync | Pro-only |
| Receipt parsing | Pro-only |
| Suggest Strain | Pro-only |
| Professor High chat | Pro-only |
| Ask AI / Deep Research | Pro-only |
| Daily Stories | Pro-only |
| Menu Reports / Menu Scanning | Pro-only |
| Cannabis Coach | Pro-only |
| Shopping Agent | Pro-only |
| Safari / Chrome extension | Pro-only |
| Barcode scanner | Pro-only |
| Health sync (Apple Health) | Pro-only |
| Session journal | Pro-only |
| Smart suggestions | Pro-only |
| Export data (CSV / JSON) | Pro-only |
| AI tone preference | Pro-only |
| Historical Import (with AI notebooks) | Pro add-on, 14.99/29.99 / $49.99 |
The split rule from What’s in Pro: if it thinks, it’s Pro. Tracking and gamification are Basic. AI is Pro. Studio is everything plus media plus perks.
Phase 3 — Studio Fills Out (v4.0)
Trigger: AI media features (podcasts, video reports, strain art, session music) are production-ready.
Pricing after Phase 3
No new tier. Studio’s contents expand. Studio’s price may rise for new signups (existing Studio subscribers grandfather at $19.99 forever — that was the Phase 1 promise).
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|
| Guest | $0 | (unchanged) |
| Basic Monthly | $4.99/mo | (unchanged) |
| Pro Monthly | $11.99/mo | Raise from $9.99 (existing Pro grandfather) |
| Studio Monthly (new signups) | $24.99/mo | Raise from $19.99 (existing Studio grandfather) |
| Studio Annual (new signups) | $199.99/yr | Raise from $149.99 |
All existing Pro and Studio subscribers grandfather at their original price forever. This was the launch promise. Only new signups in Phase 3+ pay the raised prices. This is the entire reason Phase 1 Studio is a sellable pitch.
What gets added to Studio in Phase 3
AI Media (Studio-only, ships in v4.0)
| Feature | Notes |
|---|
| AI podcast episodes | Auto-included for existing Studio users at no price increase |
| Session music (terpene-driven soundtracks) | Auto-included |
| Video reports (narrated) | Auto-included |
| Strain art (custom artwork) | Auto-included |
| Social post captions | Auto-included |
| AI music videos | Auto-included |
| AI worlds (3D environments) | Auto-included |
| Strain page videos (animated) | Auto-included |
| Tier | What They See |
|---|
| Pro | 15-second audio previews, blurred video thumbnails, watermarked strain art, locked social posts |
| Basic | Same previews, plus the additional Pro upgrade ramp |
Final tier matrix at end of Phase 3
| Feature Category | Guest | Basic ($4.99) | Pro ($11.99) | Studio (19.99grandfathered/24.99 new) |
|---|
| Browse + discovery + label scanner + music + blog | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stash + favorites + manual entry | — | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rankings + badges + collection management | — | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Notebooks + Stats + Gmail + receipts + Suggest Strain | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Professor High + Ask AI + Daily Stories + Menu Reports | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Historical Import — data only, one-time | — | 9.99−24.99 add-on | 14.99−49.99 add-on (with notebooks) | Unlimited included |
| AI media (podcasts, video, art, session music) | — | — | — | Yes |
| Vanity referral, early access, priority generation, Studio badge | — | — | — | Yes |
Long-tail (Phase 4+) — what could come later
These are not committed plans. They’re the obvious next moves if the core model works.
Family / household plan
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|
| Pro Family | $19.99/mo | 4 accounts, all Pro features |
| Studio Family | $34.99/mo | 4 accounts, all Studio features |
B2B / dispensary tier
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|
| High IQ for Dispensaries | $99-499/mo | Menu analytics, customer-facing label scanner, branded reports |
| Add-On | Price | Includes |
|---|
| AI Audio | $4.99/mo | Podcasts + session music only |
| AI Visual | $4.99/mo | Video + strain art + social posts only |
Decision points along the rollout
This is the trigger logic for moving between phases.
At launch (Phase 1)
Ship Guest + Pro at 9.99/mo+Studioat19.99/mo (no free trials — direct paywall), plus Pro Founders Lifetime (199,cap500)andStudioFoundersLifetime(499, cap 100). Historical Import as one-time add-ons for Pro. Measure for 90 days.Watch metrics: install-to-paid conversion (Pro), Studio attach rate (% of paid users on Studio), Founders sell-out rate, Historical Import attach rate among Pro users, day-30 retention. 90 days post-launch (Phase 2 decision)
- If Pro install-to-paid > 8%: Hold pricing. Don’t add Basic. Focus on growing the funnel.
- If Pro install-to-paid is 5-8%: Hold for another 90 days, then re-evaluate.
- If Pro install-to-paid < 5%: Add Basic at $4.99/mo. Reposition Pro as the AI-tier upgrade.
- If churn signal is “I just want tracking”: Add Basic regardless of conversion rate.
- If Studio attach rate > 25% of paid users: Studio is a hit — accelerate AI media development to feed the tier.
- If Studio attach rate < 10%: Investigate whether the “future AI media included” pitch is landing. Consider repricing to $14.99 or splitting into AI Media add-ons (Phase 4 long-tail).
When AI media is production-ready (Phase 3)
Ship AI media features into the existing Studio tier at no price increase for current Studio subscribers. Raise Studio price for new signups to 24.99/mo.RaiseProto11.99/mo for new signups. Grandfather everyone at their original price.Watch metrics: AI media generation cost per Studio user, Studio churn vs Pro churn, conversion lift from “AI media is here” marketing push. 6-12 months after AI media launch (Phase 4)
If Studio is healthy: ship family plans, evaluate B2B / dispensary tier.
If Studio attach rate stagnates: ship à la carte AI Media add-ons at $4.99/mo each.
TL;DR — what to build in RevenueCat at launch
Phase 1 launch SKUs (10 products, 2 entitlements):
Subscription products:
pro_monthly — $9.99/mo (no trial)
pro_annual — $79.99/yr (no trial)
studio_monthly — $19.99/mo (no trial)
studio_annual — $149.99/yr (no trial)
One-time products:
founders_lifetime — $199, capped at 500 buyers
studio_founders_lifetime — $499, capped at 100 buyers
historical_import_6mo — $14.99
historical_import_12mo — $29.99
historical_import_full — $49.99
Entitlements:
pro — unlocks all Pro features (does NOT include Historical Import)
studio — unlocks Pro + unlimited Historical Import + perks
+ auto-grants future AI media when shipped
Add-on entitlements (separately tracked):
historical_import — granted by any of the 3 one-time products,
grants Pro users access to historical archive + AI notebooks
(Studio users have this entitlement implicitly)
Add subscription products:
basic_monthly — $4.99/mo
basic_annual — $39.99/yr
Add entitlement:
basic — unlocks tracking-only feature set
Pricing change for new signups only:
pro_monthly — raise to $11.99 (existing $9.99 users grandfather)
pro_annual — raise to $99.99
studio_monthly — raise to $24.99 (existing $19.99 users grandfather)
studio_annual — raise to $199.99
No new entitlements. AI media is unlocked by the existing studio entitlement.
