Pricing
Pick the advantage that matters most to you
Every plan leads with a standout benefit. Here's the one reason each is worth it.
This is for the person who'd rather own than rent — one payment gets you the full power on your own device, forever: no monthly bill, no cloud lock-in, yours to keep for good.
Buy once, own it for life. IdeaM helps you do that.
Buy once. Own it forever.
No subscription — ever. The AI runs on your own device, so your notes never leave it. Total privacy, works fully offline, everyday AI included.
This is for the independent thinker who wants a serious tool to capture and grow ideas — and wants the app itself genuinely free: bring your own AI key or run free on-device AI on your Mac, pay your provider directly for anything heavier (never us), and keep everything private and yours.
Think freely, own everything. IdeaM helps you do that.
Free forever — AI on your own key.
Plug in your own Google Gemini key — everyday use is typically free — or run free on-device AI on your Mac. You pay your provider directly, pay-as-you-go, so you're always in control of anything heavier — never a surprise from us. Your provider, your account — we never see your data.
This is for the researcher, creator, or professional turning ideas into finished work every day — upgrade for what you can't get free: studio-quality podcasts and videos, AI with zero setup, and the headroom to produce at scale without ever hitting a limit.
Do your best work, faster. IdeaM helps you do that.
Cloud superpowers.
The heavy features that need premium cloud AI: Refresh from Web with citations, multi-source Research & Import, AI outline Transform, podcast and image generation, and answers drawn from your whole knowledge base — on frontier models with higher limits and priority.
Video generation coming in v1.1.
Try it free — the full app with a taste of AI. No card required.
When should you move up?
Every plan is genuinely useful on its own. Here's when the next one earns its keep.
Choose BYOK when you want the most power and privacy for free — everyday use is typically free, you stay in full control of anything heavier (you pay your provider directly, pay-as-you-go), and you can plug in a top-tier model like Claude or GPT for publication-grade writing. Best writing, on your terms.
Go Student → Pro when your work turns professional — Pro drops the .edu requirement, adds studio-quality podcasts and videos, more room to produce at scale, and output you can put your name behind. Broadcast the knowledge you built in school.
Add Pro (even on BYOK) when you want the media — BYOK gives you AI text on your own key; Pro is how you get studio-quality podcasts and videos, plus AI with zero setup. Come for the text, upgrade for the media.
Own it when you'd rather buy than rent — one payment, full power on your own device, forever, no monthly bill.
BYOK for the best writing. Pro for the best media. Together, everything IdeaM does — at its best.
Simple, transparent pricing
Start free, upgrade when you need more. No hidden fees.
Free
Free forever — AI on your own key. You pay your provider directly, pay-as-you-go; we take nothing.
- Unlimited outlines
- All core outliner features
- Bring your own AI key — Google Gemini powers text out of the box, or plug in your own key for Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Groq, or Mistral, pay-as-you-go on your key. Free on-device AI via Ollama; OpenAI powers premium voices (ElevenLabs voices coming soon)
- AI on your own key — everyday use typically free, pay your provider directly for anything heavier
- All export formats
- Multi-platform (Mac, iPhone, web)
Student
For students — 50% off. Requires student verification.
- Everything in Free
- AI included — no API key needed
- 200 AI generations / month
- Live web refresh (citations)
- 20-language translation
- Email support
Pro
$89/year (save 25%). For knowledge workers and teams getting started.
- Everything in Student
- 1,000 AI generations / month
- Podcast generation
- Image generation & description
- Priority support
- Team collaboration (coming soon)
All plans include a 14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.
Free forever — and we can actually mean it.
Most “free” AI apps quietly run up costs behind the scenes, then squeeze you. IdeaM is built the opposite way — on purpose.
The free plan stays free
Unlimited outlines, every export format, and private on-device AI: the everyday power, free, with no expiry and no asterisk.
It runs on your terms
Your outlines live on your device. Want AI? Bring your own key or run it entirely on your own machine — so keeping you free costs us next to nothing, and we never have to take it away.
You only pay for the extras
Studio-quality podcast & video voices, and AI with zero setup. Opt in if they're worth it; skip them and keep everything else, for good.
No bait-and-switch. No surprise bills. Your work stays on your device — and yours.
What does bringing your own key cost?
Everyday use is typically free — Google Gemini's free tier covers normal use at no cost, no credit card. And because it's your key, you're always in control: you pay your provider directly, pay-as-you-go, so a light user pays nothing and you only ever pay for what you choose to run. A big job on a premium model costs more — but it's your call, fully visible to you, and never a surprise from us. On a Mac, on-device AI is free forever, no key at all.
Compare what you get
Four ways to use IdeaM. Pick the one that fits how you work.
| Feature | Free trial Try it, 25 AI uses $0 | Own it Runs on your device & your own key $29.99$19.99 founder launch Coming soon | Pro Premium cloud AI $9.99/mo · $89/yr | BYOK Your key, unlimited Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Core outlining Unlimited outlines, drag-drop, tags & colors, search, export/share, backups, data protection | ||||
Everyday AI Generate from a topic, reformat, translate, suggest tags, describe images, quick commands, Help chat | 25 total | |||
On-device / private AI Notes never leave your device | — | |||
Pro superpowers Refresh from Web + citations, Research & Import, Transform Outline, query your evolving knowledge base at scale, Podcast, Image generation, frontier cloud models | — | — | ✓ with your key | |
Video / YouTube package Turn outlines into video scripts and clips | — | — | Coming soon (v1.1) | Coming soon |
Generation caps / priority How much AI you can run | 25 total | Local / your key | High / unlimited + priority | Unlimited (your key) |
Privacy Where your data goes | Cloud trial | Stays on your device | Premium cloud, not trained on your data | Your provider, we never see it |
“Own it” one-time purchase is coming soon — join the free trial or Pro today.
Academic & Student Pricing
50% off for students and educators with valid .edu email
This is for students who need to organize everything from all their courses, carry that knowledge through their whole career, and deepen their mastery — with AI included (no key to set up) and the tools to consolidate and truly retain what they learn, at half price.
Get the most out of your education. IdeaM helps you do that.
Join Our Beta Program
Be among the first to experience IdeaM. Beta testers get free lifetime access to Pro features, direct input into our roadmap, and priority support. Help us build the ultimate cognitive enhancement platform.
System requirements
Mostly nothing. Here's exactly what runs where — no surprises.
Runs on
Mac (Apple Silicon & Intel), iPhone, iPad, and any modern web browser — so Windows and Linux work too, right in the browser. Your work syncs across all of them.
Cloud AI — every platform
Bring your own API key (free) or upgrade to Pro. Works everywhere with nothing to install.
Free on-device AI — Mac only
Private AI that runs entirely on your Mac at $0. Needs the free Ollama app and 8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended for larger models). Not available on iPhone, iPad, or in the browser — those use cloud AI.
Your data
Your outlines are plain files on your own device. Back them up or sync via iCloud, Dropbox, or any service you trust.