Doubao Responds to Launch of Paid Subscription: Still in Testing Phase, Daily Use Remains Free
On May 4th, according to a report by First Finance, regarding the recently displayed paid subscription service for the Doubao App in the Apple App Store, Doubao officials responded that Doubao always provides free services, and on the basis of free services, Doubao is also exploring the launch of more value-added services, and the details of the relevant plan are still in the testing phase.
According to the latest data disclosed on the App Store page, Doubao’s planned paid version includes three price tiers: the Standard version is priced at 68 yuan per month (688 yuan for annual subscription), the Enhanced version is priced at 200 yuan per month (2048 yuan for annual subscription), and the highest-tier Professional version reaches 500 yuan per month (5088 yuan for annual subscription).
According to a source close to the project cited by First Finance, the driving force behind Doubao’s exploration of commercial monetization is the high computational cost and inference time when the model handles complex tasks. The paid features to be launched in the future will be strictly separated from daily conversations, focusing mainly on high-value productivity scenarios, specifically covering PPT automatic generation, in-depth data analysis, and film and television content creation, and other advanced needs. This move indicates that Doubao is establishing a business model of “free basic tools + paid professional scenarios” to balance popularization and computing costs.