AI Image & Video Tools Community SaaS

Bundle AI image and cinematic video tools with a creator community, sold as a freemium subscription.

In plain English

Michael Aubry bundles image tools and cinematic video tools with a creator community at Based Labs. A free level lets people try it, and paying adds sharper pictures plus credits for video. Members can share what they made, and how they asked for it, in a chat group or a forum. Creators pay a subscription because they want the tools and the group together. The AI does most of the picture and video jobs and the billing, while Michael still moderates the community, keeps the creation tools current, and markets the product, including posts on the social site X.

Automation80%

Startup costNot disclosed

Time to first $Not disclosed

Monthly range*$28,537 MRR

$28,537 MRR (Stripe-verified, TrustMRR, Oct 2026)

DifficultyHard

SourceTrustMRR — Based Labs AI ↗

Operator: Michael Aubry

Verified

Revenue independently checked: documents reviewed by a publication, or a public dashboard.

Not disclosed.

The tool stack

Replicate ↗

Pay per run

Image and video models

Stripe ↗

2.9% + 30¢

Billing

Prices are the vendors' published list prices as researched in Oct 2026 and change often — always check the vendor's pricing page.

Step-by-step setup

Ship a simple generate-image / generate-video web app with credit packs.
Add a community (Discord/forum) so users share prompts and stay.
Keep a free tier for acquisition; convert with higher-res and video credits.
Grow via SEO on model names and build-in-public on X.

What's automated vs. the human 20%

The machine does

Generation jobs
Billing

You still do

Community moderation
Model updates
Marketing

Overview

Bundle AI image and cinematic video tools with a creator community, sold as a freemium subscription. Operator: Michael Aubry (Based Labs AI; founded Dec 2023).

Realistic income

Reported: $28,537 MRR (Stripe-verified, TrustMRR, checked Oct 23, 2026), ~873 subscriptions, ~$1.25M all-time. This is one operator’s result and doesn’t predict yours.

Risks

Midjourney, Runway and free open models set price expectations near zero for casual users.
Community without clear rules becomes spam; moderation is unpaid labor at first.
GPU bills spike when a new video model goes viral overnight.

*Income figures are illustrative ranges based on public pricing and typical outcomes reported by practitioners, not guarantees. Most new online businesses earn little or nothing at first. Not financial, legal or tax advice.

Featured in: AI Image and Video Generator Business Ideas (Verified Revenue)