I was tired of subscriptions, hidden fees, and privacy risks — so I built my own content tool: Textideo

Hey Indie Hackers 👋

You know that feeling when you just want to create a quick video or image — but the platform demands a monthly subscription, or worse, forces you into an annual plan? Yeah, that frustration is what pushed me to build Textideo.

It’s a simple pay-as-you-go tool for generating short videos and visuals from text prompts — no editing skills needed. I built it to solve three big problems I kept running into myself:

😤 The Pain Points I Wanted to Solve

1. Subscription fatigue is real
   Most tools make you subscribe monthly, even if you only need them occasionally. Over time, that adds up — and it sucks.

2. Hidden or upfront yearly pricing
   Some platforms ask for $99–$299 upfront for the whole year, even before you know if it’s a fit. That’s just... off-putting.

3. Privacy red flags
   Several tools quietly reuse your generated videos/images or even post them publicly. You lose control of your own creations.

🛠 So I built Textideo
I wanted something that didn't force me to subscribe, didn’t sneak in hidden fees, and respected my content.

Here’s what I came up with:

Pay-as-you-go credit system — You buy what you need, when you need it. No subscriptions. No contracts.

Privacy-first — Your generated content belongs to you, and only you. It won’t be shown anywhere, and you can delete it anytime.

Fast and human support — I’m solo-building this, but I try to respond quickly to every email or message. No bots, no delays.

🔥 Key Features
Simple interface — Easy enough for non-editors to use.

Collaborative mode — Invite others to help with your video creation, without messy file transfers.

Flexible pricing — No subscriptions, no commitment. Just recharge when needed.

💬 What's next?
I’m still figuring out how to keep occasional users coming back without pushing them into a subscription model. I’d love any ideas or examples if you've built something similar.

The site’s live at Textideo.com and still pretty fresh. If you give it a try, I’d be super grateful for feedback on usability, pricing, or anything else that feels off.

Thanks for reading! 🙏