InterviewBeaconInterviewBeacon Pricing
InterviewBeacon is a one-time $79 purchase — not a subscription. That gets you unlimited use for a 6-month license, with no auto-renewal and nothing charged in the background. Before you pay anything, you can try the full app on a real call for free: no credit card, just a limited number of suggestions.
What it costs
| Price | $79 one time |
|---|---|
| Billing | One-time purchase — not a subscription |
| After purchase | 6-month license, unlimited use |
| Renewal | No auto-renewal — buy again manually to continue |
| Equivalent annual cost | About $158/year if renewed twice — never charged automatically |
| AI usage | Billed separately by your own OpenAI or Anthropic key (BYOK) — no markup from us |
| Free trial | About 10–15 suggestions, no credit card needed |
| Devices | 1 device per purchase — self-service deactivation to move it |
| Refund | 14 days, no conditions |
| Platforms | macOS and Windows |
The honest total cost
To be clear about total cost: $79 is the price of the app, not the full cost of using it. Because InterviewBeacon runs on your own API key (BYOK), the AI requests themselves are billed directly by your provider — OpenAI or Anthropic — based on what you actually use. In practice that's typically a few cents per interview, paid straight to the provider with no markup from us.
So the real math is $79 once for the app, plus your own API usage paid directly to your provider. We'd rather you see that clearly here than discover it later. The upside of BYOK is that you're never overpaying a middleman for AI — you pay the provider's raw rate, and you can watch that spend in your own provider dashboard.
Why buy from InterviewBeacon
The clearest difference is the payment model: InterviewBeacon is a one-time purchase, while most tools in this category are monthly subscriptions. This table compares payment models only — for full feature profiles of each tool, see the best AI interview assistant roundup.
| Tool | Payment model | Screen-capture exclusion |
|---|---|---|
| InterviewBeacon | $79 one-time (6-month license) | Included free, off by default |
| Cluely | Free tier + $19.99/mo or $149.99/mo (subscription) | Paid — top tier only |
| Final Round AI | Free plan + from $25/mo, billed annually (subscription) | See full roundup |
| LockedIn AI | No free tier — $54.99/mo, or $39.99/mo on a 3-month plan | See full roundup |
| OphyAI | 5 free one-time credits, then $29/mo or $59/mo | See full roundup |
| Hedy | 5 free hrs/month, then $99.99/yr or $299 lifetime | See full roundup |
If you interview in bursts — a few weeks of a job search, then nothing for a year — a one-time purchase usually costs far less than carrying a subscription you forget to cancel. InterviewBeacon's own screen-capture exclusion is an optional technical setting for your own screen-capture stream, included at no extra cost and off by default. For how these tools' free trials and free tiers actually compare, not just their paid price, see our breakdown of what's really free.
What $79 does not include
Being straight about the limits:
- Your API usage. As above, AI requests are billed by your provider, not by us. The $79 covers the app itself.
- Linux. InterviewBeacon runs on macOS and Windows only — there's no Linux build.
- A mobile app. It's a desktop tool. There's no iOS or Android version, so you'll need to interview from your Mac or PC.
What stays on your machine
InterviewBeacon is built so your interview stays yours:
- Transcription runs locally, on your own device — the audio isn't sent to our servers.
- Audio isn't written to disk — it's transcribed in the moment, not recorded and stored.
- Your API key is stored locally, on your machine, and used only to talk to the provider you chose.
FAQ
Is InterviewBeacon a subscription or a one-time payment?
A one-time payment. $79 buys a 6-month license with unlimited use and no auto-renewal. To keep using it after six months, you make a new purchase — nothing is ever charged automatically.
How much does InterviewBeacon actually cost in total?
$79 once for the app, plus your own API usage billed directly by OpenAI or Anthropic — InterviewBeacon is BYOK, so there's no markup from us on the AI side and no recurring app fee.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. You can download and use the full app for roughly 10–15 suggestions with no credit card. It's not a stripped-down demo — every feature works; only the number of suggestions is limited until you buy.
What's the refund policy?
14 days, no conditions. If it doesn't work for how you interview, ask for a refund within two weeks — you don't need to prove a defect or justify it.
How many devices can I use it on?
One device per purchase. If you switch machines, you can deactivate the license yourself and move it to the new one.
Which platforms does it support?
macOS and Windows. There's no Linux build and no mobile app.
Ready when you are
Still comparing? Our full AI interview assistant roundup puts InterviewBeacon side by side with every major alternative, prices and trade-offs included.