My CaseBound review rated Kevin Berry’s mystery studio 4.4 out of 5. This page answers the money question behind that rating. Here, I lay out CaseBound pricing in full: all three editions, the order bump, the upgrades, and the second bill nobody headlines. By the end, you will know exactly which edition your next book needs.
One thing makes this pricing easy to respect. Every figure below comes from the vendor’s own sales and JV pages. There is no coupon archaeology here. Also, every edition includes the complete novel engine. You are paying for range and post-draft tools, never for the core system itself.
Quick Verdict
Rating: 4.4/5 (the same rating as my main review — this page judges the same product, from the money side.)
The short version: CaseBound pricing is tiered by ambition, not by quality. Author at $27 writes a complete historical or cozy mystery. Pro at $97 widens the genres, the research, and the voice. Master at $147 adds the post-draft production tools. You can also start small and upgrade later, paying only the difference. Just remember the second bill: your own Claude account.
Get CaseBound — From $27 One-Time
What Is CaseBound?
CaseBound is a browser-based mystery-novel studio by Kevin Berry that builds the solution before the story: you develop the culprit, motive, timeline, suspects, and clues, run a twelve-check Mystery Audit, then draft chapters against the case file, story bible, and outline, using your own Claude account.
That solution-first order is the whole idea. Most AI writing tools generate prose and hope the plot holds. CaseBound instead locks the case first, audits it for logic holes, and only then drafts. Everything runs locally in your browser, so your manuscript is never uploaded anywhere. The vendor is a working novelist, and six published books were written with this system.
CaseBound Pricing: The Three Editions
Here is the full CaseBound pricing table. All three editions are one-time payments, and all three carry the 30-day money-back guarantee.
| Edition | Price | Subgenres | Period Dossiers | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Author | $27 | 2 (Classic Cozy, Historical) | 12 | Your first historical or cozy mystery |
| Pro Author | $97 | 10 | 40 + The Morgue builder | Several genres, a shaped voice |
| Master Author | $147 | 10 | 40 + The Morgue builder | Draft plus post-draft production |
Author ($27). The complete engine: choose a story, build the case, run the twelve-check Mystery Audit, create the bible and outline, then draft. You also get dozens of structural blueprints, 13 writing languages, and manuscript settings from 5,000 to 125,000 words. The name guard rejects common AI-generated names automatically. A sprint timer, achievements, and an ebook formatter round it out. For one historical or cozy novel, nothing here feels cut down.
Pro Author ($97). Everything in Author, plus eight more subgenres: Paranormal Cozy, Amateur Sleuth, Police Procedural, Private Investigator, Crime Noir, Scandinavian Noir, Legal, and Medical. You also get 28 more period dossiers, for 40 in total. The Morgue builds a custom dossier for any time and place. Voiceworks adds 53 style profiles, plus a custom voice built from your own writing.
Master Author ($147). Everything in Pro, plus the post-draft studio. Fieldwork Line Edit hunts AI tells and tightens prose with 40 editing rules. Fieldwork Continuity checks events against your planned timeline and lists proposed fixes. Trim Reaper formats the paperback interior with the correct gutter. Reader Reach adds book promotion plans for launch and beyond.
The Rest of the Funnel: Bump and Upgrades
Beyond the editions, the funnel is small and unusually open. The JV page lists every piece of it in public.
- Order bump — CaseBound Case Study, $9.97. A behind-the-scenes study of all six published CaseBound books: how they were created and listed, with 148 copies sold and over $300 in royalties in the first weeks.
- Upgrade — CaseBound Max, $67. Offered to Author buyers only. It adds the eight extra subgenres, The Morgue, the 28 extra dossiers, and Voiceworks. In effect, it lifts Author to Pro’s creative range for $94 in total.
- Upgrade — Reader Reach, $47. The promotion-plan tool, sold separately for anyone below Master. Master already includes it.
- Upgrade policy. Start with any edition, then upgrade later and pay only the difference, at the prices then in force.
Do the top-end math with me. Author plus Max plus Reader Reach comes to about $141. That is near Master money, spent piecemeal. My main review flagged exactly this trap, and it still applies. If you already know you want everything, buy Master once. If you are unsure, start at $27 and let the difference policy protect you.
The Second Bill: Your Claude Account
CaseBound needs no credits and sells no tokens. Instead, it runs on your own Claude account. That keeps the vendor honest and the pricing clean. However, it also means the edition price is not your whole cost.
A novel-length project means many long Claude sessions. A subscription or usage costs will apply, and usage limits can slow a drafting sprint. The vendor states this openly, and my main review called it the biggest honest caveat. Budget for it before you compare CaseBound with tools that bundle their AI.
Which Edition Should You Buy?
The focused first novel: Author, $27. Your book is historical or classic cozy. You want the full engine and the 12 supplied dossiers. Nothing about this tier is a demo. It writes the whole book.
The series explorer: Pro Author, $97. You see several mysteries ahead, across different subgenres. You want custom-period research and a voice that sounds like you. The $70 step buys range you will actually use across a series.
The full producer: Master Author, $147. You plan to publish on KDP, in ebook and paperback. The line edit, continuity check, interior formatting, and promotion plans would otherwise cost you separate tools or hours. At that point, Master is the economical tier, not the extravagant one.
Get CaseBound — From $27 One-Time
Included With Every Edition
Whichever tier you choose, the same foundation ships with it:
- The complete case-to-manuscript engine, with the twelve-check Mystery Audit and repair.
- Two launch bonuses: a 1920s Scottish cozy market analysis (valued at $37) and a 25,000-word 1924 Edinburgh period dossier (valued at $27).
- Full documentation, including four startup documents.
- Complete privacy: everything stored in your browser, nothing uploaded.
- The 30-day money-back guarantee, stated for all three front-end editions.
The vendor’s proof is equally plain. His KDP screenshots show one book at 4,168 page reads and $135.88 in estimated royalties. Six books together show $308.10. He also labels them estimates, not bank payments. That modesty is rare, and it matches everything else about this launch.
Pros and Cons
These match my main review exactly. The product has not changed. Only this page’s focus has.
Pros
- Truly honest marketing. Real KDP screenshots, modest figures called “modest,” an explicit no-earnings-promise disclaimer. This is the most transparent launch copy I have reviewed this month.
- Genre-specific, not generic. The solution-first method and twelve-check Mystery Audit address the actual hard problem of mystery writing (plot logic). Generic AI tools just generate prose.
- Built by a real author for his own books. Six published books written with the tool, an award-winning novelist behind it, and editorial experience in the millions of words.
- 30-day money-back guarantee on all three front-end editions.
- Fair affiliate terms. 50% across the funnel, one-time pricing, no subscription for buyers. Roughly $147 per customer in commission potential at the top end.
- Privacy-friendly. Everything runs in the browser and stays local; nothing uploaded.
- Serious depth on higher tiers. 40 historical dossiers at ~20,000 words each, 53 style profiles, the AI-tell line edit. These are substantive tools, not checkboxes.
- Free vendor bonuses included: Two bonuses ship with all editions. A 1920s Scottish cozy mystery market analysis ($37). A 1924 Edinburgh period dossier ($27).
Cons
- Your own Claude account is needed — at extra cost. This is the biggest honest caveat: the $27 entry price is real. Running a novel-length project on Claude means subscription or usage costs on top, with usage limits applying. Budget for it.
- The AI writes the draft, not the book. CaseBound gets you a logically sound first draft; it does not replace your revision, voice and editing work. Anyone expecting a publishable book at the push of a button will be disappointed.
- Master at $147 is a jump. The tiering is fair but the headline price gap between $27 and $147 is wide. The mid-tier funnel (Max $67, Reader Reach $47) means Author-tier buyers can end up near Pro pricing piecemeal.
- Launch-close date is inconsistent. MunchEye and the JV manager’s own calendar say the launch closes October 23 at midnight ET. The vendor’s JV page says October 25. Check the actual deadline before buying.
- Guarantee scope is limited. The 30-day guarantee is stated only for the front-end editions — assume the OTOs are not covered.
- Mystery-only. If you write romance, fantasy, thrillers or nonfiction, this is simply not your tool.
Who Should Buy CaseBound — and Who Should Skip It
Buy it if:
- You write mysteries, or you want to start with one.
- Plot logic and fair-play clues matter to you.
- You already use Claude and accept its separate cost.
- You want to own your manuscript files locally and privately.
Skip it if:
- You write romance, fantasy, thrillers, or nonfiction.
- You expect a publishable book at the push of a button.
- You refuse any AI subscription on top of the tool.
- You need a team or cloud workflow across devices.
My Exclusive CaseBound Bonuses
When you pick up CaseBound through my link, you also get two original bonuses I created for this pricing guide. They close its two open loops: choosing the right edition the first time, and arriving at the Mystery Audit with a complete case file. Both bonuses are free to download right here.
Bonus 1: CaseBound Edition Decision Worksheet — five honest questions that map your answers straight to Author, Pro, or Master, plus every money path side by side, including the upgrade-later routes and the piecemeal trap to avoid.
⬇️ Download Bonus 1: Edition Decision Worksheet (PDF)
Bonus 2: Mystery Audit Pre-Flight Checklist — the twelve things to settle before you run the audit: culprit, motive, timeline, alibis, clue placement, red herrings, and the reveal, so the audit checks a complete case instead of a half-built one.
⬇️ Download Bonus 2: Mystery Audit Pre-Flight Checklist (PDF)
Click the download buttons above to get both bonuses instantly — no forms, no waiting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does CaseBound cost in total?
Between $27 and $147 for the software itself, paid once. The optional Case Study bump adds $9.97. On top of that, budget for your own Claude account, because the studio runs on it. There are no CaseBound subscriptions and no credits to buy.
Can I start with Author and upgrade later?
Yes. The vendor’s policy lets you upgrade later and pay only the difference, at the prices then in force. Author buyers also get the Max upgrade offer at $67, which adds Pro’s creative range. Starting small is genuinely low-risk here.
Is CaseBound a subscription?
No. All three editions are one-time purchases. Also, there are no credits or token packs. The only recurring cost in the picture is your own Claude plan, which you pay to Anthropic, not to CaseBound.
Does the guarantee cover every edition?
The 30-day money-back guarantee is stated for all three front-end editions. It is not stated for the funnel upgrades, so assume the bump and OTOs sit outside it. That is the careful reading, and my main review says the same.
When does the launch pricing end?
The sources disagree, and I will not pretend otherwise. MunchEye and the JV manager’s calendar say October 23 at midnight ET. The vendor’s own JV page says October 25. Check the checkout page for the live deadline before you buy.
What is the real difference between Pro and Master?
Pro widens creation: more subgenres, more dossiers, custom research, and voice tools. Master adds what happens after the draft: the line edit, the continuity check, paperback interior formatting, and promotion plans. Creation range versus production finish — that is the split.
Final Verdict
CaseBound pricing respects the buyer. The engine is never held hostage by the tiers. Each step up buys a named, substantive expansion, and the upgrade-difference policy removes the fear of choosing wrong. Add the honest KDP figures and the guarantee on every edition, and this is how software pricing should read. Choose by the book you actually plan to write — then start with the case, not the prose.
Get CaseBound + My 2 Exclusive Bonuses
Personal Verdict
Most tiered pricing makes me hunt for the catch. Here, the catch is printed in the vendor’s own hand: modest royalties, labelled estimates, and a deadline even his own pages state two ways. I find that candour more persuasive than any discount. My honest guidance mirrors the structure itself. If your heart is set on one historical cozy, $27 is the whole story, and it is a good one. If you already see a shelf of mysteries with your name on them, Master at $147 is the adult purchase, because the post-draft tools are where amateur manuscripts usually stall. Either way, you are buying from a novelist who shows his working. In this niche, that is the rarest feature of all.
Affiliate Disclosure
This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I have researched, and my ratings stay honest either way. Prices and details were checked against the sales page in October 2026 and can change.
