Pricing · Features
Cast Away has two tiers — Cinephile (free forever) and Auteur. The pricing page gives you the one-line comparison; this page gives you the full story on every feature, organized by category so you can scan for the pieces that matter to you. There's no feature on this page that exists solely to sell upgrades — each one earns its place by doing real work for a specific kind of user. If something reads like a dark pattern or an artificial gate, we want to know.
Slates are the unit of work on Cast Away — a single cast list for a single film, bound to a mode (Timeless or Current). Everything else on the site is downstream of a slate: how you're discovered, how you rank in tournaments, what ends up on your profile. Free accounts get five active slates at a time and can multi-cast the same film as many times as they want; Auteur removes the ceiling and adds the production tools.
Cinephile (free) accounts can have up to 5 active (published) slates at any given time — enough to develop a voice, build a following, and earn badges, but finite so the ceiling is real. Deleting an active slate frees up a slot, so you're never locked out forever. Auteur is uncapped; keep casting as long as you have ideas.
Cast the same film as many times as you want, in either Timeless or Current mode. Your second take on Heat doesn't have to wait for your first to be deleted. Free at every tier — multi-casting is the viral loop, and putting it behind a paywall would dampen the whole community.
A full-production slate that goes beyond the usual main-cast picks to include the supporting ensemble: the second leads, the key character actors, the small parts whose presence ties the film together. Eight or more roles in a single slate. For Auteur subscribers who want to cast the whole room, not just the leads.
Group your slates into curated themed sets: "My Coen Brothers reimagined," "Women directors who deserve a blockbuster," "Every Mads Mikkelsen villain." Collections live on your profile as a second navigation layer beyond the default slate list, with a title, description, and cover image. A curatorial tool for people who cast enough slates to have an actual body of work.
Your profile is the front door to your taste. It's how other casters find you, follow you, and decide whether your voice is one they trust. Every tier gets a real profile with a real identity — there's no "lite" profile page for free accounts. Auteur unlocks more avatar frames, the verified-style badge, and the unlimited-followers ceiling.
Your handle is your stage name (cast-away-app.com/@yourhandle), and your display name is how you appear on slates and in conversations. Every account gets both — they're baseline features, not paid extras. You can change either one at any time, with a short cooldown on handle changes so your profile URL doesn't break for people who follow you.
A short paragraph on your profile describing who you are as a cinephile. Favorite directors, decades, genres, whatever you want people to know before they read your slates. Every tier gets one; there's no word-count gating between free and paid, because the point of a bio is to be genuine, not to be upsold.
Free profiles cap at 500 followers. Once you hit it, new follow requests queue up with a friendly nudge to upgrade so you can accept them. Auteur is uncapped. There's no follow-cap on the OUTBOUND side — every tier can follow as many casters as they want; curiosity stays unrestricted.
The default frame around your profile picture. Free accounts get four classic frames (Classic Circle, Film Cell, Ticket Stub, Vintage TV); Auteur unlocks three more (Clapperboard, Movie Reel, Film Canister). Founding members keep the gold "est. 2026" Reel frame regardless of plan. Small cosmetic upgrade, no mechanical advantage — just a way to signal you take this platform seriously.
A small verified-style mark next to your handle everywhere it appears across the site — on slates, in conversations, in Discover results, in tournament brackets. A visible signal that you're an Auteur subscriber who's invested in the platform. It's a decorative tier signal, not identity verification — we don't claim to vouch for anyone's real-world identity.
Every week a featured film gets a live bracket: eight slates per track, head-to-head voting across three rounds until a Timeless and Current champion is crowned. Everyone can participate and vote at every tier — the bracket is democratic by design and there's no pay-to-win lever.
Every week a new featured film gets a tournament bracket with eight slates per track (Timeless + Current) competing head-to-head through Round of 8, Semifinal, and Final. Anyone can submit a slate during the submission window. Free at every tier — tournament participation is a baseline part of what Cast Away is, not a premium add-on.
During each round, the whole community votes on matchups. Winners advance, losers go home until next week. Your votes are weighted equally regardless of tier — there's no pay-to-win here, and there will never be. The bracket is supposed to reflect community taste, so only community votes count.
Cast Away isn't trying to replace your streaming queue — it's trying to route you back to the real film after a good slate gets you excited about it. The Watch widget surfaces legitimate places to actually watch, with zero affiliate-link misdirection.
Every film page and tournament page shows a Watch widget listing every legitimate way to watch: streaming, rental, purchase, with prices. Powered by JustWatch, personalized by the streaming services you tell us you subscribe to. Free at every tier — we want you to watch the films people are casting.
Badges recognize participation. They're universal — the Standard Badge Shelf belongs to every account because recognition belongs to the community, not to paid subscribers.
As you participate — submitting slates, winning tournaments, casting ensembles, voting consistently — you earn badges displayed on your profile. The shelf is part of every tier because recognition belongs to the community, not to paid subscribers. Some badges are cosmetic, some unlock minor profile effects, and a few are one-of-a-kind commemorations of historic tournament runs.
Head back to pricing to compare the tiers side by side, or start with the free Cinephile tier right now — upgrade only if you find you want more.