What is Asset Lab?
Asset Lab is a native desktop app for Mac and Linux that puts frontier AI image, video and audio models in one studio. You buy the app once for $49, bring your own Fal.ai API key for renders, and every finished file saves to your own machine. It is made by Coastal Creative Lab.
Updated September 22, 2026 · Current version 2.6 (AssetLab Resolve 1.5)
Asset Lab in one table
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What it is | A desktop studio for AI images, video and audio. Not a website, not a subscription |
| Made by | Coastal Creative Lab, Pismo Beach, California |
| Price | $49 once, with free model and feature updates for life |
| Render costs | Billed to your own Fal.ai key at Fal's raw rates, no markup. Most images cost 3–7¢ |
| Platforms | macOS 13+ on Apple Silicon; 64-bit x86 Linux (.deb or AppImage); Windows by request |
| Models | 67 generation models (27 image, 40 video), plus 23 image editors and 12 video editors |
| Editions | Asset Lab (standalone) and AssetLab Resolve (docked beside DaVinci Resolve), $49 each |
| Where files go | Your own disk: ~/Pictures/Asset Lab for stills and clips, ~/Music/Asset Lab for audio |
| Account needed | None. No Asset Lab account, no analytics, no server in the middle |
What it does
Asset Lab is built around the way a film gets made, not around a single "generate a clip" button. Since version 2.6 it covers the whole job, start to finish:
- Cast: save characters and locations once, so faces, wardrobe and sets stay consistent from shot to shot.
- Storyboard: plan the shots and draw a still for each one: about 2¢ to plan a scene and about 12¢ a still.
- Shoot: turn the approved frames into video on the model you choose.
- Sound: voiceover, music, sound effects, or a score written to a cut you already have.
- Cut: transitions, fades, a mix, and one finished export to your disk.
Around that pipeline sit the everyday tools: an Image tab and a Video tab across all 67 models, editing a picture or a clip by describing the change in plain English, Shot Set (one prompt becomes up to six camera angles of the same moment), Prompt Lab, brand kits, and a compare mode that runs one prompt across up to three models. The full tour is on the studio page; what changed in 2.7.5 is on What's new.
How it's priced: two separate costs
| Cost | What it is | What it isn't |
|---|---|---|
| $49 once | The license for the app, either edition, with free updates for life | Not a subscription, and not render credits |
| Fal.ai usage | A per-render fee at Fal's raw rates, billed to your own key | Not marked up or resold by Asset Lab |
Most images cost a few cents; short video clips usually run from about 30¢ to a few dollars depending on the model, length and resolution. The Generate button shows the exact estimate before you spend anything. Everything the $49 covers (and doesn't) is spelled out on What you get for $49.
What you bring, and what stays on your machine
- You bring a Fal.ai API key. The app's guided "Fal Connect" setup creates one in about five minutes.
- Your key stays local. It is stored on your machine and sent only to Fal's API over HTTPS when you generate.
- Your renders stay local. Stills and clips save to
~/Pictures/Asset Lab; audio saves to~/Music/Asset Lab. They outlive the temporary links Fal's CDN hands back. - No account. There is no Asset Lab login and no Asset Lab server between you and the model.
Platforms and editions
- Mac: Apple Silicon (M1 or newer), macOS 13 or later. Signed and notarized by Apple.
- Linux: any 64-bit x86 desktop: a .deb for Debian, Ubuntu, Mint and Pop!_OS, an AppImage for everything else. Same license as the Mac. Linux details.
- Windows: a build of the standalone app is available by request under the same license. It isn't on Gumroad yet because the installer isn't code-signed.
- Two editions, same $49: Asset Lab, the standalone studio, and AssetLab Resolve, the same studio docked beside DaVinci Resolve Free or Studio on Mac and Linux. Adding the other edition later is a $19 cross-grade.
What Asset Lab is not
- Not a subscription studio with monthly credits that expire. See how it compares.
- Not a web playground. It's a desktop app you own; updates are free for life.
- Not a model. Asset Lab doesn't train its own AI. It's a studio around the best models on Fal.ai, like Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.5, Veo 3.1, Wan 3.0, Nano Banana 2, GPT Image 2 and the rest.
- Not Coastal Creative Lab's agency services. Asset Lab is the software that company makes; branding, web and social work are separate. Coastal Creative Lab vs Asset Lab.
In one sentence: Asset Lab is a $49, buy-once desktop studio for Mac and Linux that turns frontier AI models into a film-style workflow (cast, storyboard, shoot, sound, cut) using your own Fal.ai key and your own disk.
Asset Lab, briefly
Is Asset Lab free?
There's a free demo of the real app, with a sample gallery, live prices, no account and no timer. Generating unlocks with a $49 one-time license key. Renders always bill to your own Fal.ai key.
Does the $49 include AI render credits?
No. The $49 buys the app, and model and feature updates are free for life. Renders bill separately to your Fal.ai key at Fal's raw rates, with no markup. Most images cost 3–7¢.
Can it make a multi-shot film, not just one clip?
Yes. Director plans up to sixteen shots, can storyboard them as stills first, then generates takes, adds narration or character voices, music, a mix and transitions, and exports one finished cut. When to use stills vs video.
Is audio included?
Yes. The Audio module (272 voices with free previews, voice cloning, music, sound effects, score-to-picture and lip sync) is included in both editions at no extra license cost.
Does Asset Lab run on Windows?
Mac and Linux are the standard downloads. A Windows build of the standalone app is available by request under the same license; it isn't on Gumroad yet because the installer isn't code-signed.
Keep reading: what you get for $49 · stills vs video · how creators use it · pricing · free training
See it before you buy it.
The free demo is the real app. No account, no email, no timer. A license key unlocks it in place.