AI video cost FAQ

For one attempt with no retries, verified examples: Veo 3.1 Lite 720p API $3.00/min ($0.05/sec), Veo Fast $6.00/min, Veo Standard $24.00/min, Seedance 2.0 720p API about $9.12/min ($0.76/5s), MiniMax H3 768P $4.80/min, Runway Gen-4.5 about $13.82/min on Standard annual credits, Pika Wan 3.0 720p about $3.52/min on Starter annual credits (Starter includes a commercial licence since Oct 2026). With 2 retries, roughly triple those numbers. Your usable-clip cost = rate × length × (1 + retries). Full table: how much does 1 minute of AI video cost?

On the PixVerse API (225 credits = $1, checked Nov 6, 2026 ~9pm CT): V6 is 5/7/9/18 credits per second at 360p/540p/720p/1080p without audio and 7/9/12/23 with audio; V6 Max 6/9/11/22 and 9/11/15/28; C1 6/8/10/19 and 8/10/13/24. V6 360p silent is $2.00 per usable 30s (#2 of 237; API #3); V6 720p with audio $4.80 (#47). In the calculator. Full tables: PixVerse cost; traps: PixVerse pricing.

On Creator annual credits ($24/mo for 600 = $0.04 each, checked Nov 5, 2026 ~9:10am CT): Avatar III Video Look is 4 credits/min = $0.16 per finished minute ($0.48 with 2 retries); Photo Look 7 = $0.28; Avatar IV Photo/Video Look 16/31 = $0.64/$1.24; Avatar V 48 = $1.92 ($5.76 usable). Creator covers 150 single-try minutes of Avatar III Video Look, or 50 usable. Full tables: HeyGen cost.

On Google Gemini/Vertex (video output $17.50/1M tokens, checked Nov 4, 2026 ~9:10pm CT): 360p is $0.0338/sec = $3.04 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries (#16 of 237; API #15); 720p $0.1014 ($9.13); 1080p upscaled $0.152 ($13.68); 4K upscaled $0.3041 ($27.37). Audio on by default. Runway Dev API storefront rates are nearly the same dollars but audio is Not stated. Full tables: Gemini Omni Flash cost.

Checked Nov 10, 2026, per usable 30s (2 retries): LTX-2.3 Fast 4K with audio on the LTX API $21.60 ($0.24/sec, #183= of 237); Veo 3.1 Fast 4K without audio on Vertex AI $22.50; Kling 3.0 4K on Luma Plus annual credits $33.08. Across 17 models priced at both 1080p and 4K, 4K costs a median 2.3 times as much. See Cheapest 4K AI video generator.

Checked Nov 10, 2026, per usable 30s (2 retries): Wan 2.6 Flash 1080p image-to-video, silent, on Alibaba Cloud $3.38 ($0.0375/sec, #22 of 237); Veo 3.1 Lite 1080p text-to-video without audio on Vertex AI $4.50; LTX-2.3 Fast 1080p with audio $5.40. Across 63 models priced at both 720p and 1080p, 1080p costs a median 50% more. See Cheapest 1080p AI video generator.

Checked Nov 9, 2026, per usable 30s (2 retries): Luma Plus annual credits ($0.0025) are cheapest in 22 of 24 matchups vs the Runway app (Standard annual, $0.0192/credit) and the Runway API ($0.01/credit). Veo 3.1 with audio $31.50 / $69.12 / $36.00; Kling 3.0 720p with audio vs Std with audio $9.00 / $22.46 / $11.70; MiniMax H3 768p $6.30 / $17.28 / $9.00. Kling 4.0 720p is cheaper on the Runway API promo ($11.30 vs $11.93 on Luma) until Nov 30, 2026 UTC. See Luma vs Runway cost.

Checked Nov 9, 2026, per second: BytePlus ModelArk Mini $0.036 (480p) / $0.076 (720p), Fast $0.056 / $0.12, Seedance 2.0 $0.07 / $0.152 / $0.374 (1080p) / $0.778 (4K). Luma Plus annual credits: Mini $0.03 / $0.065, Seedance 2.0 $0.06 / $0.1275 / $0.315 / $0.6525. Runway app (Standard annual): Mini $0.3072, Fast $0.5568, Pro 1080p $0.768. Runway API: $0.07 to $1.50. See Seedance 2.0 cost (Mini vs Fast vs Pro).

On Google Cloud Agent Platform (Vertex AI), checked Nov 8, 2026, with audio per second: Lite $0.05 (720p) / $0.08 (1080p), Fast $0.10 / $0.12 / $0.30 (4K), Standard $0.40 / $0.60 (4K). Without audio: Lite $0.03 / $0.05, Fast $0.08 / $0.10 / $0.25, Standard $0.20 / $0.40 (4K). Usable 30s with 2 retries: Lite 720p with audio $4.50, Fast $9.00, Standard $36.00. See Veo 3.1 variants cost.

Yes. OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026 and the Sora API (Videos API, sora-2, sora-2-pro) on September 24, 2026, with no recommended replacement (checked Nov 8, 2026). The cheapest alternative on ClipCost’s ranking is Grok Imagine 1.5 Lite 480p at $0.02/sec ($1.80 usable 30s, #1 of 237). For 720p with audio: Grok Imagine 1.5 Lite or LTX-2.3 Fast $2.70, Veo 3.1 Lite $4.50. See Sora alternatives (cost).

On Standard annual credits ($0.0192 each, checked Nov 7, 2026 ~9pm CT): Gen-4.5 and Gen-4 are 12 credits/sec ($0.2304/sec) — $6.91 per 30s try, $20.74 usable with 2 retries (#175= of 237). Gen-4 Turbo is 5 credits/sec ($0.096/sec) — $2.88 try / $8.64 usable (#93=). Standard’s 625 credits cover about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5. See Runway Gen-4.5 cost.

On the Runway Dev API (1 credit = $0.01, checked Nov 4, 2026 ~9:05am CT on docs.dev.runwayml.com/guides/pricing): Gemini Omni Flash 1.1 at 360p is $0.034/sec = $3.06 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries (#16 of 237; API #15); MiniMax H3 Max 480p $4.50; Kling 3.0 Std without audio $8.10; Kling 4.0 720p promo $11.30 (20% off through Nov 30, 2026 UTC; list from Dec 1 is $14.13). Audio Not stated for Gemini/MiniMax; Kling 4.0 always includes audio. Full tables: Runway API partner models cost.

On Black Forest Labs’ API and Playground (1 credit = $0.01, same price both surfaces, checked Nov 3, 2026 ~9:10pm CT on docs.bfl.ai and bfl.ai/pricing): Draft HD $0.06/sec = $5.40 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries (#51= of 237); HD $0.15 ($13.50, #147=); FHD $0.24 ($21.60); QHD $0.28; UHD $0.41. Text-to-video and image-to-video cost the same; native audio included; clips up to 20s. Since Luma cut Flux 3 to 50 / 80 credits/sec (re-checked Nov 10, 2026), Luma Plus annual is cheaper than native: HD $11.25 vs $13.50 usable 30s, FHD $18.00 vs $21.60. help.bfl.ai still shows stale $0.17/$0.29 HD/FHD — ignore. Full tables: FLUX 3 cost.

By family on verified usable-30s rates with 2 retries (checked Nov 3, 2026): Seedance 2.0 Mini 480p is $2.70 on Luma Plus annual (#8= of 237) vs $3.24 on BytePlus and $27.65 on Runway app credits; Kling 3.0 720p is $5.40 silent / $8.10 with audio on Kling’s own app (Pika near-tie at $5.44); Veo 3.1 Lite 720p with audio is $4.50 on Vertex AI (Pika Fast $8.00, Luma $31.50, Runway $69.12); MiniMax H3-Lite 480P is $2.25 on MiniMax’s API, while H3 Max 480p with audio Yes is $4.05 on Luma vs $4.50 on MiniMax’s API. Plan credits need a subscription you use; APIs are pay-as-you-go. Full tables: Which AI video storefront.

Inside Luma Dream Machine, partner text/image-to-video models burn plan credits per second. On Plus billed annually ($0.0025 per credit, checked Nov 2, 2026) Seedance 2.0 Mini 480p is 12 credits/sec = $2.70 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries (#8= of 237) — cheaper than BytePlus Mini 480p ($3.24). MiniMax H3 Max 480p is $4.05; Kling 4.0 / 4.0 Omni 720p $11.93; Veo 3.1 (720p or 1080p) $31.50. Video-to-Video ~rates, Sync lipsync and Gemini Omni Flash are not ranked. Full tables: Luma partner models cost.

Luma Ray3.2 costs 50 credits per 5 seconds at 540p, 100 at 720p and 400 at 1080p (checked Nov 2, 2026). On the Plus plan billed annually ($300/yr for 10,000 credits a month = $0.0025 per credit) that is $0.025, $0.05 and $0.20 per second, so a usable 30-second clip with 2 retries is $2.25, $4.50 or $18.00. 540p ties for #3 of the 237 rates we rank and is the cheapest subscription rate. The pay-as-you-go Luma API charges $0.15 / $0.30 / $1.20 per 5 seconds ($2.70 / $5.40 / $21.60 usable). A 10-second generation costs 3× the 5-second price, so build long videos from 5s clips; HDR doubles the price and Ray3.2 has no audio. Full tables: Luma cost.

On Pika’s annual Starter ($8/mo, 900 credits) or Creator ($28/mo, 3,150) plans a credit costs $0.00889 ($0.0111 monthly; checked Nov 1, 2026). Pika publishes 720p prices for four models: Wan 3.0 33 credits per 5s, Kling 3.0 34 per 5s, Veo 3.1 Fast 80 per 8s and Seedance 2.5 122 per 5s. A usable 30-second clip with 2 retries is $5.28, $5.44, $8.00 and $19.52 (Wan 3.0 is #28 of the 237 rates we rank). Top-up packs are 60 credits per $1 ($0.0167), so the same clips cost 1.875× more, and top-ups work only in Pika Create and MCP, not the API or iOS app. Other models and resolutions are quoted in the app. Full tables: Pika cost.

On Vidu’s API (checked Nov 1, 2026), credits are $0.005 each and billed per second: Q3 Turbo 7 / 12 / 13 credits at 540p / 720p / 1080p ($0.035 / $0.06 / $0.065), Q3 Pro 9 / 20 / 24 ($0.045 / $0.10 / $0.12), Q3 Pro Fast 12 / 15 at 720p / 1080p and Q4 Preview 9 to 78 credits ($0.045 at 540p to $0.39 at 4K). A usable 30-second clip with 2 retries is $3.15 on Q3 Turbo 540p (#10 of the 237 rates we rank), $5.40 at 720p and $35.10 on Q4 Preview 4K. Audio is on by default; off-peak is about half price but Vidu’s pages disagree on when it applies. Vidu web-app plans: check official pricing. Full breakdown: Vidu cost.

On MiniMax’s own API (checked Oct 31, 2026), per second of output: MiniMax-H3-Lite $0.025 at 480P and $0.04 at 768P, H3-Highspeed $0.04 and $0.06, H3-Max $0.05 and $0.08, and the flagship H3 $0.08 at 768P and $0.13 at 2K. A usable 30-second clip with 2 retries is $2.25 on H3-Lite 480P (tied #2 of the 159 rates we rank), $7.20 on H3 768P and $11.70 on H3 2K. Upscaling only the keeper from 768P to 2K costs $0.05 per second ($8.70 total for 30 seconds vs $11.70). Reference images beyond the free quota and input video cost extra; MiniMax does not state output audio. Full breakdown: MiniMax Hailuo cost.

It splits by tier (checked Oct 31, 2026). Grok Imagine is cheaper at the budget end: Grok Imagine 1.5 Lite on xAI’s API is $0.02 per second at 480p ($1.80 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries) and $0.03 at 720p ($2.70), against MiniMax H3-Lite at $0.025 / $0.04 ($2.25 / $3.60; ranked since Oct 31, 2026, 480P tied #2 of 159) and H3-Max 480P at $0.05 ($4.50). Hailuo is cheaper at the flagship tier: MiniMax H3 768P is $0.08 per second ($7.20) vs $0.14 for Grok Imagine 1.5 at 720p ($12.60), and H3 2K is $0.13 ($11.70) vs $0.25 for Grok Imagine 1.5 at 1080p ($22.50). In the Runway app MiniMax H3 (10 / 15 credits per second) is cheaper than or equal to Grok Imagine 1.5 (10 / 16 / 29); on the Runway API grok_imagine_1_5_lite (2 / 3) beats h3_max (5 / 8). Only Grok states that audio is included. Hailuo wins 8 of the 16 match-ups we price, Grok 7, with 1 tie. Full breakdown: Grok Imagine vs Hailuo cost.

LTX, in most match-ups (checked Oct 30, 2026), but Grok Imagine has the cheapest single rate. Grok Imagine 1.5 Lite on xAI’s API is $0.02 per second at 480p ($1.80 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries), and LTX starts at 720p. At 720p they tie: Grok Imagine 1.5 Lite and LTX-2.3 Fast are both $0.03 per second with audio ($2.70). Above that LTX is cheaper: LTX-2.3 Pro 720p $0.04 ($3.60) vs Grok Imagine 1.5 $0.14 ($12.60), and at native 1080p LTX-2.3 Fast $0.06 ($5.40) or Pro $0.08 ($7.20) vs Grok Imagine 1.5 $0.25 ($22.50). In the Runway app LTX 2.5 Fast (9 / 13 credits per second) beats Grok Imagine 1.5 (10 / 16 / 29); only Grok is on the Runway API, and only LTX offers 1440p and 4K. LTX wins 10 of the 13 match-ups we price, Grok 2, with 1 tie. Full breakdown: Grok Imagine vs LTX cost.

Grok Imagine, in almost every match-up (checked Oct 30, 2026). Grok Imagine 1.5 Lite on xAI’s API is $0.02 per second at 480p and $0.03 at 720p with audio included ($1.80 and $2.70 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries), against $3.24 and $6.84 for Seedance 2.0 Mini, Seedance’s cheapest model on BytePlus ModelArk. At native 1080p Grok Imagine 1.5 ($0.25 per second, $22.50) beats Seedance 2.0 ($0.374, $33.66) and Seedance 2.5 ($51.17). Seedance wins only the flagship tier at 480p (Seedance 2.0 $0.07 per second, $6.30, vs Grok Imagine 1.5 $0.08, $7.20), and the Runway app ties at 720p (16 credits per second each). Only Seedance offers 4K and 30-second single generations. Grok wins 14 of the 16 match-ups we price, Seedance 1, with 1 tie. Full breakdown: Grok Imagine vs Seedance cost.

It depends on the tier (checked Oct 29, 2026). For 480p and 720p with sound Grok Imagine is cheaper: Grok Imagine 1.5 Lite on xAI’s API is $0.02 per second at 480p and $0.03 at 720p with audio included ($1.80 and $2.70 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries), against $4.50 for Wan 2.6 Flash 720p with audio (image-to-video) and $9.00 for Wan 2.6 text-to-video on Alibaba Cloud. Wan is cheaper for silent clips (Wan 2.6 Flash 720p without audio, $0.025 per second, $2.25), at 1080p and in the flagship tier: Wan 3.0 is $0.05 / $0.10 / $0.20 per second vs $0.08 / $0.14 / $0.25 for Grok Imagine 1.5 ($18.00 vs $22.50 at 1080p). Grok Lite is cheaper on the Runway API, Wan in the Runway app. Only Wan 3.0 makes 30 seconds in one generation; neither does 4K. Wan wins 9 of the 16 match-ups we price, Grok 7. Full breakdown: Grok Imagine vs Wan cost.

It depends on resolution (checked Oct 29, 2026). At 480p and 720p Grok Imagine is cheaper: Grok Imagine 1.5 Lite on xAI’s API is $0.02 per second at 480p and $0.03 at 720p with audio included ($1.80 and $2.70 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries), against $8.10 for Kling 3.0 720p with native audio in Kling’s app (9 credits per second). Silent Kling 2.6 Standard mode ties Grok Lite 720p at $2.70. At 1080p Kling is cheaper: Kling 3.0 1080p with audio is $10.80 in Kling’s app vs $12.60 for Grok Lite’s upscaled 1080p and $22.50 for native 1080p Grok Imagine 1.5. Grok Lite is cheaper on the Runway API, Kling 3.0 Std in the Runway app. Only Kling makes 4K. Kling wins 8 of the 16 match-ups we price, Grok 6, 2 ties. Full breakdown: Grok Imagine vs Kling cost.

Grok Imagine, in 9 of the 13 match-ups we price (checked Oct 28, 2026). Grok Imagine 1.5 Lite on xAI’s API is $0.02 per second at 480p and $0.03 at 720p with audio included ($1.80 and $2.70 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries). Google’s cheapest Veo with audio, Veo 3.1 Lite 720p on Vertex AI, is $0.05 ($4.50); with audio off it ties Grok at $0.03. Veo wins at 1080p (Veo 3.1 Lite $0.08, $7.20, vs $0.14 for Grok Lite’s upscaled 1080p, $12.60) and in the mid tier (Veo 3.1 Fast $0.10 / $0.12 vs Grok Imagine 1.5 $0.14 / $0.25 at 720p / 1080p). Grok Imagine 1.5 beats Veo 3.1 Standard ($0.40), and Grok is cheaper on the Runway API and in the Runway app. Only Veo makes 4K. Full breakdown: Grok Imagine vs Veo cost.

LTX, in every like-for-like match-up we price (checked Oct 28, 2026). LTX-2.3 Fast at 720p on the LTX API is $0.03 per second with audio included ($2.70 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries). Seedance’s cheapest rate, Seedance 2.0 Mini at 480p on BytePlus ModelArk, is $0.036 ($3.24), and at 720p Seedance 2.0 Mini is $0.076 ($6.84). At 1080p Seedance 2.0 is $0.374 per second ($33.66) vs $0.06 for LTX-2.3 Fast ($5.40), and at 4K $0.778 vs $0.24. Inside Runway LTX 2.5 Fast (9 credits/sec at 720p) beats Seedance 2.0 Mini (16). Seedance’s only exclusives are 480p and a Runway API model. Full breakdown: Seedance vs LTX cost.

LTX, in most cases (checked Oct 28, 2026). LTX-2.3 Fast at 720p on the LTX API is $0.03 per second with audio included ($2.70 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries), while Google’s cheapest Veo with audio, Veo 3.1 Lite at 720p on Vertex AI, is $0.05 ($4.50). Veo only catches up with audio off: Veo 3.1 Lite 720p video-only is also $0.03 (a tie), and Veo 3.1 Lite 1080p silent ($0.05, $4.50) beats LTX-2.3 Fast 1080p ($0.06, $5.40). At 4K LTX-2.3 Fast ($0.24) beats Veo 3.1 Fast ($0.30), and inside Runway LTX 2.5 Fast (9 credits/sec at 720p) is far cheaper than Veo 3.1 (40 with audio). Veo is no longer listed on the Gemini API pricing page, so Veo prices are Vertex AI. Full breakdown: LTX vs Veo cost.

It depends on the route (checked Oct 27, 2026). Per second on the APIs MiniMax’s Hailuo model, MiniMax H3, is a little cheaper: $0.08 per second at 768P ($7.20 per usable 30-second clip with 2 retries) vs $0.084 for Kling 3.0 at 720p without audio on Kling’s API ($7.56). Kling’s own app is cheaper than most Hailuo routes: Kling 2.6 Standard mode $2.70 and Kling 3.0 720p $5.40, against $4.50 for MiniMax H3-Max at 480P. Inside Runway, Kling 3.0 Std (9 credits/sec) beats MiniMax H3 (10). The exception is MiniMax H3-Lite at $0.025 per second (480P, $2.25 usable 30s), ranked since Oct 31, 2026 (tied #2 of 159) now that MiniMax’s API reference lists it; see MiniMax Hailuo cost. MiniMax does not state whether H3 output includes audio. Full breakdown: Hailuo vs Kling cost.

On the Runway API (model kling_4, checked Oct 27, 2026) Kling 4.0 is 12.56 credits ($0.1256) per second at 720p and 18.8 credits ($0.188) at 1080p, with audio always included — a 20% promo that runs through Nov 30, 2026 UTC. From Dec 1 the list price is 15.7 / 23.5 credits ($0.157 / $0.235). Clips are 3–30 seconds, so a 30-second clip is one generation: $3.77 at 720p and $5.64 at 1080p on promo, or $11.31 / $16.92 per usable clip with 2 retries. Kling’s own API lists Kling 4.0 as Coming Soon (preview $0.157 / $0.235 per second), and the Kling app’s credit cost is not verified. Kling 3.0 is still cheaper ($8.10 per usable 30s at 720p with audio in Kling’s app). Full breakdown: Kling 4.0 cost · Kling 4.0 Flash cost.