How Much Does AI Video Cost? Per-Second vs. Credits, Explained
AI video is priced per second or with credits, and the listed price rarely tells the whole story. Here's what real clips cost and how to budget.
Ask how much AI video costs, and you'll get a dozen different answers. Some tools charge by the second. Others sell monthly credits. Some are free, with limits you can't always see.
Here's how the two main pricing models actually work, what real clips cost across several major tools, and the hidden costs that make AI video more expensive than the price tag suggests. Prices below are as of late September 2026 and change often, so always check current rates before budgeting a project.
The Two Main Ways AI Video Is Priced
Per-second pricing charges you for each second of video you generate. It's common on API platforms like fal, where developers and power users pay only for what they use. The math is simple: a 10-second clip at $0.08 per second costs $0.80.
Credit-based pricing sells you a monthly bundle of credits, which you spend on generations. Each model costs a different number of credits. It's common on creator platforms like Runway and Higgsfield, where a subscription unlocks the tools and the credits determine how much you can make.
Neither is better. Per-second pricing is easier to predict for individual jobs. Credits bundle access, features, and generation into one monthly cost.
What Per-Second Pricing Looks Like
A few confirmed examples from API platforms:
- H3 Max on fal (768p, with audio): $0.08 per second, so about $0.40 for a 5-second clip or $1.20 for 15 seconds
- H3 Max 3D to Video on fal: $0.05/sec at 480p, $0.08/sec at 768p, $0.16/sec at 1080p, plus reference costs, with a 5-second minimum
- H3 Max Director on fal: $0.08/sec list price, 1080p at double that, with a $1.20 minimum per session
- Pruna's P-Video-2-Pro: $0.02/sec in Speed mode, $0.04/sec in Quality mode
- Black Forest Labs' FLUX Video Edit: $0.03 per second of edited video
Two patterns jump out. Resolution often doubles the price, and minimum charges mean a very short clip can cost more than the per-second rate suggests.
What Credit-Based Pricing Looks Like
Runway is a useful example because it publishes exactly what its credits buy. Gen-4.5 uses 12 credits per second of video.
- Standard ($12/month billed yearly, or $15 monthly): 625 credits, about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5
- Pro ($28/month yearly, or $35 monthly): 2,250 credits, about 187 seconds of Gen-4.5
- Max ($76/month yearly, or $95 monthly): 9,500 credits, about 791 seconds of Gen-4.5
Do the math, and the effective cost of Gen-4.5 drops as plans get bigger: roughly $0.23 per second on Standard (yearly), about $0.15 on Pro, and under $0.10 on Max.
Credits also vary a lot by model. On Runway, Aleph 2.0, its video-to-video editing model, costs 140 credits per 5 seconds, more than double Gen-4.5's rate.
The Hidden Costs
The listed price is rarely what a finished shot actually costs. Budget for these:
Retries. You almost never keep your first generation. If it takes five attempts to get a usable shot, your real cost is five times the listed price.
Resolution and quality modes. Higher resolution and quality settings often cost significantly more per second.
Minimums. Minimum charges and minimum clip lengths add up on short generations.
Credit expiration. On many subscriptions, unused credits don't roll over. Runway's Standard and Pro credits reset each billing cycle, while Max rolls over up to one month.
Extras. Reference images, upscaling, audio, and editing tools can each carry their own costs.
What About Free Tiers?
Free options exist, but they come with limits:
- Google Vids now offers free AI video generation with Gemini Omni to anyone with a Google account, though Google doesn't publish the free usage limit
- Runway's free plan includes 125 one-time credits to test its tools
Free tiers are great for experimenting. For real projects, the caps usually push you to a paid plan.
How to Budget an AI Video Project
A simple way to estimate:
- Estimate total seconds of finished AI footage you need
- Multiply by a retry factor, often 3x to 5x depending on how precise the shots need to be
- Multiply by the per-second cost at the resolution you'll deliver
- Add extras like upscaling, references, or editing passes
For example, 60 seconds of finished footage at a 4x retry rate on a $0.08/second model comes to about $19 in generation costs, before extras.
Competitive Context
AI video pricing has been dropping quickly as models get faster and more efficient. Promotions are common too: Higgsfield recently offered 100% cashback on API spend, and fal has run discounted launch pricing on new models.
Aggregator platforms that offer many models in one place, like fal, Runway, and Higgsfield, also make it easier to compare costs and switch models based on budget and quality needs.
The Signal in the Noise
The cheapest model per second isn't always the cheapest in practice. A model that gets you a usable shot in two tries can cost less than a cheaper one that takes ten.
When comparing tools, look at the full picture: price per second, resolution, minimums, credit expiration, and how many attempts it usually takes to get something you can actually use.
How do you budget for AI video: per project, per shot, or just a monthly subscription?
The Details
- fal H3 Max: $0.08/sec at 768p with audio
- fal H3 Max 3D to Video: $0.05–$0.16/sec by resolution, 5-second minimum
- Pruna P-Video-2-Pro: $0.02–$0.04/sec
- FLUX Video Edit: $0.03/sec
- Runway Gen-4.5: 12 credits/sec; plans from $12/month (yearly) for 625 credits
- Runway Aleph 2.0: 140 credits per 5 seconds
- Hidden costs: retries, resolution, minimums, credit expiration, extras
- Free options: Google Vids (capped), Runway (125 one-time credits)
- Note: prices as of late September 2026; check current rates
