One second of AI video costs between 6.7 and 383 credits on the same account — a 57× spread, and most of it is not the model you picked. We read every video row out of our own live credit table on September 2, 2026 and priced them all in the same unit: one finished second. Three settings move the number more than the model choice does, and one of them runs backwards from what you would guess.
- The spread is 57×, from 6.7 credits/second (the free engine at 480p) to 383 (Seedance 2 at 1080p).
- Resolution is the most expensive switch. Seedance 2 is listed at 72 cr/s at 480p and 383 at 1080p — 5.3× for pixels alone, same model.
- Veo 3.1 bills per clip, not per second — 115 credits whether the clip runs 5 seconds or 10. Asking for double the footage halves the AI video cost of a second.
- Audio costs as much as the picture. Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p: 7 cr/s silent, 14 with a track.
- The first paid step is 4% dearer than free. Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p is 7 cr/s against the free engine's 6.7.
- At the entry plan — 1,500 credits for $19.90 — 1 credit ≈ $0.0133, so a 10-second 720p Veo clip is about $1.53.
What one second of AI video costs on each model
Every AI video figure below is a 5-second clip unless the row says otherwise, converted to credits per finished second.
| AI video model | Setting | Credits / second | A 5s clip | Entry-plan cost of 5s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free engine | 480p, 6s | 6.7 | 40 cr (6s) | $0.53 |
| Seedance 1.5 Pro | 480p, silent | 7 | 35 cr | $0.47 |
| Veo 3.1 | 720p, 10s clip | 11.5 | 115 cr (10s) | $1.53 |
| Seedance 1.5 Pro | 720p, silent | 14 | 70 cr | $0.93 |
| Veo 3.1 | 720p, 5s clip | 23 | 115 cr | $1.53 |
| Seedance 1.5 Pro | 1080p, silent | 29 | 145 cr | $1.93 |
| Seedance 2 Mini | 480p | 36 | 180 cr | $2.39 |
| Kling 2.6 | 720p | 42 | 210 cr | $2.79 |
| Kling 3.0 | 720p | 53 | 265 cr | $3.52 |
| Seedance 2 Fast | 480p | 59 | 295 cr | $3.92 |
| Seedance 2 | 480p | 72 | 360 cr | $4.78 |
| MiniMax H3 | 2K | 79 | 395 cr | $5.24 |
| Seedance 2.5 | 480p | 105 | 525 cr | $6.97 |
| Seedance 2 | 720p | 154 | 770 cr | $10.22 |
| Seedance 2.5 | 720p | 237 | 1,185 cr | $15.72 |
| Seedance 2 | 1080p | 383 | 1,915 cr | $25.41 |
Dollar figures for AI video use the entry plan on our pricing page: 1,500 credits for $19.90, so 1 credit ≈ $0.0133. Larger plans push more credits per dollar — the $99.90 tier carries 13,200 — so the same clip gets cheaper as the plan grows. The credit column is the stable one; treat the dollars as the ceiling.
Three switches that set your AI video cost — none of them is the model
Hold the model still and move one setting at a time, and the picture gets much simpler than a sixteen-row table suggests.
Resolution is the expensive one
Seedance 2 charges 72 credits a second at 480p, 154 at 720p and 383 at 1080p — 5.3× for pixels, one model, same seconds. No other single setting in this AI video table moves a rate that far.
The practical read: on any AI video job, pick resolution last, after the shot works. A 5-second Seedance 2 draft is 360 credits at 480p against 1,915 at 1080p — five drafts for the price of one finished shot you might still throw away.
Duration runs backwards on Veo
Veo 3.1 is the only AI video model here billed per clip rather than per second: 115 credits at 720p whether you ask for 5 seconds or 10. Per second of AI video, that is 23 credits at 5s and 11.5 at 10s.
So on Veo, the shorter AI video is the worse deal. If you can use the footage, ask for the longer one — the AI video cost per usable second halves. Every other model in the table scales roughly with duration — near-double, not exactly double, because credits round to the nearest 5 (Seedance 2 at 480p is 360 for 5s and 715 for 10s).
Veo is the one place where asking for less AI video costs you more per second. Everywhere else on the shelf, a shorter clip is simply a cheaper clip.
Audio is priced like a second render
Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p runs 7 credits a second silent and 14 with audio. Kling 3.0 at 720p goes 53 to 75. On Seedance 1.5 Pro the track costs exactly as much as the picture; on Kling it adds about 40%.
That matters most for B-roll AI video — establishing shots, texture, background plates — where the audio gets replaced in the edit anyway. On Seedance 1.5 Pro, turning it off there halves the rate.
The cheapest rung is not the free one
The free AI video engine sits at 6.7 credits a second. Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p sits at 7. The gap is a rounding error. The credit table puts Seedance 1.5 Pro there on purpose — its own comment calls it "the rung between the free Grok engine and the flagships."
That reframes the usual question. "Should I use the free tier or pay?" is nearly always the wrong axis, because the first paid step costs about 4% more than free per second. The axis that actually costs money is 480p versus 1080p, where the same decision is 5.3×.
Before moving to a dearer model, spend the two cheap switches. Resolution takes Seedance 2 from 72 to 383 cr/s; audio takes Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p from 7 to 14. Both are bigger levers than most row-to-row model changes in this table.
What this means for your AI video cost per project
A worked example, at entry-plan rates. Say an AI video project needs eight usable 5-second shots.
- All Seedance 2 at 1080p: 8 × 1,915 = 15,320 credits ≈ $203.
- Iterate at 480p (three tries per shot), finish the keepers at 1080p: 24 × 360 + 8 × 1,915 = 23,960 credits. Worse — because 1080p finishing dominates, and drafting adds on top.
- Iterate at 480p, finish at 720p: 24 × 360 + 8 × 770 = 14,800 credits ≈ $196, with three attempts per shot instead of one.
The third line is the point. Same AI video budget as the naive first line, but you got 24 attempts instead of 8. Finishing at 720p instead of 1080p buys three 480p attempts per shot for roughly the same credits — on an AI video meter that is where the leverage sits.
If you need the audio track generated with the shot, MiniMax H3 and Kling 3.0 are the dearer rows to budget for; if the shots are silent motion, Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p silent is about 7.6× cheaper per second than Kling 3.0 at 720p, and 11.3× cheaper than MiniMax H3.
FAQ: AI video cost questions
How much does one second of AI video cost?
On our shelf, between 6.7 and 383 credits depending on model and settings — about $0.09 to $5.08 a second at entry-plan rates. Most of that 57× AI video spread is resolution: within Seedance 2 alone the rate runs 72 cr/s at 480p to 383 at 1080p.
Why does a 10-second Veo clip cost the same as a 5-second one?
Veo 3.1 is billed per clip rather than per second: 115 credits at 720p either way. It is the only model here priced that way, and it means the per-second AI video cost halves when you ask for the longer clip.
Does generated audio cost extra?
Yes. Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p is 7 credits a second silent and 14 with audio — exactly double. Kling 3.0 at 720p goes 53 to 75, about 40% more.
Is the free engine actually cheaper than the paid models?
Barely — 6.7 credits a second against 7 for Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p, a 4% gap. It is also the lane signed-out visitors get; what a free clip does and does not let you do is in our watermarks and commercial licences breakdown.
Credit rates are read from the live meter, so they move when the shelf moves. The dollar column moves too: the entry plan is the worst rate on the page, and every larger plan carries more credits per dollar.
What is a credit worth in dollars?
1,500 credits for $19.90 on the entry plan, so about $0.0133 each — that is the unit every AI video price on this page is quoted in. Higher plans carry more credits per dollar — 13,200 for $99.90 — so the dollar figures here are a ceiling, not a fixed rate.
Which AI video model is the cheapest for long silent B-roll?
Seedance 1.5 Pro at 480p with audio off, at 7 credits a second. For 30 seconds of footage that is 205 credits, about $2.72.
Sources
Every figure was read on September 2, 2026 from this site's own live configuration rather than from a marketing page: the credit table in credits.ts (per-second and per-clip rates for each model, at the current 750-credits-per-dollar anchor), the plan grid on our pricing page, and the model pages linked in the table above. Prices move when the shelf moves; the date on this page is the date the numbers were true.
Last updated: September 2026.
