AI video is priced by the second, and the platforms differ by 20×. Pick a platform, set your video length and output — see the real cost per finished video.
Real-world tip: creators typically generate 3–5 clips for every 1 clip they publish. Multiply your per-video cost by your retry rate for an honest production budget. Subscription plans bundle credits monthly; unused credits usually do not roll over.
A second of Veo 3 through the API costs about 15× a second of Runway or Pika — you are paying for native audio, 1080p and top-end motion quality. For social content, the cheaper models are usually indistinguishable to viewers; for ads and hero shots, the premium models earn their price. Match the model to where the video will actually be watched: a phone screen forgives almost everything.
A 30-second video costs roughly $1.20–$2.10 on Pika, Runway or Kling at typical plan rates — but $22.50 with Veo 3 via API. Retries multiply this: budget 3–5 generations per published clip.
By effective per-second price, Pika and Luma's bundled-credit plans are among the cheapest, and open models run locally are free after hardware. Veo 3 is the premium end.
On most platforms, no — monthly credits expire at the end of the billing cycle, which is why your videos-per-month number matters as much as the per-second rate.