AI Video Generator Price Comparison: Credits, Plans, and Real Cost per Clip

Categories: Pricing, AI Video, Tool Comparison

Tags: AI video generator price comparison, AI video pricing, Runway pricing, Pika pricing, Luma pricing, Veo pricing, VideoAny credits

Introduction

AI video generator pricing is hard to compare because every platform measures value differently.

One tool sells monthly credits. Another prices video by the second. Another bundles video inside a broader creative suite. Some credits expire monthly. Some purchased credits roll over. Some plans advertise "unlimited" generation but move those generations into slower queues or separate modes.

This comparison focuses on the numbers that matter for a real creator workflow:

• entry price
• credit or usage model
• whether credits roll over
• how video length and resolution change cost
• what to check before choosing a platform

Prices below were checked on May 20, 2026. AI video pricing changes often, so use this as a decision framework and verify each pricing page before buying.

Quick Comparison Table

Why AI Video Prices Are Hard to Compare

The headline plan price is rarely the real cost.

For AI video, the real cost per useful clip depends on:

• how many credits a specific model consumes
• whether cost is per clip or per second
• whether 1080p, 4K, or audio increases the price
• whether failed or unwanted generations still consume credits
• whether unused monthly credits expire
• whether commercial use is included

That means a $10 plan is not always cheaper than a $30 plan. If the cheaper plan burns more credits per useful result, has slower queues, or forces you to regenerate more often, the practical cost can be higher.

VideoAny Pricing: Flexible Credits Across Workflows

VideoAny is useful when you want a single credit balance across AI video, AI image, and AI audio workflows.

Current one-time packs include:

VideoAny also has subscriptions for steady usage. The advantage of the credit-pack model is budget control: buy a fixed amount, run the project, then top up only when needed.

This is the strongest fit for creators who move between Text to Video, Image to Video, Video to Video, AI effects, AI image generation, and AI audio.

Runway Pricing: Strong Creative Suite, Watch Credit Reset Rules

Runway's official pricing page lists a Free plan with 125 one-time credits. The Standard plan starts at $12 per user per month when billed annually and includes 625 monthly credits. The Pro plan starts at $28 per user per month when billed annually and includes 2,250 monthly credits.

Runway's credit help page also explains the key budgeting detail: Standard, Pro, and Unlimited plans receive monthly credits, and those monthly credits do not roll over. It also gives a useful benchmark: Gen-4.5 uses 12 credits per second, so a 5-second generation uses 60 credits and a 10-second generation uses 120 credits.

Runway is a strong choice when you want video generation inside a broader production and editing suite. The main budget question is whether you will actually use the monthly credits before they reset.

Pika Pricing: Clear Video Credit Tables

Pika publishes a detailed credit table, which is useful for estimating clip cost.

Its pricing page lists:

• Basic: $0 with 80 monthly video credits
• Standard: $10/month with 700 monthly video credits
• Pro: $35/month with 2,300 monthly video credits
• Fancy: $95/month with 6,000 monthly video credits

Pika also lists examples for text-to-video and image-to-video with Pika 2.5. A 5-second clip can cost 12 credits at 480p, 20 credits at 720p, or 40 credits at 1080p. A 10-second clip can cost 24, 40, or 80 credits depending on resolution.

That makes Pika easy to model if you already know your target resolution and duration. The main risk is feature creep: special effects, longer clips, and higher-resolution options can change the burn rate quickly.

Luma Pricing: Plan-Based Access

Luma's official pricing page currently lists Plus at $30/month, Pro at $90/month, and Ultra at $300/month, with yearly billing discounts available.

Luma is often attractive when you want high-quality image and video generation in a polished creative environment. For budgeting, the key is to check the exact current usage rules inside the plan you choose, because plan price alone does not tell you the cost per usable clip.

Google Veo Pricing: Direct Per-Second Math

Google's Vertex AI pricing is the clearest if you want direct usage-based math.

The current Veo pricing table lists several modes:

• Veo 3.1 Lite video: from $0.03/second at 720p
• Veo 3.1 Fast video: from $0.08/second at 720p
• Veo 3.1 standard video: $0.20/second at 720p or 1080p
• Veo 3.1 video plus audio: $0.40/second at 720p or 1080p
• 4K modes can reach $0.60/second for video plus audio

This makes cost visible, but it can add up fast. A 10-second Veo 3.1 standard video plus audio at $0.40/second is $4 before any workflow overhead. A 10-second 4K video plus audio at $0.60/second is $6.

Veo is best compared as infrastructure pricing, not a consumer subscription. It is precise, but you need to manage billing carefully.

Pollo AI API Pricing: Developer-Oriented Credits

Pollo AI's API pricing documentation says credits start at about $0.08 each for smaller packages and drop to about $0.06 for bulk purchases.

The Pollo pricing FAQ also says credits are deducted based on the model, tool, video duration, number of outputs, and resolution. That means the credit price is only half the story. You still need to know how many credits each selected model will consume.

Pollo is most relevant if you are building an app or workflow around API access instead of using a creator UI.

Sora Pricing: Do Not Use Old Sora Tables Without Checking Dates

Older Sora price comparisons are now risky.

OpenAI's official help center says the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on April 26, 2026, and the Sora API is scheduled to be discontinued on September 24, 2026. OpenAI's newer flexible credits article also states that credits currently apply to Codex and ChatGPT for Excel rather than Sora.

So for a 2026 AI video price comparison, treat Sora as a historical benchmark or transition case, not a stable direct-buy option for a new workflow.

The Most Useful Way to Compare AI Video Cost

Instead of comparing monthly prices, compare cost per useful final clip.

Use this formula:

Cost per useful clip = total project spend / number of final clips you actually publish

Then estimate:

Expected spend = cost per attempt x attempts per final clip x number of final clips

For credit-based tools:

Cost per attempt = credit cost x credits consumed by that model

For per-second tools:

Cost per attempt = seconds x price per second

This method is more honest than asking which platform has the cheapest entry plan.

Which AI Video Pricing Model Should You Choose?

Choose VideoAny if you want flexible credits across video, image, and audio workflows, especially if you create in bursts or want one-time packs.

Choose Runway if you want a mature creative suite and will use the monthly credits consistently.

Choose Pika if you want a video-first credit table that is easy to estimate for short clips.

Choose Luma if you like its creative environment and are comfortable evaluating value at the plan level.

Choose Google Veo on Vertex AI if you need direct infrastructure pricing and can manage per-second billing.

Choose Pollo AI API if you are integrating AI video into an app or backend workflow.

Avoid using outdated Sora pricing tables unless they clearly account for the April 26, 2026 Sora app discontinuation and the September 24, 2026 API discontinuation date.

Final Thoughts

The cheapest AI video generator is not always the one with the lowest monthly price. The better question is: how many usable clips can you make for a fixed budget?

For occasional creators and project-based teams, pay-as-you-go credits are often easier to control. For weekly production, subscriptions can be more efficient. For developers, per-second and API pricing can be clearer, but they require stricter cost monitoring.

Start with the workflow you need, then compare the true cost per final clip.

Next Step

Review current VideoAny Pricing, then test your workflow with Text to Video or Image to Video.

Current Pricing References

• Runway pricing
• Runway credits help
• Pika pricing
• Luma pricing
• Google Vertex AI generative AI pricing
• Pollo AI API pricing
• OpenAI Sora discontinuation

FAQs

1) What is the cheapest AI video generator?
It depends on the clip length, model, resolution, retry rate, and whether unused credits expire. Compare cost per useful final clip, not only the monthly plan price.

2) Is pay-as-you-go better than a subscription for AI video?
Pay-as-you-go is usually better for irregular or project-based creation. Subscriptions are better when you generate enough every month to use the included credits.

3) Why do AI video generators use credits?
Credits let platforms price different models, durations, resolutions, and tools without listing a separate dollar price for every operation.

4) Do failed AI video generations cost money?
This varies by platform and failure type. Always check the current refund, retry, and failed-generation rules before running a large batch.

5) Should I still compare Sora pricing in 2026?
Only with a date note. OpenAI says Sora web/app experiences were discontinued on April 26, 2026, and the Sora API is scheduled to be discontinued on September 24, 2026.