Prices at a glance
The cheapest paid plans run from $4.99 a month for Google AI Plus to $30 for Luma Plus. Prices are in US dollars a month, as listed on 29 October 2026.
| Tool | Cheapest paid plan | One clip costs | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Flow (Veo, Gemini Omni) | AI Plus $4.99 for 200 credits; AI Pro $19.99 for 1,000 | Veo 3.1 Fast about 20 credits; Quality about 100 | A small daily credit allowance |
| Kling | Standard $6.99 first month, then $8.80, for 660 credits | Kling 3.0: about 20 credits a clip at 720p (660 credits make 33 clips, by Kling's count); 60 for 5 s at 1080p with audio (reported by Fello AI) | Basic: watermark, not for commercial use |
| Pika | Starter $10 ($8 yearly) for 900 credits | Wan 3.0 720p, 5 s: 33 credits | No monthly credits, no commercial licence |
| Runway | Standard $12 yearly or $15 monthly, for 625 credits | Gen-4.5: 60 credits per 5 s | 125 credits, once |
| Higgsfield | Starter $15 for 200 credits; Plus $49 for 1,000 | Seedance 2.5, 8 s at 1080p: 128 credits ($6.27 on Plus) | Limited use, no commercial use |
| Luma | Plus $30 for 10,000 credits | Ray3.2: 100 credits per 5 s at 720p, 400 at 1080p | None listed on the pricing page |
| MiniMax H3 | API, pay as you go | H3 from $0.08 a second at 768p ($0.13 at 2K); H3-Lite from $0.025 | Reported: a small watermarked pool |
Google's per-clip credits are from Google's Flow help page; Kling's are as reported by Fello AI, a third-party site.
Cost per usable clip calculator
What matters is the cost of a clip you keep, after the attempts you throw away. One creator who spent about $1,000 testing tools estimates 5 to 15 generations per usable clip, and another reports 2 to 6 re-generations. The maker of Kalshi's AI ad said he needed 300 to 400 generations to get 15 usable clips (NPR).
Plan prices and credits per attempt come from the tools' own pages on 29 October 2026; Kling's per-clip rate is as reported by a third party; the Google preset counts Pro's 1,000 credits plus the free 50 a day. Upscaling, voices and editing are extra.
Plan by plan
Google Flow (Veo and Gemini Omni)
Flow credits come inside Google's AI plans: AI Plus $4.99 a month for 200, AI Pro $19.99 for 1,000, and AI Ultra $99.99 for 10,000 or $199.99 for 25,000 (Google). Everyone also gets a small daily allowance, which cannot buy a Quality clip.
Kling
Kling's headline prices are first-month discounts: Standard $6.99, then $8.80 a month, for 660 credits; Pro $25.99, then $32.56, for 3,000; Premier $64.99, then $80.96, for 8,000 (Kling). Fello AI reports Kling 3.0 at 6 to 12 credits a second at 720p or 1080p. Paid plans allow commercial use; the free Basic plan does not.
Higgsfield
One subscription for many models: Starter $15 for 200 credits, Plus $49 for 1,000, Ultra $129 for 3,000 (Higgsfield). Starter does not include Seedance 2.5. Higgsfield says failed generations are usually refunded, but "If a generation finishes, the credits aren't returned, even if you don't like the result."
Runway
Standard is $12 a month billed yearly or $15 monthly for 625 credits, which Runway says equals 52 seconds of Gen-4.5. Pro is $28 or $35 for 2,250, and Max $76 or $95 for 9,500 (Runway). The same credits also run Kling 4.0 and Seedance.
Luma
Plus is $30 a month for 10,000 credits, Pro $90 for 40,000 and Ultra $300 for 150,000 (Luma). Ray3.2 also has a draft mode at 20 credits per 5 seconds.
Pika
Starter is $10 a month ($8 yearly) for 900 credits with a commercial licence, and Creator $35 for 3,150 (Pika).
MiniMax H3, Seedance and Wan
MiniMax lists its API at $0.08 a second for H3 at 768p, $0.13 at 2K, and $0.025 for H3-Lite at 480p. ByteDance's Seedance is sold through Dreamina, whose prices we could not read, and inside Higgsfield, Runway, Luma and Pika. Alibaba's Wan 3.0 is API-only so far, with no open weights: $0.05 a second at 480p, $0.10 at 720p and $0.20 at 1080p on Alibaba Cloud, as reported in its blog. The older Wan 2.2 is free to run yourself.
How to spend less
- Draft small, then upscale. One creator: "I stick to 720p then upscale to 4k with topaz... Vastly cheaper that way." Seedance 2.5 and Luma both offer a draft mode.
- Lock the shot before you go long. Get a 5 second version right before paying for 10 or 30 seconds.
- Use free credits for prompt tests, not finals.
- Pick the cheapest model that does the job. One creator pays "about 25c for 10s of H3 vs $1.30 for seedance."
Watch out for
- First-month prices. Kling's lowest prices renew higher after month one.
- Credit costs that change. One creator saw the same Dreamina generation go from 255 credits to 825 overnight.
- Free plans and client work. The free plans of Kling, Pika and Higgsfield do not allow commercial use.
- Prices on other websites. Third-party sites list different Higgsfield prices from Higgsfield's own post, so trust the tool's own checkout.
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How much does Higgsfield cost?
Higgsfield's own pricing post (October 2026) lists Starter at $15 a month for 200 credits, Plus at $49 for 1,000 credits and Ultra at $129 for 3,000 credits. Some third-party sites list higher prices, so check the checkout page.
How much does Kling AI cost?
Kling Standard is $6.99 for the first month and $8.80 a month after that, for 660 credits. Pro is $25.99 then $32.56 for 3,000 credits. The free Basic plan is watermarked and not for commercial use.
What is the cheapest AI video generator?
Google AI Plus at $4.99 a month is the cheapest paid plan we found, and Google Flow also gives 50 free credits a day without a subscription. Of the API prices we checked, MiniMax H3-Lite ($0.025 a second) and Wan 3.0 ($0.05) are the lowest per second.
Why do I run out of credits so fast?
Because most clips need several attempts. One creator estimates 5 to 15 generations per usable clip and another reports 2 to 6 re-generations, and Higgsfield does not refund a generation that finishes, even when you do not like the result.
How we checked this
We read each plan on the tool's own pricing page on 29 October 2026, or on its official blog where the pricing page would not load: Kling's credit guide (28 July 2026) and Higgsfield's pricing post (October 2026). A second, independent check re-read the prices against the sources the same day, and its corrections are applied. Google's per-clip credits come from Google's Flow help page. Kling's per-clip rates come from Fello AI, a third-party site, and MiniMax's free pool from another third party, so both are marked as reported. Wan 3.0's API prices are from Alibaba Cloud's own blog. We could not read Dreamina's or Hailuo's own price pages. Figures from Reddit are single first-hand reports, and the page names them that way. If a price has changed, tell us on WhatsApp and we will update this page.
Sources
- Google: Google AI plans and their monthly Flow credits
- Kling: Kling 3.0 credit cost guide, plan prices and credits, 28 July 2026
- Fello AI: third-party guide to Kling credits per clip (reported)
- Pika: pricing page, plans, credits and Wan 3.0 credit rate
- Runway: pricing page, plans, credits and Gen-4.5 rate
- Higgsfield: pricing post, plans, credits and refund rule, October 2026
- Higgsfield: Seedance 2.5 pricing post, 128 credits for 8 s at 1080p
- Luma: pricing page, plans, credits and Ray3.2 rates
- MiniMax: API pay-as-you-go pricing for H3 and H3-Lite
- Alibaba Cloud: Model Studio blog on Wan 3.0, API prices per second, 6 August 2026
- Google: Flow help page, credits per Veo 3.1 clip and 50 free credits a day
- Reddit, r/generativeAI: one creator on 5 to 15 generations per usable clip, 27 April 2026
- Reddit, r/HiggsfieldAI: creators on 2 to 6 re-generations and on drafting at 720p, 24 April 2026
- NPR: Kalshi's AI NBA Finals ad, 300 to 400 generations for 15 usable clips, 23 June 2025
- Reddit, r/Seedance_AI: one creator on the cost of H3 against Seedance, 23 October 2026
- Reddit, r/generativeAI: one creator on a Dreamina credit cost rising from 255 to 825