✓ Last verified: 2026-08-15· Source: official provider pricing page· Auto-monitored — report change →
What generating AI video (Sora, Veo, Kling, Runway) costs per second and per month.
Quick-fill by model tier (approx — verify with provider)
—
per month
—per clip
—per second
—total seconds
AI video is the priciest AI media
Per second, video dwarfs text and image costs. Budget carefully and keep clips short. Want to create AI video? Try Kling AI, or estimate images on the image generation calculator.
2026 model price reference
AI video pricing is billed per second of output. Most providers charge more for higher resolution and longer clips. Prices below are approximate — always verify on the provider's pricing page before budgeting.
Model
Price/sec
6-sec clip
Notes
Open-source (hosted)
~$0.01–0.02
~$0.09
Wan 2.1, CogVideoX via RunPod/Modal
Kling 2.0
~$0.05
~$0.30
API tier; subscription cheaper
Runway Gen-4
~$0.05
~$0.30
Credits-based; varies by plan
Sora 2 (720p)
~$0.10–0.15
~$0.75
OpenAI API; higher at 1080p+
Veo 3 (Google)
~$0.30–0.40
~$2.10
Vertex AI; audio-native model
Sora 2 (4K)
~$0.40+
~$2.40+
Premium resolution tier
Prices are estimates based on publicly available data as of July 2026. Verify before budgeting — providers update pricing frequently. Use the preset buttons above to model different scenarios.
The AI Video Generation Cost Calculator estimates your total monthly AI video bill by multiplying three inputs: the number of clips per month, the seconds per clip, and the price per second charged by your video model or API. Because generation is billed by output duration, your total output seconds — clips multiplied by length — is the primary cost driver, and the per-second rate scales that volume directly. A small change in clip length or the number of clips you produce compounds quickly, so the calculator lets you see the combined effect before you commit to a production volume.
A practical tip is to test how clip length and volume trade off against each other: many short clips can cost the same as a few long ones, since only total seconds matter to the bill. Confirm the per-second price for the specific model and resolution you plan to use, as rates vary widely across providers and quality tiers. Estimating your monthly seconds in advance helps you set a realistic budget and avoid surprise charges when output scales up.
Frequently asked questions
How much does AI video generation cost?
Video models bill per second of generated footage — often $0.10 to $1+ per second depending on the model, resolution and length. A short 6-second clip can cost a few dollars, so volume adds up fast.
Which AI video model is cheapest?
It varies by resolution and quality; open or hosted models undercut the frontier ones. Keep clips short, generate at the lowest acceptable resolution, and reuse footage where possible.