How to budget an AI video project
How this page is made. Every price comes from the vendor’s own pricing page, read on the date above. We have not compared the quality of the videos, so this page is about cost only. Some links are affiliate links; see the disclosure.
The most common budgeting mistake with AI video is pricing the finished video. You pay for everything you generate, including the takes you throw away. This guide turns a finished length into a realistic generation budget in five steps.
step 1: split the video into clips
Most models generate short clips, often around five seconds. A 60-second video is therefore twelve clips, not one 60-second generation. Write down how many clips you need and how long each must be.
step 2: choose the model and resolution
The model and resolution set the credits per second. Pick the one you will use for the final video. If you are unsure which model fits, run a short test clip first, because this site compares cost, not quality.
step 3: decide how many takes per clip
A take is one attempt at a clip. Count how many you expect before you get one you like. We can’t tell you the right number for your style of video, so start from your own experience and adjust. Pika’s own plan calculator adds 25% “so a reshoot does not blow the month”, which is a sensible minimum buffer.
step 4: multiply
Credits needed = finished seconds × takes × credits per second. Then multiply by the price per credit for the plan you are considering. The calculator below does both and rounds up to whole months of credits.
- platform and planper secondtotal
- Runway API · pay as you golowest total, no subscription $0.24 $21.15
- Luma · Plus1 month of credits $0.24 $30.00
- Pika · Creator1 month of credits $0.32 $35.00
- Runway app · Pro1 month of credits $0.37 $35.00
- Pika · Starter4 months of credits $0.39 $40.00
- Runway app · Standard4 months of credits $0.57 $60.00
- Luma · Pro1 month of credits $0.18 $90.00
- Runway app · Max1 month of credits $0.24 $95.00
- Pika · Fancy1 month of credits $0.26 $95.00
- Luma · Ultra1 month of credits $0.16 $300
Runway and Pika list 118 credits per 5 seconds; Luma lists 79 credits per second. A Runway promo of 25% off runs to 30 November 2026 and is not used here.
Prices read from the vendors' own pricing pages on 13 November 2026. Credits are bought in whole months. Check the vendor before you buy.
step 5: use a cheap draft pass
Some platforms charge much less for lower resolutions, so you can test ideas cheaply and only render the keeper at full quality. Luma lists Seedance 2.5 at 36 credits per second for a 480p draft and 191 at 1080p.
For the 60-second example, four full 1080p passes need 45,840 credits. Three 480p drafts plus one 1080p final need 17,940 credits, about 61% fewer. On Luma’s Plus plan ($30.00 a month for 10,000 credits, or $3.00 per 1,000 credits), that is roughly $138 against $53.82.
This only works if a draft predicts the final well enough to judge. Test that on a short clip before you rely on it, because a draft that looks different from the final can waste the saving.
a checklist before you buy a plan
- Does the plan’s monthly credit allowance cover the whole project, or will it take several months?
- Do unused credits roll over? Runway says Standard and Pro credits do not.
- Is a pay-as-you-go option, such as the Runway API, cheaper for a one-off project?
- Have you checked the vendor’s own page on the day you buy?
sources
runway.com/pricing, lumalabs.ai/pricing, pika.art/pricing. For how credits work, read our credits guide.