How AI video credits work
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.
Almost every AI video tool sells generation by credits. A credit sounds like a fixed unit, but it is not: each platform decides what a credit is worth and how many it takes to make a second of video. That is why the same model can cost very different amounts depending on where you run it.
a credit is a platform’s own currency
When you generate a clip, the platform charges a number of credits that depends on the model, the resolution, the length and sometimes whether audio is included. The credits come from your monthly plan, or from a top-up. Two platforms can both say “Kling 4.0” and charge you in completely different credit amounts, because each sets its own conversion.
the same model, three different credit counts
For Kling 4.0 at 1080p, the pricing pages we read show:
- Luma: 79 credits per second.
- Runway app: 118 credits per 5-second clip, which is 23.6 credits per second.
- Pika: 118 credits per 5-second clip, which is 23.6 credits per second.
Luma needs more than three times as many credits per second as Runway or Pika. That does not make Luma more expensive, because its credits are also much cheaper, as the next table shows.
what a credit costs on each plan
Dividing the monthly price by the monthly credits gives the price of 1,000 credits. Lower is cheaper per credit, but only useful once you know how many credits a second of video needs.
| platform and plan | monthly price | credits per month | price per 1,000 credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luma · Ultra | $300 | 150,000 | $2.00 |
| Luma · Pro | $90 | 40,000 | $2.25 |
| Luma · Plus | $30 | 10,000 | $3.00 |
| Runway app · Max | $95 | 9,500 | $10.00 |
| Pika · Fancy | $95 | 8,550 | $11.11 |
| Pika · Creator | $35 | 2,600 | $13.46 |
| Runway app · Pro | $35 | 2,250 | $15.56 |
| Pika · Starter | $10 | 600 | $16.67 |
| Runway app · Standard | $15 | 625 | $24.00 |
The Runway API is different: it sells credits at $0.01 each, which is $10.00 per 1,000, with no subscription.
the number that matters: dollars per second
To compare platforms, convert everything to dollars per second of generated video. The formula is: credits per second × price per credit. The cost calculator does this for every plan, and the Kling 4.0 comparison shows the result.
three things that change the bill
- Resolution. On Luma, Seedance 2.5 is listed at 36 credits per second at 480p and 191 at 1080p. The 1080p version needs about 5.3 times as many credits.
- Rollover. Runway says Standard and Pro credits do not roll over, and Max credits roll over for one month. Pika’s free plan has no monthly credits, only paid credit packs. We did not find rollover terms on Luma’s page, so check before you rely on leftover credits.
- Top-ups. Pika lists top-up credits at 60 per dollar on every plan, and says top-ups are not for its API. Top-up prices can be worse than the plan price, so compare them to your plan’s credit price.
how to compare plans in four steps
- Pick the model and resolution you will really use.
- Find its credits per second (or credits per clip) on each platform.
- Multiply by the price per credit for each plan.
- Add the retakes you expect, and check whether the monthly credits cover the project.
Steps 3 and 4 are where mistakes happen, so use the budgeting guide if you are planning a whole project.
what we left out
We only cover the platforms whose pages we could read. We did not compare quality, queue times or editing tools, and we ignore annual discounts and promotions so the numbers stay true after a sale ends.
sources
runway.com/pricing, Runway API pricing, lumalabs.ai/pricing, pika.art/pricing.