ai video cost calculator
See what the same AI video model costs on Runway, Luma and Pika, with the prices read from each vendor’s own page.
- 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.
why use it
- One model, several prices. Platforms charge differently for the same model, so the cheapest plan on the pricing page is not always the cheapest way to make your video.
- Retakes are built in. You enter how many attempts you expect per clip, because almost nobody keeps a first generation.
- Sources are shown. Every number links back to the vendor page it came from, with the date we read it.
how to use it
- Choose the model you plan to use, for example Kling 4.0 at 1080p.
- Enter the length of the finished video in seconds. This is the video you want to end up with, not the total you will generate.
- Enter how many takes you expect for each clip. Start with 3 if you are not sure.
- Read the list. It is sorted by total cost, and the thin bar under each row shows its price per second compared with the most expensive option.
- Open the vendor’s page from the sources below and check the price before you buy.
a worked example
Say you want a 30-second video in Kling 4.0 at 1080p and you expect three takes per clip. That is 90 seconds of generation. On the prices we last read, the lowest total is Runway API (pay as you go) at $21.15. Among the subscription apps, the lowest is Pika Creator at $35.00 over 1 month of credits. Change the takes to 1 or 6 and the order of the list changes, because plans with more credits per month become better value the more you generate.
who it is for
Solo creators use it to set a monthly budget before subscribing. Knowing the cost per second of the model you actually use is more useful than comparing headline monthly prices.
Freelancers and small studios use it to quote work. If a client wants a 60-second ad with several revisions, the takes setting turns that into a defensible generation cost.
People deciding between an app and an API use it to see where pay-as-you-go through the Runway API beats a subscription, and where a larger plan wins.
frequently asked questions
Where do the prices come from?
Each number is read from the vendor’s own pricing page: Runway app, Runway API, Luma, Pika. The sources are listed at the bottom of this page, and the date we last read them is 13 November 2026.
Does the calculator store what I type?
No. It runs in your browser. The model, seconds and takes you enter are not sent to us or saved.
What is a take?
One attempt at generating a clip. If you expect to generate each clip three times before you get one you like, set takes to 3. The calculator multiplies the credits you need by that number.
Why does a one-minute video show several months on a small plan?
Subscription credits are bought a month at a time, and the vendors’ credits are used per month. If a plan includes 600 credits and your project needs 1,800, the calculator shows three months of that plan. Runway says its Standard and Pro credits do not roll over, so unused credits in a month are lost.
Why is the Runway API shown as “no subscription”?
Runway’s API sells credits at a flat price per credit instead of a monthly plan, so the total is simply the credits you use multiplied by that price. You need to be comfortable setting up an API project to use it.
Are taxes, promotions and annual discounts included?
No. We use the monthly list price shown on each page and ignore promotions, because promotions end. Runway says sales tax may apply to its API credits, and other vendors may add tax at checkout. Annual billing is cheaper on several plans, but this tool shows monthly prices.
Why are Google, Kling, OpenAI and Hailuo missing?
Their pricing pages did not show a usable per-second price when we read them. We would rather leave a platform out than guess its price.
Does it tell me which video looks best?
No. It compares cost only. The same model can behave differently on different platforms, with different queues, limits and editing tools, so try a short clip before you commit to a plan.
built to be private
The calculator is plain code that runs in your browser. What you type stays on your device. We do not ask you to sign up, and we do not sell rankings: affiliate links, where we add them, never change the numbers or their order.
where the prices come from
Last read on 13 November 2026. Promotions are ignored and list prices used.