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Short answer: a typical finished AI video clip costs about $2. The Oakgen AI Video Index 2026, based on 3,128 completed and charged video jobs from January 10 to November 10, 2026, found a median of 394 credits per clip. At the add-on rate of 180 credits per dollar, that is about $2.19.
The mean was much higher, at 718 credits. That gap is the most useful thing in this post. It tells you that a few expensive jobs drive most of the spend, and that the model you pick matters more than how often you generate.
Every number below, with its sample size, is on the AI video statistics hub.
See the price before you run a clip
Oakgen shows the credit cost of every video before you start it, for every model, length and resolution.
How much does a finished AI video clip cost?
These figures cover completed video jobs that were charged credits.
- The median finished clip cost 394 credits (n = 3,128).
- The mean finished clip cost 718 credits (n = 3,128).
- At the add-on rate, the median clip is about $2.19.
- At the add-on rate, the mean clip is about $3.99.
The median is the better guide to a single clip. Half of all finished clips cost 394 credits or less. The mean is the better guide to a budget, because it includes the long, high-resolution and trend jobs that pull spend up.
What does that cost on each plan?
Credits are cheaper on a plan than as add-ons. The dataset recorded these rates on November 10, 2026: add-on credits at 180 per dollar, Basic at $19 for 4,000 credits, and Creator at $99 for 30,000 credits.
| Clip | Credits | Add-on | Basic | Creator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median clip | 394 | $2.19 | $1.87 | $1.30 |
| Mean clip | 718 | $3.99 | $3.41 | $2.37 |
Prices change. The pricing page has the current plans.
Which AI video models cost the most per clip?
Cost per clip varies more than tenfold between models. These are medians for models with at least 100 charged clips.
- Seedance v2 text-to-video: median 787 credits, about $4.37 add-on (n = 793).
- Seedance v2 image-to-video: median 468 credits, about $2.60 add-on (n = 198).
- Kling v3 Pro image-to-video: median 437 credits, about $2.43 add-on (n = 114).
- Kling v4 image-to-video: median 266 credits, about $1.48 add-on (n = 159).
- MiniMax H3 reference-to-video: median 163 credits, about $0.91 add-on (n = 206).
- Grok image-to-video: median 119 credits, about $0.66 add-on (n = 203).
- Grok text-to-video: median 104 credits, about $0.58 add-on (n = 114).
- Trend videos: median 1,912 credits, about $10.62 add-on (n = 364).
Trend videos had the highest median of any group, about five times the overall median. The video upscaler had fewer than 100 charged jobs, so its cost is suppressed.
Why does the same model cost different amounts?
On Oakgen, the price of most video models goes up with clip length and resolution. The generator shows the exact cost for your settings before you run it.
That is why Seedance v2 text-to-video shows a median of 787 and a mean of 919. People run it long. Our post on AI video clip length, resolution and aspect ratio shows that 32.1% of clips with a set duration were 11 to 15 seconds long.
How do you lower your cost per finished clip?
- Draft cheap, finish expensive. Test the idea on a low-cost model at 480p or 720p. Move to a premium model once the shot works.
- Pick the length you will post. If the final cut uses 5 seconds, do not pay for 15.
- Avoid paying for failures you can predict. A filter block teaches you nothing about the shot. Read how often AI video generations fail before your next big batch.
- Buy credits on a plan if you generate weekly. The Creator rate makes the median clip about 40% cheaper than add-on credits.
People did not rerun prompts much. In the AI video generator, 11.1% of unique (user, prompt) pairs were run more than once (n = 2,614), and the mean was 1.2 runs per prompt. Most people take the first good result.
Draft on a cheap model first
Try the shot on Grok or MiniMax, then rerun the keeper on Kling or Seedance, without leaving Oakgen.
How does this compare with API prices?
Direct API pricing is per second, not per clip. Google priced Veo 3 at $0.75 per second of video with audio at launch (Google for Developers, July 17, 2025). Google later cut that price, so check current pricing. At the launch rate, an 8-second clip cost $6.
That is not a fair head-to-head, because the models differ. It does show why a per-clip median is a better planning number than a per-second list price. You pay for the clips you finish, at the length and resolution you pick.
For a model-by-model price list, see the AI video generator cost guide. For credits against unlimited plans, see credits vs unlimited cost per usable clip.
How we measured this
- Dataset. The Oakgen AI Video Index 2026 covers video jobs on Oakgen from January 10 to November 10, 2026.
- Scope. Cost figures use completed jobs with a credit charge above zero (n = 3,128).
- Credits. We used the credits recorded on each job. Where that was missing, we used the matching usage deduction in the credit ledger.
- Medians. Medians were computed by the database's approximate median, which can differ slightly from an exact median.
- Dollars. Dollar figures convert credits at the add-on and plan rates listed above. They are not what any one person paid, since plans, discounts and free credits vary.
- Privacy. Aggregate numbers only. No user-level data.
What are the limits of this data?
- Single platform. These are Oakgen's prices and Oakgen's users.
- Small sample per model. Some models have just over 100 charged clips.
- Prices move. Model prices changed during the period. A median over ten months mixes old and new prices.
- Finished is not usable. A completed clip may still be one the person threw away. We cannot see that from job data.
See all cuts on the AI video statistics hub.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an AI video clip cost?
In the Oakgen AI Video Index 2026, the median completed video job cost 394 credits, about $2.19 at the add-on rate of 180 credits per dollar. That is based on 3,128 completed, charged jobs from January 10 to November 10, 2026.
Why is the mean cost higher than the median?
A small number of expensive jobs (long clips, high resolution, trend videos) pull the mean up. The mean was 718 credits against a median of 394, so a typical clip costs less than the average suggests.
Which AI video model is cheapest per clip?
Among models with at least 100 charged clips, Grok text-to-video had the lowest median at 104 credits (about $0.58 at the add-on rate), followed by Grok image-to-video at 119 credits and MiniMax H3 reference-to-video at 163 credits.
How much cheaper is a clip on a paid plan?
At the plan rates recorded in the dataset, the median 394-credit clip costs about $2.19 with add-on credits, $1.87 on Basic ($19 for 4,000 credits) and $1.30 on Creator ($99 for 30,000 credits). Check the pricing page for current rates.
Does this include failed generations?
No. The cost figures cover completed jobs that were charged credits. Failed jobs are counted separately in the failure statistics.
