AI Video Generation Cost: $2.25 to $19.13 per Minute

In short

A minute of generated video costs between $2.25 and $19.13 - roughly 180 to 1,530 ₽ at 80 ₽ to the dollar. That's an eightfold spread, and the model you pick decides where you land in it.

But that figure isn't what you'll actually pay. The real bill is shaped by four multipliers that rarely get mentioned:

1. Sound doubles the rate on some models.
2. Mode and resolution are a separate price tier, not a setting.
3. Duration costs money on some models and is free on others.
4. Failed takes. This is the biggest line item, and no price list includes it.

Below: a per-minute table, a breakdown of all four multipliers and three budgets for real tasks.

A minute of video on each model

These are our prices as of the publication date, base tier, no sound. Rubles are converted at 80 ₽ to the dollar.

For Veo, a minute is counted as 7.5 clips of 8 seconds each - none of these models makes a minute in one piece.

That's the key point of the table: nobody generates a full minute in one go. The maximum is 15 seconds, on Kling 3.0, Wan and Seedance. A one-minute video is always assembled from scenes, and you have to budget it scene by scene.

Four multipliers

Sound doubles the rate

On Kling, the audio track isn't a free extra - it doubles the rate.

Kling 2.6 without sound costs $0.06875 per second; with sound, twice that. Sound is off by default (sound: false), and that's the right default: turn it on deliberately.

On Veo, sound is included in the price because the model doesn't work without it. Hailuo, Wan and Seedance each follow their own logic - check the parameters on the specific model's page in the catalog.

Mode and resolution are a price tier

On Kling 3.0, the quality parameter with the values std / pro / 4K isn't an "image quality setting" - it's three different prices. On Seedance, both resolution and duration affect the bill at the same time.

The practical takeaway: every "from" price on the internet, including the table above, is the base tier. Before you set a budget, run one clip with your own parameters and look at the actual charge.

Duration is sometimes free

This is the most underrated fact on the list. Veo is billed per clip, not per second, so an 8-second clip costs exactly the same as a 4-second one.

If you generate on Veo and pick 4 seconds "to save money", you aren't saving anything - you're just getting half the footage for the same price. Always take the maximum and cut in editing.

With per-second models it's the exact opposite: an extra 4 seconds is extra money, and there's no reason to ask for a longer clip than you need.

Failed takes are the biggest expense

No price list mentions it, yet on a real bill it's half the total.

Generative video doesn't land on the first try. Hands melt, the face drifts away from the original, the motion isn't what you described. A realistic ratio is 2–3 renders per usable take, and more on complex scenes.

That means the real price of a minute on Hailuo isn't 180 ₽ but 360–540 ₽. And the choice between a 180 ₽ model and a 1,530 ₽ model is really a choice between 540 ₽ and 4,590 ₽.

Three budgets

50 product cards, 6 seconds each

The task: bring static product photos to life for a marketplace. Minimal motion - a slight turn, a glint of light. We take Hailuo 2.3 and budget for 2 takes.

50 cards × 2 takes × $0.225 = $22.50 - about 1,800 ₽ for the whole batch, 36 ₽ per card.

The cheap model is the right choice here: the scenes are simple, sound isn't needed, and on this kind of material the difference from an expensive model is barely noticeable.

A one-minute ad

The task: a minute made of 8 scenes of 8 seconds each, cinematic, with sound. We take Veo 3.1 Fast and budget 3 takes per scene.

8 scenes × 3 takes × $0.975 = $23.40 - about 1,872 ₽.

On the full Veo 3.1, the same budget comes to 8 × 3 × $2.55 = $61.20, about 4,896 ₽.

That's a 2.6x difference, and here it can be justified - in advertising the shot matters more than the savings. The right order: work out the prompts and the storyboard on Fast, then shoot the final takes on the senior model.

A month of short videos

The task: 30 clips of 5 seconds with sound for social media. Kling 2.6 with sound on - the rate doubles to $0.1375 per second. Two takes.

30 clips × 2 takes × 5 sec × $0.1375 = $41.25 - about 3,300 ₽ a month.

Notice how sound changed the budget: without it, the same feed would cost 1,650 ₽.

How not to overpay

Five techniques that actually save money.

1. Draft on a cheap model, finish on an expensive one. Work out the prompt where a clip costs 18 ₽, not 204 ₽. Prompts transfer poorly between models, but the storyboard and the way you describe motion transfer just fine.
2. Pin the seed where it exists. Wan 2.7 Video has it. It's the difference between "repeat a good take" and "chase it again for the same money".
3. Take the maximum duration where it's free (Veo), and the minimum where you pay per second.
4. Don't turn on sound if it'll end up under music anyway. Paying double for a track you'll mute in editing is the most painful line on the bill.
5. Watch the actual charges, not the price list. The logs show what each render cost with your parameters. One such check is more accurate than any table.

A note on how payment works: money is reserved when the task is created and charged once the render succeeds. A failed render isn't billed - the reservation is released. This matters for planning: a generation that fails because of a provider error doesn't hit your budget, but one that fails artistically does, because technically it succeeded.

How this differs from a video service subscription

Ready-made services sell subscriptions with "credits". The problem is that a credit isn't a second: consumption depends on the model, resolution and mode, and you usually can't work out in advance how many clips your money will buy.

An API works on different math: the price is known before you start, and after the run you see the actual charge for every clip. It's more boring, but it adds up.

To be fair about when a subscription is more convenient: if you need a dozen clips and don't want to write code, a service's interface beats an API on every count except price transparency.

All seven models with current prices are in the catalog. If your task is specifically animating photos, our AI video models guide covers that image-to-video scenario. For a first test, the $1 credited for a confirmed Telegram is enough.

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