AI video generator pricing: plans and usable clip costs (2026)
Quick answer
AI video pricing has two separate layers: the platform subscription and the cost of the model or feature you use. Compare the total cost of a usable clip, including retries, at your required resolution and duration. The table below uses month-to-month USD prices unless explicitly marked otherwise. Prices were checked against the linked provider pages on September 9, 2026.
Magic Hour publishes this pricing comparison and is one of the platforms listed. We normalized current provider prices into month-to-month USD starting points and kept annual commitments distinct; the table is a documentation comparison, not a quality ranking. Provider pricing pages were checked September 9, 2026 and are linked in each row.
Magic Hour publishes this guide and includes its own product in the comparison. Treat the recommendations as editorial guidance from a vendor, and verify the linked first-party product details and your own output requirements before choosing a tool.
Platform subscriptions at a glance
Platform | Paid starting point | What the price refers to | Primary source |
|---|---|---|---|
Creator $19/month; $144/year alternative | Broader image and video platform; model-specific credits | ||
Standard $15/month; $144/year alternative | 625 monthly web-app credits | ||
Create Starter $10/month; $8/month equivalent with annual billing | 900 monthly Create credits; commercial licensing starts at Creator. Legacy Standard is a different offer | ||
Plus $30/month; $300/year alternative | 10,000 monthly platform credits | ||
Standard $10/month; $96/year alternative | 1,200 monthly credits plus daily allowance | ||
Creator $29/month | 600 monthly credits for supported workflows | ||
Starter $29/month | 1,200 shared monthly credits | ||
Creator $25/user/month; $147/year alternative | Browser editor and AI features | ||
Starter $240/seat/year ($20/month equivalent) | 400 monthly credits; selected model access | ||
Confirm current checkout and renewal rate | Plan, model, billing period, and promotions affect cost |
Pika and Invideo’s entry prices shown here are annual commitments. Do not compare them with another vendor’s cancellable monthly price without accounting for the full payment.
For detailed plan and credit breakdowns, review Pika pricing, Runway pricing, Runway Gen-4.5 pricing, Seedance 2.0 pricing, HeyGen pricing, VEED pricing, and the Sora migration guide. Each page separates subscription invoices, credits, API billing and accepted-output costs.
A red ceramic mug sits on a wooden café table beside a window. Steam rises slowly while the camera makes a gentle push-in. Soft morning light, realistic materials, one continuous shot, no people or readable text.
Compare the same video job in Magic Hour
Use the same prompt or source image, choose a currently available model, and review the displayed credit estimate before generating. Compare accepted outputs and retries, not credit counts across vendors.
Try AI Video GeneratorThe cheapest plan may not fit the job
A scripted presenter, a generated cinematic shot, and an edited product demonstration are different deliverables. Choose the workflow first. Avatar platforms can be appropriate for training; a scene generator is relevant when you need footage from a prompt or image.
Google Gemini API pricing page, captured September 25, 2026. Billing selection, currency and any promotion are shown in the screenshot; recheck the live page and checkout before buying. View official source
Runway pricing page, captured September 25, 2026. Billing selection, currency and any promotion are shown in the screenshot; recheck the live page and checkout before buying. View official source
For Magic Hour, start with text-to-video for a new scene or image-to-video to animate a reference. Check the actual model, settings, quote, and commercial terms before generating.
Calculate cost per usable clip
Use this formula: total relevant charges divided by the number of accepted outputs. Include rejected generations, required feature charges, and extra purchases. If allocating a subscription cost, state how much of the allowance you used.
Example: a $30 monthly subscription produces ten accepted clips during a month with no additional purchases. Allocating the whole invoice gives $3 per accepted clip. If you accept only five, it becomes $6. This hypothetical example explains the accounting; it does not predict a tool’s acceptance rate.
API rates need a separate comparison
Consumer subscriptions do not automatically include API credit. Direct APIs may bill per second, generation, token, or another unit. Use our AI video pricing index for defined API examples and compare exact settings rather than generic credit counts.
Is Sora still a purchase option?
OpenAI closed Sora’s app and web experience on April 26, 2026, and lists September 24, 2026 as the API discontinuation date. It should not be recommended as a new long-term subscription or integration. See OpenAI’s shutdown guidance.
What should you buy first?
Choose the lowest plan that satisfies one representative project, complete the export, and inspect the result. Write down the required model, input, duration, resolution, watermark conditions, commercial terms, and number of accepted clips. Compare the full monthly invoice and required extras with an annual commitment separately.
Use the video-cost worksheet to record rejected attempts and unused capacity. For a product workflow, start with one copyable shot prompt. Buy more capacity when the completed workflow and your measured usage justify it.
Frequently asked questions
OpenAI closed Sora’s app and web experience on April 26, 2026, and lists September 24, 2026 as the API discontinuation date. It should not be recommended as a new long-term subscription or integration. See OpenAI’s shutdown guidance.
Choose the lowest plan that satisfies one representative project, complete the export, and inspect the result. Write down the required model, input, duration, resolution, watermark conditions, commercial terms, and number of accepted clips. Compare the full monthly invoice and required extras with an annual commitment separately.
Use the video-cost worksheet to record rejected attempts and unused capacity. For a product workflow, start with one copyable shot prompt. Buy more capacity when the completed workflow and your measured usage justify it.
Three budgets that expose the real price
Budget 1: one social clip. Define six finished seconds, three candidates, one selected export and no extension. Compare the exact model, duration, resolution, watermark and whether audio is included. A monthly plan is poor value when only one job is needed and unused credits do not fit future work.
Budget 2: a six-shot product video. Assume three candidates per shot, eighteen initial generations, two repaired shots and one final upscale path. Require product geometry, label, color and camera behavior to pass. This scenario exposes platforms that look cheap per generation but require many retries.
Budget 3: weekly production. Define clips per week, candidate rate, team seats, storage, queue priority, API needs and revision volume. Compare subscriptions, purchased credits and API billing separately. Include operator time for prompt changes, downloads, transfers and cleanup.
Avoid four pricing mistakes
Do not compare a platform subscription with one underlying API model. Do not treat credits as equal across products. Do not divide plan price by the maximum theoretical outputs when your settings cost more. Do not count generated clips as usable clips.
Run a small representative sample and retain every candidate. Calculate total spend divided by accepted outputs. If the job begins from a written brief, test Magic Hour Text-to-Video. If a reference image must remain recognizable, test Image-to-Video.
