AI Video Generation Pricing Guide 2026

A 5-second AI video clip now costs anywhere from $0.10 to $3.00depending on which model and resolution you pick. That’s a 30x price spreadacross the 27 models we track — and choosing wrong can burn hundreds per month even for moderate production volumes.

We compiled per-second API pricing for every major AI video model available in April 2026, verified directly against provider pricing pages. This is the data nobody else has in one place: exact costs by model, resolution, provider, and audio option.

Prices verified: April 10, 2026. Last updated: April 2026.

Complete API Pricing: All 27 Models

This table shows the lowest available per-second price for each model at its most common resolution tier. Models with per-generation pricing are converted to per-second equivalents for comparison.

Models with flat per-generation pricing (CogVideoX at $0.20/clip, Mochi 1 at $0.40/clip, Luma Ray 3 at $0.20/generation) are excluded from the per-second table. See the flat-rate section below.

Real-World Cost Analysis: What You’ll Actually Pay

Per-second pricing means nothing without context. Here’s what real production workflows cost across three creator profiles, using each model’s best available provider price.

TikTok Creator: 100 Clips/Month (5 sec, 720p)

YouTube Shorts Producer: 50 Clips/Month (10 sec, 1080p)

Studio Production: 20 Clips/Month (10 sec, 1080p + Audio)

Hidden Costs Most Guides Don’t Mention

Per-second pricing is only part of the picture. These costs compound quickly and can double your effective spend.

1. Failed Generations

Not every generation produces usable output. Most creators report a 30-50% discard rate during iteration — meaning your effective cost per usable clip is 1.5-2x the listed price. Budget models like Kling 2.5 Turbo ($0.042/sec) are better for iteration because each failed attempt costs less.

2. Resolution Multipliers

Most models charge 2-4x more for higher resolutions, and the jump isn’t always linear. Luma Ray2 costs $0.10/sec at 540p, $0.20 at 720p (2x), and $0.40 at 1080p (4x). LTX-2 Prodoubles from $0.06 (1080p) to $0.12 (1440p) to $0.24 (4K) — a 4x increase from base to 4K.

3. Audio Surcharges

Native audio generation adds 40-100% to the base video price on most models. Veo 3.1is the steepest: $0.20/sec without audio, $0.40 with — a 100% markup. Kling v3 adds 50% ($0.112 → $0.168). Notable exceptions: Grok Imagine Video includes audio at no extra cost, and LTX-2 Pro’s $0.06/sec base price includes audio.

4. Provider Price Differences

The same model can cost 2-3.75x more on one provider versus another. HunyuanVideo 1.5costs $0.02/sec on WaveSpeed but $0.075/sec on FAL.ai — a 3.75x difference for the exact same model. Always check multiple providers before committing to a workflow.

5. Duration Sweet Spots

Some models have minimum billing durations or base fees. Kling 2.5 Turbo charges a $0.35 base for the first 5 seconds, then $0.07/sec after — making 5-second clips the efficient breakpoint. Mochi 1charges a flat $0.40 regardless of whether you use 3 or 5 seconds. Know your model’s billing structure.

6. Iteration Tax

The gap between listed pricing and actual spend comes primarily from regenerations, not the generation itself. Industry reports suggest a typical creator’s effective monthly cost is 1.5-2x the raw per-clip priceonce you factor in iteration, upscaling, and storage. A 3-minute AI short film costs $75-175 all-in when you include scripting, regenerations, and post-production audio — versus the $6-18 that the raw generation math would suggest.

Flat-Rate Models: Per-Generation Pricing

Some models charge per clip rather than per second. These are often cheaper for short clips but less flexible for longer content.

Luma Ray 3stands out here: $0.20 per generation regardless of duration (5-10 sec), making it the best flat-rate value for longer clips. At 10 seconds, that’s effectively $0.02/sec — though quality and features differ from per-second models.

Budget Picks by Tier

Under $0.05/sec: Maximum Savings

For creators who need volume over premium quality. Kling 2.5 Turbo($0.042/sec on WaveSpeed) is the standout — it ranks #13 on the Artificial Analysis Arena (ELO 1,213), making it the highest-quality model in this price tier. For even cheaper options, Pika 2.0 at $0.04/sec offers decent 720p output with unique Pikaffects special effects.

$0.05-0.12/sec: Best Value

The sweet spot for most creators. LTX-2 Pro($0.06/sec, 1080p with audio) is the best deal in AI video right now — it’s open source, includes native audio, and outputs at 1080p for less than most models charge for 720p. Hailuo 02 Pro ($0.08/sec, 1080p) is another strong pick with physics-accurate motion. Wan 2.7 ($0.10/sec) offers the widest feature set at this price: text-to-video, image-to-video, video editing, and reference-based generation.

$0.12-0.25/sec: Premium Quality

For production work where quality justifies the cost. Kling v3($0.112/sec) delivers 4K output with multi-shot generation and native audio — the most capable model under $0.20/sec. Runway Gen-4.5 ($0.25/sec) peaked at #1 on the Arena with best-in-class physical accuracy. Veo 3.1 ($0.20/sec without audio) has the best lip-sync in the market and native 4K output.

$0.25+/sec: Studio Grade

For professional studios and high-budget productions. Seedance 2.0($0.3024/sec) accepts 5 input types simultaneously — text, images, video, and audio references — with director-level camera control. Veo 3.1 with audio ($0.40/sec) is the gold standard for dialogue scenes with lip-sync. At the top, Veo 3.1 4K + Audio ($0.60/sec) delivers the highest resolution with synchronized audio available via API.

The Open-Source Advantage

Every model priced under $0.05/sec on hosted APIs is either open source or built on open-source weights. But the real savings come from self-hosting.

FramePackis remarkable for self-hosting: it generates up to 120-second videos on just 6 GB VRAM — an RTX 3060 is sufficient. If you have H100 access, Wan 2.7 (Apache 2.0) and HappyHorse 1.0 (#1 on the Arena, weights coming soon) offer premium quality at infrastructure cost only.

Price vs. Quality: Where the Value Is

Price alone doesn’t tell the story. The Artificial Analysis Video Arena provides ELO-based quality rankings from blind human evaluations. Here are the models that deliver the most quality per dollar:

The standout value picks: Grok Imagine Videodelivers Arena-rank #6 quality (ELO 1,229) at just $0.05/sec with native audio included — the best quality-per-dollar ratio in the market. Kling 2.5 Turbo is a close second at $0.042/sec with ELO 1,213. PixVerse V6 at $0.025/sec (360p) punches well above its price with ELO 1,209.

Our Recommendations

Best overall value: Grok Imagine Video at $0.05/sec. Arena #6 quality with native audio, ~17-second generation time, and video editing capability. The only caveat: 720p maximum resolution.

Best for 1080p on a budget: LTX-2 Pro at $0.06/sec. The only model that includes native audio at 1080p for under $0.10/sec. Open source with 4K support if you need it.

Best for volume creators: Kling 2.5 Turbo at $0.042/sec on WaveSpeed. High quality (ELO 1,213), 1080p capable on Pro tier, and cheap enough to iterate aggressively.

Best premium model: Kling v3at $0.112/sec. 4K output, multi-shot generation, native audio with voice control, up to 15 seconds — the most features per dollar in the premium tier.

Best for dialogue and lip-sync: Veo 3.1 at $0.40/sec with audio. Best-in-class lip-sync quality with native 4K. Expensive, but nothing else matches its dialogue accuracy.

Best self-hosted: FramePack for consumer GPUs (6 GB VRAM) or Wan 2.7 for datacenter GPUs (Apache 2.0, full feature set).

Use our cost calculator to estimate monthly spend for your specific workflow, or compare any two models side by side. For a more accessible breakdown, see How Much Does AI Video Cost?. For open-source self-hosting economics, read Open Source AI Video: Self-Host vs API.

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