What does an AI video clip cost?
A 5-second AI video clip takes about 27 minutes of GPU time on an RTX 4090, which rents at about $0.89 an hour: about 39¢. Credit-based video apps charge roughly $1 to $4 a clip, AI UGC apps about $11 an ad, and a hired UGC creator $150 to $212 a video, before usage rights.
The arithmetic
- A 5-second clip at standard quality takes about 27 minutes on an RTX 4090. This is the estimate the castingcard.ai studio shows before every job.
- 1,595 s × $0.89 an hour ÷ 3,600 s = about 39¢. A dollar buys about 2 clips.
- Talking clips are priced at the same rate per second: about $1.18 for 15 seconds and $2.37 for 30.
Credits, turned into dollars
| Credit plan | Price | Credits | Per credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $19 | 270 | About 7¢ |
| Plus | $59 | 1,200 | About 4.9¢ |
| Ultra | $129 | 3,000 | About 4.3¢ |
| Top-up packs | $80 | 1,700 | About 4.7¢ |
A clip costs 22 credits (Veo 3 Fast) to about 72 (Seedance). Cheapest: 22 × 4.3¢ ≈ 95¢. Dearest common case: 72 × 4.9¢ ≈ $3.50, about $5 on Starter. Higgsfield's plans, checked on 11 November 2026.
Per clip, side by side
| Way to get the clip | Price per clip or video | What about $197 a month buys |
|---|---|---|
| castingcard.ai (GPU time + plan) | About 39¢ a 5 s clip | Up to 300 clips ($79 plan + GPU time) |
| Credit video apps | roughly $1 to $4 a clip | 49–197 clips |
| AI UGC apps | about $11 an ad | About 17 ads |
| Hired UGC creator | $150 to $212 a video, before usage rights | At most 1 video |
"Up to" because start-up, idle time and re-takes aren't counted. On Founder ($279 once) the total beats $1 a clip after about 470 clips. See the comparisons for what each option does better.
What the low price costs you
Paying the GPU directly means connecting one: a Runpod account the studio sets up, or your own graphics card. It means open models rather than every hosted model a credit app offers. For the trade-offs one by one, see castingcard.ai vs Higgsfield and castingcard.ai vs Arcads.
Rival prices checked on 11 November 2026. They are approximate and change; check the sources.
Questions
- How much does a 5-second AI video clip cost?
- In raw GPU time, about 39¢: about 27 minutes on an RTX 4090 rented at $0.89 an hour. Credit-based apps charge roughly $1 to $4 a clip once credits are turned into dollars.
- How much does an AI photo cost?
- About 0.1¢ of GPU time: about 6 seconds on the same card.
- Why do credit apps cost more per clip?
- A credit price covers the app's GPUs, its hosted models and its margin. Paying the GPU directly leaves the markup out, but you connect the GPU yourself.
- What isn't included in the GPU price?
- Start-up time while the GPU loads the models, idle time before it shuts off, storage, and re-takes. Batch jobs together and set a short idle timer to keep these small.
- Do I need my own GPU?
- No. Use a graphics card you already have, or rent one from Runpod by the second on your own Runpod account. The studio sets the GPU up, runs your jobs and shuts it off when idle. A photo takes about 0.1¢ of GPU time and a 5-second clip about 39¢ on a rented RTX 4090.
Cast your first model
Pay the GPU's own price for the seconds each clip takes.