AI video API pricing: cost per second compared
What a second of video generated with Veo, Sora, Kling or Seedance really costs, and how to lower the bill.
September 20, 2026, 6 min read
Providers list their prices per clip, per generation or per second. To compare them, we converted everything to the price of one second of video, based on Apiframe’s public price list as of August 20, 2026.
The price of one second
| Model | Published price | Price per second |
|---|---|---|
| Grok Imagine Video | $0.38 per 6 s | $0.06 |
| Hailuo 03 | $0.10/s | $0.10 |
| Wan 2.7 | $0.12/s | $0.12 |
| Sora 2 | $1.00 per 8 s | $0.13 |
| Runway Gen-4.5 | $0.75 per 5 s | $0.15 |
| Kling 3.0 | $0.16/s | $0.16 |
| FLUX 3 | $0.21/s | $0.21 |
| Luma Ray 2 | $1.12 per 5 s | $0.22 |
| Seedance 2.5 | $0.29/s | $0.29 |
| Veo 3.1 | $4.00 per 8 s | $0.50 |
What drives the bill up
- Failed attempts. Expect 3 to 5 generations for one usable shot. The real cost of an 8 s shot with Veo 3.1 is therefore around $15.
- Resolution. The prices above are for 720p. 1080p and 4K cost more.
- Sound. Some models charge for it separately.
One API or several?
Going through each provider means managing as many accounts, formats and invoices. An aggregator like Apiframe gives access to more than 70 models with a single key, refunds failed jobs and sends the result by webhook.
Our method for spending less
- Iterate on the prompt with a cheap model (Hailuo 03 or Kling 3.0).
- Keep a fixed reference image to limit drift.
- Only generate the final shot with Veo 3.1 or Seedance 2.5 once the prompt is stable.
| # | Model | TopVideoAI score | API price | Try | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seedance 2.5ByteDance | 9.4 | $0.29/s | Try | |
| 2 | Veo 3.1Google | 9.3 | $4.00 per 8 s | Try | |
| 3 | Kling 3.0Kuaishou | 9.1 | $0.16/s | Try | |
| 4 | Hailuo 03MiniMax | 8.7 | $0.10/s | Try |
Bar scale: 5 to 10. API prices from Apiframe’s public price list, checked 08/20/2026.
apiframe.ai
One API for more than 70 image, video and music models.
Seedance, Veo, Sora, Kling, Midjourney, GPT Image and more. Switch models by changing one parameter, with webhooks and Zapier, Make and n8n integrations.
- 70+ models behind a single key
- Failed jobs refunded
- 99.9% SLA for businesses