AI video generators: what a second of video costs, October 2026
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Runway, Pika and HeyGen are priced on this page, and Kling AI has a short section of its own. Sora was a fifth until OpenAI shut it down: the web and app closed on 26 April 2026 and OpenAI's help centre set 24 September 2026 as the closing date for the API. It is listed below as discontinued.
Video tools sell credits, so the useful number is what a second costs. On Runway's published figures, a second of Gen-4.5 costs between $0.12 and $0.29 depending on the plan, on monthly billing. On Pika's, a second of Wan 3.0 at 720p costs about $0.07 and a second of Seedance 2.5 about $0.27. HeyGen makes talking-avatar videos, a different job, and has its own section.
Prices and plan details checked on October 15, 2026.
On this page
What a second of video costs
Runway states how many seconds of Gen-4.5 each monthly credit allowance makes. Dividing the plan price by those seconds gives the cost per second. Gen-4.5 uses about 12 credits a second on every plan, so the allowance, not the model, sets the rate.
Plan
Credits a month
Seconds of Gen-4.5
Monthly billing
Annual billing
Standard
625
52 s
$15, or $0.29 a second
$12 a month, or $0.23 a second
Pro
2,250
187 s
$35, or $0.19 a second
$28 a month, or $0.15 a second
Max
9,500
791 s
$95, or $0.12 a second
$76 a month, or $0.10 a second
Runway Gen-4.5, from Runway's pricing page, checked 15 October 2026. Cost per second is our division of the price by the seconds Runway lists. Runway's page gives no output resolution for the seconds figure. The free plan gives 125 credits once.
Pika publishes credits per generation for 720p, 5-second clips, and every paid plan converts at the same 90 credits to the dollar. A Seedance 2.5 clip costs 122 credits and a Wan 3.0 clip 33.
Model
Credits a clip
Clips on the $10 Starter plan
Cost a second, monthly plans
Cost a second, top-up credits
Seedance 2.5
122
7
$0.27
$0.41
Wan 3.0
33
27
$0.07
$0.11
Pika, 720p and 5 seconds per clip, from Pika's pricing page, checked 15 October 2026. Prices are our division. Top-up credits are 60 for $1. Annual billing takes 20% off the plan price.
These are not like-for-like. Runway's figure is for its own Gen-4.5 at an unstated resolution, and Pika's is for two third-party models at 720p. We have not compared output quality, so use the table to budget and judge the clips yourself on a free or cheap plan.
Both services host other makers' models next to their own. Runway's plan page names Kling 3.0 and Nano Banana Pro beside Gen-4.5, and Pika's lists Seedance 2.5, Wan 3.0, MiniMax H3 and Google Omni Flash beside Pika 2.5. Kling AI is covered in its own section below.
HeyGen: talking-avatar video is a different job
HeyGen turns a script into a presenter on screen, and sells monthly credits plus a cap on video length. The free plan makes 3 videos a month up to 1 minute each, with Avatar IV and 500+ stock avatars. Creator is $29 a month on monthly billing with 600 credits, 1080p export, videos up to 30 minutes and watermark removal. Pro is $49 a month with 1,000 credits and 4K export.
Kling AI
Kling AI sells Standard at $10 a month for 660 credits, Pro at $37 for 3,000, Premier at $92 for 8,000 and Ultra at $180 for 26,000, and says generated content is for commercial use. The page lists no credits per second for Kling 3.0, so no cost per second is given. Prices read from Kling's membership page on 15 October 2026.
Free plans and commercial rights
Runway: the free plan gives 125 credits once, which is about 10 seconds of Gen-4.5 at 12 credits a second.
HeyGen: 3 free videos a month, each up to 1 minute.
Pika: the free plan carries 0 monthly credits and credits come in packs. Pika's commercial licence starts on the $35 Creator plan, not the $10 Starter.
The Runway pricing page we read says nothing about commercial use, and HeyGen's mentions commercial terms only under its custom Enterprise plan. Check their terms before you sell what you make.
Sora is discontinued
OpenAI's help centre says the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on 26 April 2026 and that the Sora API would be discontinued on 24 September 2026. OpenAI will delete data tied to Sora use after any final export window, and says you can export your content at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset. Any comparison that still prices Sora is out of date.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sora still available?
No. OpenAI's help centre says the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on 26 April 2026 and that the Sora API would be discontinued on 24 September 2026.
Which AI video generator is cheapest per second?
On monthly billing, Pika's Wan 3.0 is the cheapest we could read at about $0.07 a second for a 720p clip, against $0.12 for Runway's Gen-4.5 on its Max plan. They are different models, so the rates say nothing about output quality.
Is there a free AI video generator?
Runway's free plan gives 125 credits once, and HeyGen's makes 3 videos a month up to 1 minute. Pika's free plan has no monthly credits.
Can I use AI video commercially?
Pika's commercial licence starts on its $35 Creator plan, and the free and $10 Starter plans do not include it. Runway's pricing page says nothing about commercial use, and HeyGen's mentions commercial terms only for its Enterprise plan, so read their terms first.
What is the difference between Runway and HeyGen?
Runway generates video clips from text, images or footage and charges by credits per second. HeyGen turns a script into a presenter video and sells monthly credits with a cap on video length (1 minute on Free, 30 minutes on Creator and Pro).
