Per-clip prices are hard to compare because default clip lengths differ: 5 seconds on some models, 8 on others. Normalising to cost per second of finished video makes the real ranking visible, and it reorders things in ways the headline numbers hide.
The clearest example: Gemini Omni Flash at 135 credits looks much more expensive than Kling v3 Standard at 86. Per second with audio they are within two percent of each other.
TL;DR
- Cheapest per second: Veo 3.1 Lite silent at 4.13 credits/s, about four cents
- Cheapest with audio: Veo 3.1 Lite at 6.75 credits/s
- Most expensive: Veo 3.1 Standard at 56 credits/s
- Audio is roughly a 60 percent premium on models that charge for it separately
- Resolution matters more than model choice on Wan 3.0: 4.8 credits/s at 480p against 19 at 1080p
The table, silent
Canon 8frame prices, a credit is $0.01 at pack rate:
| Model | Clip | Credits | Per second |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite (8s silent) | 8s | 33 | 4.13 |
| Wan 3.0 at 480p | 5s | 24 | 4.80 |
| Wan 3.0 Prime at 480p | 5s | 46 | 9.20 |
| Wan 3.0 base at 480p, 30s | 30s | 142 | 4.73 |
| Runway Gen-4 Turbo | per second | 8/s | 8.00 |
| Wan 3.0 at 720p | 5s | 48 | 9.60 |
| Wan 2.2 at 720p | 5s | 50 | 10.00 |
| Kling v3 Standard silent | 5s | 57 | 11.40 |
| Seedance 2.5 at 480p | 5s | 70 | 14.00 |
| Hailuo H3 at 2K | 5s | 88 | 17.60 |
| Wan 3.0 at 1080p | 5s | 95 | 19.00 |
| Higgsfield Standard 720p | 5s | 95 | 19.00 |
| Wan 2.5 at 1080p | 5s | 102 | 20.40 |
| Seedance 2.0 at 720p | 5s | 108 | 21.60 |
| Seedance 2.5 at 720p | 5s | 157 | 31.40 |
The table, with audio
| Model | Clip | Credits | Per second |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite | 8s | 54 | 6.75 |
| Gemini Omni Flash | 8s | 135 | 16.90 |
| Gemini Omni Flash | 5s | 85 | 17.00 |
| Kling v3 Standard | 5s | 86 | 17.20 |
| Kling v3 Standard | 10s | 171 | 17.10 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | 8s | 168 | 21.00 |
| Kling v3 Pro | 5s | 114 | 22.80 |
| Veo 3.1 Standard | 8s | 448 | 56.00 |
What the normalisation reveals
Gemini Omni Flash and Kling v3 Standard are the same price. 16.9 against 17.2 credits per second with audio. The apparent gap comes entirely from default clip length, 8 seconds against 5. Choose between them on speed and control, not price: Omni has a 39-second median generation time on our jobs against Kling's 143.
Veo 3.1 Lite is dramatically the cheapest good option, at 6.75 with audio and 4.13 silent. Nothing else with audio is within a factor of two.
Veo 3.1 Standard is 8x Lite per second. 56 against 6.75. That is the price of the quality ceiling, and it is why iterating on Standard is the most expensive habit available here.
Wan 3.0's resolution setting is a 4x price dimension. 4.8 credits per second at 480p, 19 at 1080p. And 1080p is the default. Wan 3.0 Prime is not a way around it: it is also resolution-tiered, at about twice base (9.2 / 19 / 37.8 credits per second).
Audio costs about 60 percent. Kling v3 goes from 11.4 silent to 17.2 with audio. Veo 3.1 Lite from 4.13 to 6.75. If you are scoring to music anyway, the silent tier is correct and a third cheaper.
Seedance 2.5 at 31.4 credits per second is the most expensive non-Veo option, and the narrow thing it buys is physical behaviour: weight, momentum, product labels holding through motion.
The number that actually matters
Cost per second of generated video is not cost per second of delivered video, because you do not keep everything. At a realistic keep rate of one in three for a shot you have not composed yet, every figure above triples.
Which is the whole argument for a mixed workflow: block at 4.8 credits per second on Wan 3.0 at 480p, then generate the keeper once at the tier the shot deserves. Three 480p drafts plus one 1080p finish on base Wan 3.0 is 167 credits, about $1.67.
Iterating at 56 credits per second is how a Starter plan disappears in an afternoon.
Against a Starter plan
$19 buys 1,000 credits. In seconds of finished video:
| Tier | Seconds for $19 |
|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite silent | ~242 |
| Wan 3.0 at 480p | ~208 |
| Veo 3.1 Lite with audio | ~148 |
| Wan 3.0 Prime at 480p | ~108 |
| Kling v3 Standard with audio | ~58 |
| Seedance 2.5 at 720p | ~32 |
| Veo 3.1 Standard | ~18 |
Before retries. Halve or third these for a realistic planning number.
FAQ
What is the cheapest AI video per second? Veo 3.1 Lite silent at 4.13 credits per second, about four cents.
Is Gemini Omni Flash more expensive than Kling? No. They are within two percent per second with audio. The headline difference is clip length.
How much does audio add? Roughly 60 percent on models that price it separately.
Why is Wan 3.0 sometimes four times the price? Resolution. It defaults to 1080p at 19 credits per second against 4.8 at 480p.
Compare per second, block cheap, finish once. The 8frame canvas is free and unlimited, and generation is paid from $19/month.