Correction, 2026-10-01: the first version of this page called an 8-second Veo 3.1 Lite clip at 33 credits the cheapest usable social video. Cheaper video exists on 8frame: Pruna p-video Draft is 4 credits for 5 seconds at 720p, and Creatify Boreal is 7 for 5 seconds at 720p with sound. It also stated as fact that direction is now the majority of the cost, that per-minute costs differ by an order of magnitude, that "typical volumes" generate for under ten dollars, and that over-scaled generation shows up in performance within a month. We have no source for those, so they are now framed as advice or tied to the worked example.
Social video is the one format where cost per minute is a useless number, because nobody buys one video. The unit that matters is cost per usable asset per month. In the worked month below, 36 generated assets cost about $8.86 in credits, so the rest of the budget is the people who direct, judge, and edit them.
The generation cost, concretely
8frame credit prices, a credit is $0.01 in a top-up pack. One example month for one brand:
| Item | Model | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 12 short video assets, 8s, silent (720p, 9:16) | Veo 3.1 Lite at 33 | 396 |
| 4 premium assets, 5s with audio (720p) | Kling v3 Standard at 86 | 344 |
| 20 stills and covers | Seedream 5 Lite at 6 | 120 |
| 2 music beds, 30 seconds each | Lyria 2 at 13 | 26 |
| Total | 886 credits, about $8.86 |
That fits inside the 1,000 credits on the $19 Starter plan. Which is the real point of this article: at this volume the generation line for a month of social video is under ten dollars, so any budget conversation that focuses on it is optimising the wrong number.
Cheaper routes exist. Pruna p-video Draft is 4 credits for 5 seconds at 720p and Creatify Boreal is 7 for 5 seconds at 720p with sound. These are prices, not quality verdicts: test a few takes on your own brief before you plan a month around any model.
Where the money actually goes
Direction and judgment. Deciding what to make and which of it ships. When generation is under $9 a month, this is where the budget and the quality difference between accounts sit.
Editing and format versioning. Reframing, captioning, cutting down. Human work, priced per version, and on high-volume accounts it can be the largest line.
Filming what cannot be generated. People, products, and demonstrations. Fewer shoot days than before, not zero.
Community and posting. Not creative cost, frequently in the same budget, and worth separating so the creative number is legible.
Why per-minute pricing misleads
A 15-second social asset and a 15-second segment of a brand film can cost very different amounts with an identical runtime. The variables are how many exist, how much footage was reviewed, and how many rounds were involved.
So when comparing suppliers, ask for cost per usable asset per month at a stated volume, with rounds and format count fixed. That is comparable; per-minute is not.
The volume question
Q4 and paid social both push toward volume, and volume is now affordable to produce and expensive to judge. The honest constraint on how many assets a brand should make is how many it can review properly, not how many it can generate. Scaling generation past review capacity means shipping work nobody judged properly. See how to plan Q4 creative with AI.
FAQ
How much should a brand budget for social video monthly? Budget for people and editing. In the example above, 36 generated assets plus two music beds cost 886 credits, about $8.86. If a supplier quote is dominated by production cost, ask what is being filmed.
Is it cheaper to make 30 assets than 10? Per asset, usually, because direction and setup are shared across more pieces. In total, no, and the constraint is review capacity rather than money.
What is the cheapest social video to generate on 8frame? Pruna p-video Draft at 4 credits for 5 seconds at 720p, about $0.04. The cheapest with sound we can confirm is Creatify Boreal at 7 for 5 seconds at 720p. An 8-second Veo 3.1 Lite clip without audio is 33. All before anyone's time.
Sources
- 8frame credit prices (Veo 3.1 Lite, Kling v3 Standard, Seedream 5 Lite, Lyria 2, Pruna p-video Draft, Creatify Boreal) and plans: the 8frame app, checked 2026-10-01
The generation is under ten dollars at this volume. Budget for the judgment.
Try it without signing up: the 8frame canvas opens on a real board. The canvas is free and unlimited; generation is paid from $19/month.