Correction, 2026-10-02: two statements on this page were wrong. Base Wan 3.0 at 480p (24 credits for 5 seconds) is not among the cheapest video on the canvas: several video models cost less for 5 seconds, so we now call it only the cheapest Wan 3.0 clip. And 95 credits is the cheapest 1080p Wan clip generated from text or an image, not the cheapest 1080p in the whole Wan family: Wan 2.7 VideoEdit, which edits a clip you already have, bills 68 for 5 seconds of output at 1080p. We also removed a line about how our credits relate to provider rates, and re-checked the fal prices quoted below today (unchanged). On length: on 8frame, Wan 2.5 makes 5-second clips, so Wan 3.0's 2 to 30 seconds runs up to six times longer; an earlier pass today wrongly gave Wan 2.5 up to 15 seconds.
Correction, 2026-10-01: this page said base Wan 3.0 reference-to-video (34 / 68 / 135 credits for 5 seconds) carries a character forward from reference images, and that Prime is not the only route to reference-to-video. On the canvas, base Wan 3.0 takes text or one start image and no reference images; its reference-to-video mode is available only through the 8frame MCP connector and starts from a reference clip. On the canvas, Prime is the Wan that takes a reference clip. We also removed the per-second provider rates we quoted for the base model, which were out of date.
Correction, 2026-09-30: we called Wan 3.0 Prime the premium tier and suggested it when base output is not good enough. Alibaba describes Prime as the high-speed version of Wan 3.0 with the same capabilities, so the difference you pay double for is speed (and, on 8frame, sound by default), not quality.
Wan 3.0 ships in two variants and both are priced per second by resolution. The base model costs 24, 48 or 95 credits for 5 seconds at 480p, 720p or 1080p. Wan 3.0 Prime costs 46, 95 or 189 for the same clips, which is almost exactly twice the base price at every resolution. So the rule is simple: use the base model, and pay Prime's double only for what it adds. Alibaba describes Prime as the high-speed version with the same capabilities, and on 8frame Prime generates sound by default (base Wan 3.0 has no sound setting on 8frame).
Correction, 2026-09-28
This page previously said Prime was a flat 34 credits at any resolution and that it was cheaper than the base model at 720p and 1080p. That was wrong, and it inverted the advice.
Prime went live on the canvas on 2026-08-28 at a flat rate read from the provider's pricing API, which turned out to be its lowest resolution tier. It was repriced on 2026-09-05 to the provider's actual resolution-tiered rates, and this page was not updated with it. If you picked Prime because of what this page said, the base model is the cheaper choice at every resolution.
TL;DR
- Base Wan 3.0 (via Replicate): 24 / 48 / 95 credits for 5 seconds at 480p / 720p / 1080p. 30 seconds: 142 / 284 / 567
- Wan 3.0 Prime (via fal): 46 / 95 / 189 for 5 seconds. 30 seconds: 276 / 567 / 1,134
- Prime is about 2x base at every resolution. There is no crossover
- Base Wan 3.0 reference-to-video, 34 / 68 / 135 for 5 seconds, is available only through the 8frame MCP connector and starts from a clip. On the canvas, Prime is the Wan that takes a reference clip, at its usual prices
- The Wan tool opens at 1080p, and an unset resolution also bills 1080p: 95 on base, 189 on Prime for 5 seconds. Set it deliberately
The table
Canon 8frame prices, a credit is $0.01 at pack rate:
| Duration | Base 480p | Base 720p | Base 1080p | Prime 480p | Prime 720p | Prime 1080p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5s | 24 | 48 | 95 | 46 | 95 | 189 |
| 10s | 48 | 95 | 189 | 92 | 189 | 378 |
| 30s | 142 | 284 | 567 | 276 | 567 | 1,134 |
Reference-to-video on the base model (via fal, through the 8frame MCP connector only, driven by a reference clip) is priced separately: 34 / 68 / 135 for 5 seconds at 480p / 720p / 1080p. Note the wrinkle: it costs more than base text-to-video or image-to-video at every resolution (34 against 24 at 480p, 135 against 95 at 1080p), because the two modes run on different providers and are priced separately.
When each one is right
Base at 480p for drafting, timing checks, and any pass whose only job is to tell you whether the shot works. At 24 credits, about $0.24, it is the cheapest 5-second Wan 3.0 clip. Judge composition and motion here before you pay for resolution.
Base at 720p or 1080p for anything you deliver. At 95 credits, base 1080p is the cheapest 1080p Wan clip you can generate from text or an image, slightly under Wan 2.5 at 102, and it runs 2 to 30 seconds, while Wan 2.5 makes 5-second clips on 8frame.
Prime when faster generation (Alibaba's description of Prime) or Prime's sound (on by default on 8frame, same price with or without) is worth about double. It is not a quality tier: Alibaba says its capabilities are aligned with the standard version. Draft on base first, so you only pay Prime rates on a shot you have already composed.
Reference-to-video when a clip should drive the shot: on the canvas that is Prime, at 46 / 95 / 189; through the 8frame MCP connector, base reference-to-video from 34 credits at 480p. Neither takes reference images. To drive a shot from reference images instead, Grok Imagine's reference mode on the canvas starts at 35 credits for 5 seconds at 480p.
The default that costs the most
The Wan tool opens at 1080p, and both variants also bill at 1080p when no resolution is set. That is deliberate on our side: a value we cannot resolve must never under-bill, so it falls back to the most expensive tier. The consequence for you is that a 5-second clip left at the default costs 95 on base and 189 on Prime. Set the resolution every time.
The long-take number
Wan 3.0 generates 2 to 30 seconds in a single pass. The cheapest 30-second Wan 3.0 take is the base model at 480p, 142 credits, about $1.42. At 720p it is 284, at 1080p 567. On Prime the same 30 seconds costs 276, 567 or 1,134. Seedance 2.5 also reaches 30 seconds in one pass on the canvas: 417 credits at 480p and 937 at 720p, its highest resolution.
For comparison at canon prices, about 30 seconds assembled from shorter clips: six 5-second Kling v3 Standard clips with audio (720p, each from a start image) is 516 credits; four 8-second Veo 3.1 Lite clips with audio (32 seconds at 720p) is 216 and still needs joins. A single base Wan 3.0 pass does 30 seconds for 142 at 480p and 284 at 720p, with no joins.
The catch is that one 30-second generation is one roll of the dice. If second 22 is wrong you regenerate all thirty. So draft short on base at 480p, then commit to one long render once the shot is settled.
How this compares to the rest of the Wan line
| Model | 5s clip | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wan 2.2 | 50 credits at 720p | Needs a start image or a clip on 8frame; weights published on Hugging Face, self-hostable |
| Wan 2.5 | 102 credits at 1080p | No published weights; 5-second clips on 8frame |
| Wan 3.0 base | 24 / 48 / 95 | 2 to 30 seconds, resolution-tiered |
| Wan 3.0 Prime | 46 / 95 / 189 | 2 to 30 seconds, resolution-tiered, about 2x base |
If you were using Wan 2.5 for budget work, base Wan 3.0 is the newer generation and costs less: 95 against 102 for 5 seconds at 1080p, with clips up to 30 seconds, where Wan 2.5 makes 5. Wan 3.0 vs Wan 2.5 covers what changes in the output.
Where the numbers come from
8frame credits come from the 8frame tool registry. Base Wan 3.0 text-to-video and image-to-video run on Replicate and are billed per second of output by resolution (24 / 48 / 95 credits for 5 seconds). Prime and base reference-to-video run on fal.
Provider prices on fal, checked 2026-10-02:
- Wan 3.0 Prime (
alibaba/wan-3.0-prime, the same rate for text-to-video, image-to-video and reference-to-video): $0.068 per second at 480p, $0.14 at 720p, $0.28 at 1080p - Base Wan 3.0 reference-to-video (
alibaba/wan-3.0/reference-to-video): $0.05 per second at 480p, $0.10 at 720p, $0.20 at 1080p
Both fal pages note that pricing is subject to change.
FAQ
Is Wan 3.0 Prime cheaper than the base model? No. It costs about twice as much at every resolution: 46 against 24 at 480p, 95 against 48 at 720p, 189 against 95 at 1080p.
Is Wan 3.0 Prime a higher-quality version? Alibaba describes Prime as the high-speed version of Wan 3.0, with capabilities aligned with the standard version. On 8frame it also generates sound by default. Compare drafts on your own prompt before paying double.
What is the cheapest 1080p Wan clip? Base Wan 3.0 at 95 credits for 5 seconds, generated from text or an image. Wan 2.7 VideoEdit bills 68 for 5 seconds of 1080p output, but it edits a clip you already have.
What happens if I do not set a resolution? The Wan tool opens at 1080p, and an unset resolution is billed at 1080p, the most expensive tier, on either variant: 95 on base, 189 on Prime for 5 seconds.
Does only Prime do reference-to-video? On the canvas, yes: Prime takes a reference clip. Base reference-to-video, 34 / 68 / 135 credits for 5 seconds, is available only through the 8frame MCP connector, also from a clip. Neither takes reference images.
What is the cheapest 30-second Wan 3.0 take? Base Wan 3.0 at 480p, 142 credits.
Sources
- Wan 3.0 Prime described as "the high-speed version of the Wan3.0 video generation model, with capabilities aligned with the Wan3.0-Video standard version": Alibaba Cloud Model Studio, newly released models, checked 2026-10-02
- Wan 3.0 Prime per-second prices on fal: text-to-video, image-to-video, reference-to-video, checked 2026-10-02
- Base Wan 3.0 reference-to-video per-second prices on fal: fal, alibaba/wan-3.0/reference-to-video, checked 2026-10-02
- Wan weights published on Hugging Face (Wan 2.2 and earlier; none for Wan 2.5 or 3.0): Wan-AI on Hugging Face, checked 2026-10-02
- 8frame prices, the Wan tool's 1080p starting value, Seedance 2.5, Kling v3, Veo 3.1 Lite, Grok Imagine and Wan 2.7 VideoEdit prices: 8frame tool registry, read 2026-10-02
- Wan 3.0 inputs on the canvas and reference-to-video through the MCP connector: 8frame tool configuration and MCP connector tool definitions, read 2026-10-02
Draft at 24 credits on base, deliver on base, and pay Prime's double only when speed or sound is worth it.
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.