The real cost of an AI video API in 2026: $/s across eight model families
Every model on ManifoldGen, measured in credits and dollars per second: LTX 2 at $0.09 per clip through Veo 3.1 at $0.40/s. With per-second math and the workflow that keeps spend sane.
AI video APIs stopped being priced per clip — they are priced per second, and the spread is enormous. On ManifoldGen the cheapest real generator (LTX 2) runs about $0.02 per second while the photoreal flagship (Veo 3.1) runs $0.40 per second, a 20x spread across one API key and one credit balance. This is the pricing picture as it stands on the platform, with the math you need to estimate a project before you start.
The per-second table
| Model | Price per 5s clip | $/second (approx) | Audio | Max res |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTX 2 (text) | 9 credits (~$0.09) | $0.02 | No | 720p |
| Wan | 90 credits (~$0.90) | $0.18 | No | 720p |
| Kling 3.0 Standard | 76 credits (~$0.76) | $0.15 | Yes | 720p |
| Kling 3.0 Pro | 101 credits (~$1.01) | $0.20 | Yes | 1080p |
| Seedance 2 Fast | 128 credits (~$1.28) | $0.27 | Yes | 1080p |
| Seedance 2 | 128 credits (~$1.28); 161 full | $0.33 | Yes | 1080p |
| Seedance 2.5 | 106 credits | $0.21 | Yes | 720p |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | 90 credits | $0.18 | Yes | 1080p |
| Veo 3.1 | 240 credits (~$2.40) | $0.48 | Yes | 1080p |
1 credit = $0.01. A 60-second cut at Seedance full quality is roughly 60 × $0.33 = $20; the same cut drafted in LTX 2 costs about $1.20. The gap is why the cheap lane exists — it is for iteration, not delivery.
How per-second pricing changes pipeline design
- Draft in the cheap lane: LTX 2 at ~$0.09 a clip means a 20-shot animatic costs under $2 before any quality spend.
- Move to the audio lane for story beats: Kling 3.0 and Seedance give synced audio without a separate sound pass, so one render is the whole cut.
- Reserve the flagship for hero frames: Veo 3.1 at $0.40/s only where the shot must look physical.
- Use one key: every lane above bills from the same prepaid balance, so switching models mid-project is a parameter change, not an integration change.
Estimating a real project
A 30-second product ad, 12 shots: draft all 12 in LTX 2 (~$1.10), move the 4 hero shots to Seedance 2 full quality (~$2.70), keep one Veo 3.1 photoreal insert (~$1.20). Total under $6 before music — and the music track itself is $0.35 flat on the same balance. The API surface for this is one POST per shot; the per-model tool pages carry the exact request shapes.
Full pricing and tooling
- Live price list: /api/pricing and the /api page
- Per-model pages with specs: /models/seedance, /models/wan, /models/ltx, /models/kling, /models/veo
- Hands-on tools: /tools/ltx-2, /tools/wan, /tools/seedance-2, /tools/kling-3, /tools/veo-3-1
- API directory per generator: /api/video-generators
- Head-to-head verdicts: /compare/seedance-vs-kling and /compare/kling-vs-veo
Try these prompts on your own shot.
Every example on this page was generated with ManifoldGen. Open the Studio and run the same structure on your idea.