AI Video pricing compared
What 6 ai video tools actually cost — free tiers, the cheapest paid plan, and where each free plan runs out. Each figure is taken from the vendor’s own pricing page and dated, so you can see when we last checked.
| Tool | Free tier | Cheapest paid plan | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pika | Yes | $8 · Tier 1 | 14 Jul 2026 |
| Runway | Yes | $15/mo · Standard | 14 Jul 2026 |
| HeyGen | Yes | $29/month · Creator | 14 Jul 2026 |
| Luma AI | No | $30/month · Plus | 14 Jul 2026 |
| Fliki | Yes | ₹599/month · Paid tier 1 | 14 Jul 2026 |
| Synthesia | Yes | ₹1,499/mo · Starter | 14 Jul 2026 |
Prices are as published by each vendor and may be region-specific — many vendors price by country. Confirm on the vendor’s page before buying.
Sorted cheapest paid plan first. A “free tier” means there is a genuinely free plan — tap through to any tool to see the full tier breakdown and exactly where the free plan stops. We list no fabricated prices: where a vendor only quotes “contact sales” we say so.
What drives ai video pricing
Generation cost dominates, and it is metered in credits, minutes, or finished videos because each second of AI video is expensive GPU work. Avatar platforms count outputs: HeyGen gives 3 videos a month free then scales credits across $29-$149 tiers, and Synthesia meters minutes of video per year. Text-to-video models count credits that map to clip length and resolution: Runway's $15-$95 tiers grant monthly credits that mostly do not roll over, Pika steps $8-$76, and Luma runs $30-$300 as generation volume rises. Fliki bundles credits annually. Two subtleties bite. Credits usually expire monthly, so unused capacity is lost rather than banked, and higher resolutions or longer durations consume disproportionately more. The bill therefore tracks not how many projects you have but how many seconds of finished, high-quality video you generate, with the free tiers deliberately too small for anything beyond a trial render.
How to choose on price
Forecast seconds of finished video, not number of projects, because credits burn on duration and resolution. The free tiers are trial-sized: HeyGen's 3 videos a month or Runway's one-time 125-credit deposit let you judge quality, then run dry. Match a tier to steady monthly output and respect the expiry: Runway's monthly credits mostly do not roll over, so a plan sized to your busiest month wastes credits in quiet ones, while a plan sized to your average leaves you stranded mid-project. For talking-head and avatar work, price on outputs such as HeyGen's video count or Synthesia's minutes; for cinematic generation, price on credits with Runway, Pika, or Luma. Enterprise and Team tiers such as Luma's $300 and HeyGen's $149 are for volume and seats, not features you can get lower down. The false economy is a cheap plan whose expiring credits force you to re-buy every month at a worse effective rate.
AI Video pricing FAQ
Why is AI video generation priced in credits rather than a flat fee?
Because each clip is real GPU compute, and longer or higher-resolution output costs more to produce. Runway, Pika, and Luma grant monthly credits that map to clip length and quality, so a flat fee could not cover a heavy generator. You pay in proportion to seconds rendered.
Do unused credits roll over?
Usually not. Runway states its monthly credits mostly do not roll over, with only its top Unlimited tier banking up to a month. That expiry means a plan sized to an occasional busy month wastes credits the rest of the time, so size to sustained usage, not peaks.
How do avatar tools like HeyGen differ from Runway or Luma on price?
They meter finished outputs rather than raw generation credits. HeyGen counts videos per month, with 3 free and more across $29-$149 tiers, and Synthesia counts minutes per year, whereas Runway, Pika, and Luma sell credits for open-ended clip generation. Match the meter to whether you make presenter videos or cinematic clips.
Are the free tiers enough to produce real content?
Only to evaluate. HeyGen's 3 free videos, Runway's one-time 125 credits, and Fliki's 3 monthly credits are sized for a test render or two. Any regular output exhausts them fast, since a single longer or high-resolution clip can consume most of a free allowance.
See the full breakdown
Open any tool for its complete pricing tiers, free-tier limits, screenshot and honest review.