Verified AI video pricing
Google Veo 3.1 API pricing: what does a usable clip cost?
For an 8-second 720p video with generated audio, the Gemini API paid tier lists $0.40 per Veo 3.1 Lite generation. If you budget three billable attempts per usable clip, that becomes $1.20 per usable clip. Your actual attempts are your assumption, not a Google quality score.
Gemini API paid tier - USD - checked 2026-09-15 by AISelect editorial verification - high source confidence. No Veo 3.1 free tier is listed.
One route, comparable assumptions
Veo 3.1 Lite vs Fast vs Standard
These are default video-with-audio rates on the Gemini API paid tier, not Google One, Flow subscriptions or Cloud video-only SKUs. All 1080p examples require an 8-second clip.
| Model | 720p / second | 8s 720p | 1080p / second | 8s 1080p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite | $0.05 | $0.40 | $0.08 | $0.64 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | $0.10 | $0.80 | $0.12 | $0.96 |
| Veo 3.1 | $0.40 | $3.20 | $0.40 | $3.20 |
One generation = price per second × 8. Rates, model availability and feature support can change. Check the official Veo API specifications before committing to a workflow.
Put the rate in your workflow
50 usable 8-second clips per month
Example: 720p, 50 usable clips, three billable generations per usable clip. That is 150 billed generations in the estimate; Google says certain failed generations may not be charged, so this is a planning assumption, not a provider failure benchmark.
| Model | Raw / generation | Estimated / usable clip | Estimated / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite | $0.40 | $1.20 | $60.00 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | $0.80 | $2.40 | $120.00 |
| Veo 3.1 | $3.20 | $9.60 | $480.00 |
Taxes, plan bundles, storage and human production time are excluded. Change your inputs below, or compare other providers in the full calculator.
Verified API pricing
AI video cost calculator
API costs only. Taxes and failed workflow overhead are excluded.
What is included
Successful text-to-video API output at the selected duration and resolution. Google Gemini API rates include generated audio; Runway Gen-4.5 does not.
What is excluded
Taxes, subscription bundles, purchased-credit discounts, upscaling, audio unless stated, storage, and human production time.
Pending provider
Kling: Excluded from calculations until an official source can be verified.
Which variant should you choose?
Lite has the lowest listed Gemini API cost for these inputs. Use it when its documented features fit; the Gemini API does not support reference images or video extension on Lite.
Fast costs more but supports reference images and video extension. Choose it when those controls are part of your workflow, not because a price table proves better output quality.
Standard is the more expensive route in this scenario. Do not pay the premium on a supposed quality score we have not measured; test outputs against your brief first.
Official model and feature documentationWhy do other Google prices look lower?
Google Cloud Agent Platform also lists video-only SKUs. They are not the default Gemini API video-with-audio prices used above. Its current Veo model documentation marks pay-as-you-go as unsupported for Lite, Fast and Standard, so we do not silently use those lower SKUs as a normal paid-tier checkout route.
Check your actual API product and account access before treating a Cloud SKU as your buying price.
Google Cloud model access documentationMake the cost your own
Your retry rate changes the answer.
Compare Veo with the source-checked Runway Gen-4.5 API route. The calculator labels audio differences and shows the official source behind each result.
Calculate AI video costsRead the calculation methodology and affiliate disclosure.