AI Video Cost per Second 2026: Pricing Calculator
The short answer: AI video in 2026 bills per second of output, and the new price floor is Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash (Google) at $0.03 per second for its 360p draft tier — with $0.10/s at 720p, $0.15/s at 1080p and $0.30/s at 4K. On that ladder a 30-second video costs $0.90, a 60-second video $1.80, and a 90-second video $2.70 (draft quality). The calculator below runs the math live for every major vendor — Gemini Omni, Sora, Runway, Kling, Veo and MiniMax H3 Max — so you can quote video work from a real number instead of a guess.
This page is the pricing companion to "AI Video Generation Cost 2026: Gemini Omni vs Sora Runway" (Find AI Agency) — the strategy is there; the per-second math is here. Google GA'd Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash on Aug 27, 2026 as the stable successor to the June preview, and its per-second pricing ladder lands it directly against Sora 2, Runway and Kling in the video price war.
Video Cost per Second Calculator
Same model, standard durations
How the math works
Every major video API bills per second of output video, by resolution. The total is a single multiplication: duration (seconds) × per-second price (tier). That is the whole formula — the tiers are what differ.
The Google Cloud pricing page confirms the Omni ladder with token math: 1,931 tokens/second at 360p, 5,792 at 720p, 8,688 at 1080p, 17,376 at 4K, billed at $17.50 per 1M video-output tokens — which works out to ≈$0.034/s, ≈$0.101/s, ≈$0.152/s and ≈$0.304/s respectively, rounded to the published $0.03/$0.10/$0.15/$0.30 ladder.
Per-second video pricing table (Aug 2026)
Current as of Aug 30, 2026. The Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash row is highlighted — it went GA Aug 27, 2026 and sets the new per-second floor for major-vendor video.
| Model (vendor) | Price per second | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash NEW |
$0.03 (360p draft) · $0.10 (720p) · $0.15 (1080p) · $0.30 (4K) | Aug 27, 2026 | 40s scenes (10s extensions), first/last frame control, native audio; 1080p/4K upscaled from 720p. blog.google · fal.ai |
| Veo 3.1 Lite |
$0.05 (720p) · $0.08 (1080p) | — | No 4K tier |
| Veo 3.1 Fast |
$0.10 (720p) · $0.12 (1080p) · $0.30 (4K) | — | Google's fidelity line |
| Sora 2 OpenAI |
$0.10 (720p) | — | API sunsets Sept 24, 2026 |
| Sora 2 Pro OpenAI |
$0.30 (720p) · $0.70 (1080p) | — | Batch = half price |
| Runway Gen-4 Turbo Runway |
$0.05 (5 cr/s) | — | Credit-based; $0.01/credit API |
| Runway Gen-4.5 Runway |
$0.12 (12 cr/s) | — | Credit-based; $0.01/credit API |
| Kling API Kuaishou |
$0.084 (720p, no audio) · $0.112 (720p, native audio) · $0.14 (1080p) · $0.42 (4K) | — | Pricing varies with resolution and audio |
| fal MiniMax H3 Max fal.ai |
$0.08 (768p) list · $0.04/s intro | — | 14-day $0.04/s intro, then $0.08/s list; free 5 clips/day; 5s clip renders <3s |
What 30 / 60 / 90-second videos cost (worked examples)
Straight multiplication on the table above. These are raw API generation costs — before agency markup, retries, or client pricing.
- Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash (360p draft, $0.03/s): 30s = $0.90 · 60s = $1.80 · 90s = $2.70
- Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash (720p, $0.10/s): 30s = $3.00 · 60s = $6.00 · 90s = $9.00
- Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash (1080p, $0.15/s): 30s = $4.50 · 60s = $9.00 · 90s = $13.50
- Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash (4K, $0.30/s): 30s = $9.00 · 60s = $18.00 · 90s = $27.00
- Runway Gen-4 Turbo ($0.05/s): 30s = $1.50 · 60s = $3.00 · 90s = $4.50
- fal MiniMax H3 Max (768p list, $0.08/s): 30s = $2.40 · 60s = $4.80 · 90s = $7.20
- Sora 2 (720p, $0.10/s): 30s = $3.00 · 60s = $6.00 · 90s = $9.00 — until the API sunset on Sept 24, 2026
Why Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash resets the per-second floor
Google GA'd Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash on Aug 27, 2026 — the stable successor to the Gemini Omni Flash preview (June 30, 2026) — available via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio, the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Google Flow (AI Plus/Pro/Ultra), and scene extension in the Gemini app. Its 360p draft tier at $0.03/s (~60% faster and roughly one-third the cost of its own 720p output) is the cheapest listed per-second rate among major vendors; its $0.10/s 720p tier matches Sora 2, Veo 3.1 Fast and the previous Omni Flash.
What you get at that price: 40-second scenes built from 10-second extensions, first/last frame control, up to 3 seconds of video reference, 10 seconds of lookback context (up from 1s), and native synchronized audio. 1080p and 4K are upscaled outputs, not native renders — the standard generation tier is 720p. For agencies, the practical takeaway: a usable 30-second draft costs under a dollar, and the same clip at client-ready 720p costs $3.00 in raw API spend.
Watch-outs: Sora 2's API shuts down September 24, 2026 — any quote built on Sora per-second math has a hard expiry. And fal MiniMax H3 Max's attention-grabbing $0.04/s is a 14-day intro; the list price is $0.08/s at 768p.
Quote the whole project, not just the video
Open the AI Agency Pricing Calculator →The full calculator covers setup fees, retainers, model strategy, failure/retry risk and margin — with current 2026 rates. For token-model costs see AI Model Cost per Task 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does AI video cost per second in 2026?
There is no single number — it depends on model and resolution. Google's Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash is the new floor at $0.03 per second for 360p draft output, $0.10/s at 720p, $0.15/s at 1080p and $0.30/s at 4K. Competitors run $0.05–$0.70/s: Runway Gen-4 Turbo $0.05/s, Veo 3.1 Lite $0.05/s, fal MiniMax H3 Max $0.08/s (768p list, $0.04/s intro), Sora 2 $0.10/s, Runway Gen-4.5 $0.12/s, Kling $0.084–$0.42/s, Sora 2 Pro $0.30–$0.70/s.
What is the cheapest AI video generator per second in 2026?
Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash (Google, GA Aug 27, 2026) has the cheapest listed per-second API rate among major vendors: $0.03 per second for its 360p draft tier — roughly one-third the cost of its own standard 720p output. Runway Gen-4 Turbo ($0.05/s) and Veo 3.1 Lite ($0.05/s) are next; fal MiniMax H3 Max lists $0.08/s at 768p with a 14-day $0.04/s intro and a free tier of 5 clips/day.
How much does Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash cost per second?
Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash bills per second of output video by resolution: $0.03/s at 360p (draft mode), $0.10/s at 720p (standard), $0.15/s at 1080p and $0.30/s at 4K. 1080p and 4K are upscaled from 720p, not native renders. A 10-second 360p draft costs about $0.30; a 10-second 1080p clip costs about $1.50.
How does Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash compare to Sora and Runway on price?
Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash starts at $0.03/s (360p draft) and matches Sora 2 at $0.10/s for 720p, with 1080p at $0.15/s and 4K at $0.30/s. Sora 2 is $0.10/s at 720p and its API sunsets September 24, 2026; Sora 2 Pro is $0.30–$0.70/s. Runway Gen-4 Turbo is $0.05/s and Gen-4.5 is $0.12/s (both credit-based, $0.01/credit). Omni adds 40-second scenes, keyframe control and native audio that per-second video SKUs from Veo don't include.
What does a 30/60/90-second AI video cost with Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash?
At the 360p draft tier ($0.03/s): $0.90 for 30 seconds, $1.80 for 60 seconds, $2.70 for 90 seconds. At standard 720p ($0.10/s): $3.00 / $6.00 / $9.00. At 1080p ($0.15/s): $4.50 / $9.00 / $13.50. At 4K ($0.30/s): $9.00 / $18.00 / $27.00. Use the calculator above for any model and duration.
Sources
- Google Blog, "Build with Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash" (Aug 27, 2026): blog.google
- Google Cloud, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform — Generative AI pricing (token math confirming the per-second ladder): cloud.google.com
- fal.ai, Gemini Omni Flash 1.1 Text to Video (Google partner listing, per-second billing): fal.ai
- The Decoder, "Google's Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash makes AI video generation cheaper and more flexible" (Aug 27, 2026): the-decoder.com
- fal.ai, MiniMax H3 Max ($0.08/s list, $0.04/s 14-day intro, free 5/day): fal.ai
- Unifically, Sora API pricing + Sept 24, 2026 shutdown: unifically.com
- CostBench, Kling API pricing: costbench.com
- Melies, Runway ML pricing ($0.01/credit; Gen-4 Turbo 5 cr/s, Gen-4.5 12 cr/s): melies.co
Accuracy note: All per-second prices are published list rates as of Aug 30, 2026 (verified fact sheet t_39e6123c, 10 sources). Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash $0.03/s is the 360p draft tier — standard 720p is $0.10/s; 1080p/4K are upscaled, not native. Sora 2 API sunset (Sept 24, 2026) and the fal MiniMax H3 Max 14-day intro are dated facts — recompute after those dates. Speed/quality claims for Omni's draft mode are vendor-reported. Re-verify provider rates before quoting clients.