What an 8-second AI video clip actually costs
July 10, 2026 · 3 min read
Eight AI video models sit in the Visual Sandbox catalog right now. An 8-second clip on the cheapest one costs eight cents. The same 8 seconds on the priciest setup costs $12.56.
That's not a "good model vs bad model" gap. Every one of these models makes usable video. The price moves because of a few settings you control: resolution, audio, and whether you feed in a reference video.
What an 8-second clip costs, model by model
| Model | Price for 8 seconds | What changes the price |
|---|---|---|
| P-Video | $0.08 to $0.40 | Draft mode and resolution |
| Kling Avatar 2.0 | $0.56 to $1.12 | Standard vs Pro |
| Kling 3.0 Motion Control | $0.72 to $1.20 | Standard vs Pro |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | $0.72 to $1.76 | Resolution and reference video |
| Seedance 2.0 | $0.80 to $12.56 | Resolution up to 4K, with or without reference video |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | $1.04 to $1.52 | Audio on or off |
| Kling 3.0 Omni | $1.68 to $4.24 | Resolution and audio, up to 4K |
| Veo 3.1 | $2.00 to $4.00 | Audio on or off |
Prices are live rates at publish time. Check each model's page for the current number before you render.
Resolution is the biggest lever
Seedance 2.0 shows the pattern clearest. An 8-second clip at 480p costs $0.80. Push the same clip to 4K and it jumps to $10.00, or $12.56 with a reference video attached. That's close to 16 times the price for more pixels, not a better prompt or a better result.
Instagram and TikTok cap uploaded video at 1080p and compress anything higher on the way in. A 4K render often looks the same as a 1080p one once the platform is done squashing it. Pay for 4K when you're delivering a master file to a client or a big screen. Skip it for anything headed straight to a phone feed.
Audio changes the price differently on every model
Veo 3.1 and Kling 3.0 Omni both generate synced audio and dialogue in the same pass as the picture. The surcharge isn't consistent between them. Veo 3.1 with audio costs exactly double audio off, $4.00 against $2.00 for 8 seconds. Kling 3.0 Omni's audio surcharge is smaller, a quarter to a third more depending on the tier.
If you're adding your own voiceover or music afterward, turn audio off and keep the difference. If the clip needs lip-synced dialogue baked into the render, audio on is the only way to get it.
Draft mode is for testing, not delivery
P-Video's draft toggle cuts the 1080p price from $0.05 a second to $0.02, more than half off, with the resolution unchanged. That's the cheapest way to test a prompt, a camera move, or a framing choice before paying for a full render.
The same logic works across the whole catalog even without a labeled draft mode. Run a prompt once on the cheapest model that supports the motion you need. Once the prompt and framing hold up, move to the model and settings you actually plan to publish.
Pick the setting, not just the model
The real decision isn't Veo versus Kling versus Seedance. It's whether this specific clip needs 4K, needs baked-in audio, and needs a reference video to hold a character steady. Answer those three questions first, and the price follows on its own.
An 8-second test run on P-Video costs less than a vending machine snack. A final 4K hero shot on Seedance 2.0 costs more than a movie ticket. Both are the right price, for what they're actually doing.
