Kling AI
Synthesia
Midjourney
Canva
DescriptHow much does AI short-form video cost?
Estimate the cost of 30 TikToks, Reels or Shorts. Compare generated footage, retries, voiceover and a lower-cost mixed-media workflow.
Read the guide →FROM IDEA TO A WORKABLE PLAN
AI content cost calculator
Plan videos, images and voiceovers. Compare tool costs against your budget.
01
Your project
50%
Your footageFully AI
$USD / month
Already paying for tools?
Capacity and assumptions
API balance is separate from your Runway web subscription. Attempts and 900 characters/min are estimates, not provider guarantees.
Black Forest Labs balance
Image prices are verified. The purchase minimum is not: BFL is excluded until you enter that amount or sufficient existing credit.
Hard requirements
An unverified requirement excludes a tool from recommendations.
Budget Rescue
The remaining content uses your footage. Rescue never reduces output count, duration or attempts.
02
Your workflow
Live estimateBUDGET RESCUEEstimate
Your goal is still within reach.
With 25% AI video and the same output count and duration.
$36.90additional / month
Adjust the workflow. Keep the goal.
AI video 50% → 25%. Use your own footage and editing for the rest.
Original plan: $66.90. Output count and attempts stay the same.Budget Rescue suggestion
$1.23 / outputMiniMax H3 Max ADD480p · Runway API
$30.00600 sec
Usage before applying existing creditProvider pricing
Eleven v3 ADDRunway API · 50 characters / credit
$6.9033,750 characters
Usage before applying existing creditProvider pricing
What you need to pay now
Runway API$36.90
Total additional cost$36.90
Manual script preparation · Editing and captions: your work
2 excluded options
ElevenLabs Free Multilingual v2 · direct subscription
Requires 33,750 characters; 10,000 available. Overages are excluded.
ElevenLabs Starter Multilingual v2 · direct subscription
Requires 33,750 characters; 30,000 available. Overages are excluded.
How to carry out this plan
- Prepare 30 videos. Write scripts, choose references and prepare your own material.
- Generate the planned assets. 600 video seconds, 33,750 voice characters. Quantities include generation attempts.
- Review and finish. Select successful generations, check continuity and rights, then edit your final outputs. Captions and distribution are manual steps.
Explore 11 providers and tools
Compare generation, avatars, design and editing.
View the full catalog →These eight tools are informational; the cost engine currently supports the three providers below.Cost engine: 10 model / plan options, 3 providers
Gen-4 Image
720p · Runway API
$0.05 / imagesUse Gen-4 Image References with the same approved character reference. Reference-guided consistency is supported; identical results are not guaranteed. Review each image manually.
Gen-4 Image
1080p · Runway API
$0.08 / imagesUse Gen-4 Image References with the same approved character reference. Reference-guided consistency is supported; identical results are not guaranteed. Review each image manually.
ElevenLabs Free
Multilingual v2 · direct subscription
$0.00/month · 10,000 creditsMultilingual v2: 1 character = 1 credit. No overages or introductory discount. A paid license does not replace rights to input content.
ElevenLabs Starter
Multilingual v2 · direct subscription
$6.00/month · 30,000 creditsMultilingual v2: 1 character = 1 credit. No overages or introductory discount. A paid license does not replace rights to input content.
ElevenLabs Creator
Multilingual v2 · direct subscription
$22.00/month · 121,000 creditsMultilingual v2: 1 character = 1 credit. No overages or introductory discount. A paid license does not replace rights to input content.
Prices checked on 4 September 2026. Quality estimates are not provider ratings. BFL is excluded until you enter a purchase minimum or sufficient existing credit.
Calculation and confidence
Existing subscriptions: We use your exact plan and only the remaining credits you enter. New ElevenLabs plans use the full monthly fee, without introductory discounts or overages. Replacements assume no refund for the old plan.
API balance: Runway and BFL balances are separate. Runway uses a conservative $10 top-up minimum; the initial purchase minimum is verified. Enter the BFL minimum from your account. Unspent purchases remain as credit. Runway minimum ↗
Internal assumptions: Five-second clips, 1.25× attempts and 900 characters/min. Runway voice rounds each output to 50-character blocks. Direct ElevenLabs uses Multilingual v2 voices without extra credit multipliers. Quality is an internal score, not an independent benchmark. Best Value = score / (1 + additional dollars).
Scope: Software cost estimates in USD before tax. Labor, equipment, stock assets and distribution are excluded. Consumer subscriptions do not supply another provider's API credits. ChatGPT Plus is used manually for preparation. Prices older than 30 days are excluded.
License: ElevenLabs Free requires attribution and noncommercial use. Paid plans include a commercial license; rights to your input material and voices still require separate checks. Usage terms ↗
Coverage: 10 options across Runway, ElevenLabs and BFL. This is not the entire market. Two rankings may select the same workflow. Unverified requirements are never assumed supported.
Verified prices. Explicit assumptions.
Pricing checked: 4 September 2026. Quality, attempts and your top-up minimum are assumptions. Tax, labor and stock purchases are excluded.
PLAN YOUR NEXT PROJECT
Practical AI cost guides
AI YouTube video cost: plan a long-form budget
Work out a budget for long-form YouTube videos, including AI B-roll, narration, thumbnails and generation attempts.
Read the guide →AI influencer cost: consistent character image posts
Budget for AI influencer image posts using a reusable character reference. Understand consistency, retries and the limits of video estimates.
Read the guide →AI product photography cost per product and image
Estimate AI product image costs by SKU, usable variants and retries. Separate generation spend from product accuracy and retouching work.
Read the guide →AI voiceover and podcast cost: minutes, characters and quotas
Estimate AI narration costs for podcasts and voiceovers. Convert finished minutes into character demand and compare remaining subscription quotas.
Read the guide →Build an AI social media content production budget
Plan a monthly social content budget across short clips, images and narration. Compare complete tool stacks without double-counting subscriptions.
Read the guide →HOW THE ESTIMATE WORKS
How much will your AI project cost?
Not Cheap AI estimates additional monthly software costs for short-form video, YouTube, AI influencers, product images, podcasts and social content. It checks requirements first, then demand, capacity and pricing.
From content to usage
Output count, duration, AI video share and attempts determine video seconds, images and voice characters. Usage assumptions are separate from verified provider prices.
From usage to payment
Existing subscriptions and remaining credit can reduce additional spending. The calculator separates prepaid capacity, new subscriptions and minimum credit purchases.
From budget to a workable plan
Cheapest, Best Value and Best Quality compare complete workflows within budget. Budget Rescue can reduce AI video share while preserving output count and duration.
Before choosing tools
Is this the total production cost?
No. Estimates cover software in USD before tax. Labor, editing, equipment, stock assets and distribution are excluded. This calculator does not generate content.
Why can a requirement block recommendations?
Tools are excluded when required privacy, commercial rights or character consistency support cannot be verified. A lower price cannot override a hard requirement.
Do prices update automatically?
Prices are manually checked and dated. The browser excludes prices older than 30 days. Follow provider links to confirm prices before purchasing.