How to Work Out What an AI Video Clip Really Costs

We published a comparison saying a Seedance 2.5 clip costs less on Kolbo.AI than on any major platform we could measure. Rather than ask you to take that on trust, here is the entire method. Run it on us, and run it on whoever you are paying today.

It takes about a minute per platform.

Credits are not a unit of anything

Every platform invents its own credit. There is no standard, no exchange rate, and no reason two platforms' credits should be worth the same amount. So comparing credit counts tells you nothing at all.

A five second Seedance 2.5 clip costs 151 credits on Kolbo.AI and 32.5 credits on Higgsfield. Read those two numbers alone and we look more than four times as expensive. We are not. Their credit simply costs about five times more to buy. Until you convert to money, the comparison is meaningless.

Step 1: what one credit actually costs

Divide the monthly plan price by the credits it grants.

Kolbo.AI Professional
$79.00 / 9,500 credits = $0.008316 per credit

Do the same for whatever you pay for now. It takes ten seconds, and it is usually the number that decides the whole answer.

Step 2: what the model charges per second

Video models bill per second of output, and the rate changes with resolution. Kolbo.AI shows this on the model before you generate, so you never have to guess.

Seedance 2.5 at 720p
30.2 credits per second

Step 3: multiply

Credits per second, times the seconds you are generating, times what a credit costs.

one 5 second clip at 720p, Professional
30.2 x 5 x $0.008316 = $1.26

15 seconds
30.2 x 15 x $0.008316 = $3.77

30 seconds
30.2 x 30 x $0.008316 = $7.53

One detail if you reproduce this yourself: round at the end, never in the middle. Dividing two prices that have already been rounded to cents will disagree with the real figure by a point or two. That is how a pricing table ends up contradicting itself.

Step 4: compare

One Seedance 2.5 clip at 720p, with every platform on its largest self-serve plan. That choice is deliberate: top tiers carry the cheapest credits, so the arithmetic favours everyone else rather than us.

Same clip, same model, same resolution, and a 2.5x spread between the cheapest and the dearest.

Two things the sum does not show

Every platform here bills per second, with no minimum block. So the ratio between any two of them holds whether you are cutting a five second insert or a thirty second spot. One number describes the whole relationship, which is why you only need to do this once.

The credits you never spend still cost you. On Kolbo.AI unused credits roll over. On Higgsfield and Artlist they expire at the end of the month, which both state in their own documentation. Creative work is not spread evenly across a calendar: a quiet fortnight followed by a heavy launch week is the normal shape of a production schedule, and every credit that expires unused was still paid for. Divide by the credits you actually use and some of these gaps widen considerably.

The sum worth doing before you subscribe anywhere

Take the plan's monthly credit allowance and divide it by the cost of the clip you actually intend to make, at the length you actually intend to make it.

Do it to us as well. On Kolbo.AI Professional that works out at roughly ten thirty second Seedance 2.5 clips a month, alongside everything else the plan covers. The answer is almost always smaller than the credit total makes it look, and knowing it before you subscribe is worth more than any comparison table.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I just compare credit counts between platforms?

Because a credit is not a unit of anything. Each company defines its own, and the definitions differ by more than fifty times across the platforms in this guide. A Kolbo.AI credit costs $0.008316 on Professional; a Higgsfield credit costs $0.043 on Ultra. Comparing the counts without converting to money will frequently give you the answer backwards.

How do I find out what a credit costs on my current platform?

Divide the monthly plan price by the number of credits it includes. That is the real per credit cost. If the platform sells annual billing at a discount, use the effective monthly price rather than the sticker price, and make sure you are comparing the same billing basis across platforms.

Does the ranking change for longer clips?

No. Every platform in this comparison bills per second with no minimum billing block, so the ratio between any two of them is constant. Artlist is 2.53 times our price at five seconds and 2.53 times at thirty. The only thing that would break this is a platform with a minimum block, which rounds short clips up.

What is the biggest saving available to me?

Usually not the platform. Dropping to a lower model tier for exploratory work saves more than switching vendors, and drafting at 720p rather than 1080p roughly halves the cost of every render you throw away. Choose the platform last, after those two.

Are these prices still current?

They were compiled in August 2026 from each platform's own published pricing. AI video pricing moves fast and every figure here is a snapshot rather than a quote. Check the current price with each provider before making a decision, and treat any comparison that does not carry a date with suspicion, including ours once it ages.

Every figure above comes from each platform's own published pricing, compiled August 2026 and subject to change without notice. Prices are in US dollars, exclude taxes, and apply to the specific model, resolution, duration and plan stated. Artlist prices were converted from Israeli shekels at 3.4 to the dollar, the end of the range most favourable to Artlist. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Kolbo.AI is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any platform mentioned. Provided for information only, not as an offer.

Want the named breakdown with every source? Read what a Seedance 2.5 clip actually costs on every platform.