AI Video Without a Subscription: Pay Only for What You Make
Most AI video tools want a monthly plan. You can skip that, and for some people it's cheaper.
How it works here
You buy a pack of credits once. Packs start at $9 for 10 credits. A short video uses 1 to 4 credits depending on length, and a video in 4K costs double. The credits don't expire, and nothing renews. When they run out, you buy more or you don't.
A video up to 5 seconds is 1 credit. Up to 10 seconds is 2, up to 15 is 3, and up to 20 is 4. The full list is on the pricing page.
When this is the better deal
If you make a handful of videos a month, or one a month, or a burst around a launch and then nothing, you don't want to pay for the quiet weeks. A monthly plan with credits that reset charges you either way.
When it's not
If you make videos every day, a subscription from another tool may cost less per clip. Do the math with your own numbers before you decide. Our credits aren't a discount scheme, they're a way to pay for what you use. For how other tools handle credits, see Runway and Kling.
What you can't do
Create is for people who've bought credits, so there's no free try on it. Your free signup credit still works for enhancing a video you already have. We did that on purpose, because every clip costs us real money to make.
A note on these facts
BetterVideo is independent. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Runway, Luma, Kling or any other company named here, and their names belong to their owners. We use them only to say which product we mean.
Everything about other companies comes from their own public pages, which we read on October 20, 2026. This is our review of what those pages say, not a claim about how any company behaves in practice, what it intends, or how it treats your data. Where we couldn't confirm something, we say so. Terms, prices and features change without notice, so open the linked source and read the current version before you rely on it. This page is general information and not legal, financial or purchasing advice, and we can't promise it is complete or still current. If something here is wrong, tell us and we will correct it quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Credits stay in your account until you use them.
The credits for that video go back to your balance.
Try it with one short video
One credit makes a short Full HD video with music or a voiceover. Credits never expire and there's no subscription, so a single test costs you almost nothing.