For 60 paid seconds of Runway Gen-4.5 API video, the base generation charge is $7.20 before tax and extras. A 60-second finished edit can require more footage: 120 paid seconds costs $14.40 and 240 costs $28.80 at the same base rate. These are calculated usage charges, not a minimum credit purchase, a web subscription price, or a promise that every generated second will be usable. Source checked October 29, 2026: Runway API pricing.
This guide separates three decisions: how much footage to generate, which access channel to use, and how much cash must be paid. The retired Gemini API Veo preview prices are retained in the historical note below, not used as today’s answer.
Current API example: price the generated footage
Runway lists gen4.5 at 12 API credits per second and sells API credits at $0.01 each. The base rate is therefore $0.12 per generated second. This example excludes professional/HDR output surcharges, audio, source-image generation, editing and tax. It is not an audio-inclusive comparison with Veo.
| Paid footage allowance | API credits consumed | Base usage charge | What the allowance assumes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 seconds | 720 | $7.20 | No extra generated footage beyond the target runtime |
| 120 seconds | 1,440 | $14.40 | Twice the target runtime available for selection |
| 240 seconds | 2,880 | $28.80 | Four times the target runtime available for selection |
Calculation: paid seconds × 12 credits × $0.01. These allowance multipliers are planning assumptions, not measured rejection rates. We have not purchased generations or tested output quality. Confirm the actual credit-purchase amount in the API billing screen; a usage charge is not necessarily the amount payable to fund an account.
Web subscription: allocation is not the bill
The web model table also lists Gen-4.5 at 12 credits per second. The web pricing page, checked October 29, lists monthly Standard at $15 for 625 credits and Pro at $35 for 2,250. Pro’s annual option displays $28 per month, billed as $336 for the year; do not treat that as a one-month purchase.
| Gen-4.5 footage | Credits needed | Share of a $35 Pro month | Allowance remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 seconds | 720 | $11.20 allocation | 1,530 credits |
| 120 seconds | 1,440 | $22.40 allocation | 810 credits |
| 240 seconds | 2,880 | Not covered by included credits | 630 credits short |
The allocation is credits used × $35 / 2,250. A new monthly Pro subscriber still pays $35 before applicable extras, even when this project consumes only $11.20 of the allowance. Standard alone is 95 credits short of the 720-credit example. A 240-second Pro budget also needs additional credits or another arrangement; extrapolating the allocation does not establish the invoice.
Runway’s credit rules say paid web accounts can buy at least 1,000 additional credits per purchase, Standard/Pro monthly credits expire at the billing date, and purchased credits do not expire. Web credits cannot fund API use. We have not verified the web top-up dollar price, so no Standard-plus-top-up total is claimed.
A worked one-project decision
Assume a 60-second edit, 120 paid seconds of Gen-4.5 footage, no paid extras and no existing credits. The API example consumes $14.40 of credits; a new monthly Pro web subscription requires $35 before extras. The $20.60 difference compares base usage with a subscription commitment, not complete checkout totals. Unverified API funding minimums, taxes and production costs remain outside it.
Now change just one assumption: you already pay for Pro and have 1,440 otherwise-unused credits that expire before another project. Using those credits may require no additional subscription payment for this job. They still have an opportunity cost if another project needs them. Neither scenario establishes a universal cheapest provider or identical output quality.
Build a budget from shots, not just runtime
In an illustrative shot list, six usable 10-second segments make a 60-second edit. Generating two candidates for each segment means 12 × 10 = 120 paid seconds. If trimming leaves only eight seconds from each selected segment, the edit contains 48 seconds, not 60. Add enough usable material to close that gap; do not count discarded footage as free.
- Write the required final runtime, shot list, resolution and audio needs.
- Choose the exact model, access channel and output format. Confirm the supported clip durations before dividing the runtime into requests.
- Separate paid generated seconds from usable seconds and from the final edit.
- Add only verified charges for source images, sound, editing, output upgrades and tax. Mark unknown costs as unknown, not zero.
- Compare cash due now and usable remaining credits separately. Check renewal and expiry before buying an allowance for one job.
The calculator below accepts a rate you verify. To reproduce the 120-second base API example, enter 60 target seconds, multiplier 2, rate 0.12 and extras 0: the result is $14.40. Leaving extras at zero means you deliberately exclude them; it does not establish that none will apply.
Historical Veo preview prices, not current offers
October 19, 2026 observation and October 22 shutdown
The former Gemini API Veo 3.1 Lite, Fast and Standard preview examples used 720p video with audio at $0.05, $0.10 and $0.40 per generated second respectively. Their 60-second calculations were $3, $6 and $24. These are historical observations, not currently purchasable Gemini preview options. Google confirms those three preview endpoints shut down October 22, 2026. This does not establish the availability or price of every other Veo access channel.
Review record and limits
October 29, 2026: replaced the historical-price lead with a current Runway API calculation, separated credit consumption from purchase commitments, and recalculated the examples. Runway API pricing, web pricing, model credits, credit rules and Google’s shutdown notice were checked. Earlier reviews on October 6, 19 and 28 remain part of this article’s history; no service purchase, API execution or quality benchmark was performed.
The October 28 review found a mismatch between Runway’s web pricing summary for Turbo seconds and its model-credit table. This guide uses Gen-4.5, not that disputed Turbo conversion. Next source-review target: November 4, 2026. Prices and availability may change sooner.
For text workloads, see one million AI tokens. Browse AI Costs & Limits, or report a price or calculation correction.