A cheap AI video generator, with the maths shown
The short answer
On StreamingWars a short costs 50 credits per 15 seconds. At top-up pack prices that's about $2.50 to $2.90 for a 15-second short and about $20 to $23 for two minutes, with sound, filming and joining included. Your first short is free up to 30 seconds, failed shorts are refunded, and you can earn credits by voting instead of paying.
- Lengths
- 0:15 to 2:00
- Shape
- 9:16 with sound
- First short
- Free up to 30 s
- Cost
- 50 credits / 15 s
- Every vote earns
- 0.25 credits
- Watch both, then vote
- +0.25 credits
What a short costs here
| Length | Credits | At the 500-credit pack ($29) | At the 1,200-credit pack ($59) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 seconds | 50 | about $2.90 | about $2.46 |
| 30 seconds | 100 (first one free) | about $5.80 | about $4.92 |
| 60 seconds | 200 | about $11.60 | about $9.83 |
| 2 minutes | 400 | about $23.20 | about $19.67 |
That price covers the whole short: the story and storyboard, every clip, the sound, the joins. No separate charge for planning, retries of a failed short or stitching. Packs are on the credits page.
Making shorts for free
- Your first short is free up to 30 seconds, once per account with a confirmed email.
- Every vote earns 0.25 credits; watching both shorts at least 80% before voting adds another 0.25.
- You can earn up to 40 credits a day. Two days at the cap covers a 15-second short with credits to spare.
- Earned credits only pay for shorts; there's no cash out.
How AI video pricing usually works
| Model | How you pay | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Per second | Developer access to a video model, priced by the second of footage | Every failed take and every retry costs the same; you still plan, join and edit |
| Monthly plan | A fixed fee with an allowance of credits or minutes | Allowances reset, and the best models often sit on higher tiers |
| Free tier | Limited clips, often with queues or watermarks | Short clips and slow turnaround |
| Per short | Credits for a finished short (how StreamingWars works) | You get shorts, not raw footage to edit elsewhere |
Prices change often in 2026, so compare by what you get at the end: a raw clip you still have to edit, or a finished, watchable short.
Get more for your credits
- Start at 15 or 30 seconds. Most ideas don't need more, and short tests are cheap.
- Make three versions of a strong idea before one long one.
- Use Remake to build on what worked instead of starting from zero.
- Let the winners grow into series parts, where people already want more.
In the ring right now
Full rankings
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest way to make AI video?
Here: your first short free up to 30 seconds, then credits you earn by voting, up to 40 a day. Paid packs work out at about 4.9 to 5.8 cents a credit.
How much does a 1-minute AI video cost?
200 credits on StreamingWars, about $9.83 to $11.60 at pack prices, including sound and joining.
Do failed shorts cost credits?
No. If a short fails, its credits come back in full, once. Retry never charges twice.
Are there monthly plans?
Credits are sold as top-up packs on the credits page. Check there for current options.
Watch it. Vote for it. Make something better.
Two shorts. You pick. Winner climbs. Your votes earn credits to make your own.
By StreamingWars · First published October 18, 2026