Veo 3 & 3.1 Pricing: API Rates and Clip Costs (2026)

Updated November 2026 · Prices checked November 2026 · 7 min read

An 8-second Veo 3.1 attempt with audio costs $1.20 on Fast or $3.20 on Standard — the only self-serve per-second rates we could verify, sold through Runway's developer API. Google shut down the Gemini API's Veo 3.1 preview on October 22, 2026, and its own GA platform doesn't sell Veo 3.1 pay-as-you-go, so a quote straight from Google isn't something you can get by just signing up. Two attempts double the bill even if you keep only one.

Veo 3.1 pricing per second and per video (Runway's API)

Runway resells Google's Veo 3.1 and Veo 3.1 Fast through its own developer API, billed in credits at $0.01 each. Audio on or off is the only variable it bills for — it doesn't split by resolution. The last column is eight times the per-second rate, for one completed attempt. Taxes and your own storage or application costs are outside this budget.

Source: docs.dev.runwayml.com/guides/pricing, Runway's developer API, checked November 2026 ($0.01 per credit; Veo 3.1 at 40 credits/second with audio or 20 without; Veo 3.1 Fast at 15 or 10). Runway doesn't list a Veo 3.1 Lite rate at all — see the FAQ below for why there isn't a public Lite price to quote.

Which Veo endpoint should a new project use?

Google Cloud's Veo 3.1 model page lists veo-3.1-generate-001 and veo-3.1-fast-generate-001 as generally available, distinct from the Gemini API IDs ending in -preview that were shut down. Its consumption options are Provisioned Throughput and Fixed Quota — pay-as-you-go is marked not supported for either model, which rules out calling the API by the second directly from Google with just a billing account. A reseller like Runway, or a Provisioned Throughput purchase through Google sales, are the two practical routes in.

Searching for “Veo 3 pricing” can bring up rates for either generation, or for Runway's resale of either. Google's Gemini deprecation schedule shows the older Veo 3.0 endpoints were shut down on June 30, 2026. Record the full model ID, platform and audio setting with any quote you save.

Budget for usable shots, including retries

Use this planning formula: shots you need × seconds per attempt × attempts per usable shot × price per second. Here are three monthly workloads on Runway's API, assuming two completed attempts for every accepted 8-second shot. Two is a budgeting assumption, not a measured success rate or a guarantee.

For 20 shots, 20 × 8 × 2 = 320 generated seconds. Fast without audio at $0.10/s costs $32; Standard with audio at $0.40/s costs $128. If you need three attempts, multiply those budgets by 1.5: $48 and $192. For a final edit, count each shot's generated length, including footage you later trim away.

What Veo costs through AI Growth Kit

Our Video Generator lists one Veo 3.1 option: 4, 6 or 8 seconds, landscape or vertical, with 720p and 1080p choices. It takes a text prompt and charges 10 credits per second: 40, 60 or 80 credits respectively. The form has no Fast/Lite selector or audio switch. A shared model name is not proof that two services use identical API settings.

The value column allocates the purchase price to 80 credits; it is not the checkout price. For the Power Pack: 80 × ($59 ÷ 1,800) = $2.62. For the Starter Pack: 80 × ($9 ÷ 200) = $3.60. Counts exclude the one-time 20-credit sign-up grant and assume you spend nothing on other tools. Packs never expire; unused subscription credits reset monthly.

The Power Pack is our lowest per-credit pack rate. The Pro subscription is cheaper per credit only if you use the allowance: one attempt in a $49 month still costs $49 in cash. Output has no watermark on any plan, and failed jobs are refunded. Prices: plans and packs; generation rate: current tool pricing.

How to keep the bill predictable

1. Choose the delivery format first. Use vertical for a vertical placement; a second aspect ratio means another generation.
2. Write one shot per prompt. Name the subject, action, camera movement and ending. Use the prompt guide to make the intended shot specific.
3. Set an attempt limit. If two attempts miss the shot, revise the prompt before buying a third. A successful render can still be unusable creatively.
4. Count candidates. Four generated candidates are four outputs to budget for, even when you download only your favorite.

Choose Runway's API when you want Veo 3.1 or Fast billed by the second without Google's own reserved-capacity commitment. Choose a direct Google Provisioned Throughput or Fixed Quota purchase only at volumes where a reserved contract pays for itself — talk to Google's sales team for that pricing, since it isn't published per second. Choose our browser form when you want a short text-to-video job without building any integration, especially if you already hold credits. For prices across other model families, see the AI video cost overview.

Veo pricing questions